Gaijin Revolution

I'm obviously insane. It is going to be crazy for me to try and keep up with yet another blog on top of the ones I'm already running, but I intend to give it a shot, anyway. So welcome to Gaijin Revolution, my newest blog creation! This blog is about my experiences as a Caucasian, Canadian fan of Asian pop culture, and how my interest in Asian music, books, television, and cinema, and other things like clothes, food, and cultural customs affects my daily life and my interactions with others. The main reason why this blog will probably be interesting is the way others (both Asians and people of other races) perceive and often judge me based on this interest, and how they interact with and treat me because of their opinions. But beyond that, I will also blog about ways that my life is affected by this interest of mine, and activities that I participate in because of this interest.

I tend to be judged very negatively (and very unfairly) because of how much I enjoy Asian entertainment. I find this negativity particularly baffling when it's coming from Asians, because they would never want me to be racist against them or insult their culture, and yet they have a problem with my enjoyment and appreciation of their culture and its entertainment. Why is it such a bad thing that I like this stuff? Would they prefer I be racist? Meanwhile, others who are not Asian also seem to often think there's something wrong with my liking this stuff. In both cases, I don't understand what they think is so wrong about it. Then there are my aspirations to become an idol singer in Japan, which many people do not believe that I can do, mostly because I'm white. To top it all off, I tend to be attracted to Asian guys the most, but with the way things are for me, getting an Asian guy to show an interest in me might as well be Mission: Impossible. (Then again, who's to say that they don't question the likelihood of a white girl having an interest in them? This makes it all that much more complicated.)

"Asian wannabe" is a term I've come to hate. The most important thing I want people to know about me is that I am completely happy with who I am, and I have no desire to be anybody else. I am happy with being a white girl who likes Asian culture, and I do not wish that I was Asian. The one thing I do wish is that I will be able to figure out why people have such a problem with my interests, and to make them understand where I'm coming from. It's not that I care so much about what people think of me (though I do care too much), but that I want to understand what leads to these unfair judgments and conclusions others make, and I want them to stop being so unfair.

In addition to all of this, I will blog about what it's like to have my interests while living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and what I do and where I go because of these interests. Asia's influence first made its way to my eyes and ears, but has since found my closet, my stomach, and the brain space that was once occupied by French. I go to parts of the city (and beyond) that I never or rarely went to before, I sacrifice sleeping in on Saturday mornings to go to Japanese school, and I sing Japanese music for exams in vocal class. Many different aspects of my life would not be the same were it not for my interest in Asian culture. I think it may be interesting to take a look at how my daily life is affected by my interests, and even how things might be different were I not into all of this stuff. And reading about other people's lives is always interesting, anyway, right? So there you go.

I hope that this blog manages to be found by some of the people who make those unfair judgments about me and others who share my experiences, and helps them to understand things more clearly. It'll be great if others who can relate to my experiences read this, too. And for everybody else, hopefully this will be good reading. So, welcome to my new blog, and enjoy reading! I can't wait to get this blog going. =)