Writer: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer
May is coming to an end, which means the conclusion of what is variously known as AAPI, Asian American, APIDA, Asian, and Asian Diaspora Heritage Month. But why so many names?
Although often used interchangeably, each of these terms is actually distinct, with its own specific meaning and history. To be clear, no word is more valuable or valid than any other. But when we recognize the differences between these labels, we can use them more honestly and respectfully. By knowing what we say, and saying what we mean, we can take control of our own narratives and reject any one-size-fits-all definition of our communities.
Also API (Asian Pacific Islander) and APIA (Asian Pacific Islander American)
There are several different versions of the Asian American Pacific Islander label. All bring folks with Asian ancestry and folks with Pacific Islander ancestry together under a single umbrella of solidarity. That’s a huge melting pot of people, but there is a reason for this particular grouping. For generations, the types of discrimination faced by Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans had a lot in common, and until 2000 they were defined as the same racial category in the U.S census.
By embracing the label AAPI, folks have the opportunity to strengthen and expand their community and political power. There are many instances and issues where the designation AAPI is empowering and accurate. However, when AAPI is used as a synonym for Asian American, it’s not. Using AAPI in relation to issues that affect specifically people with Asian ancestry erases the unique identities and struggles of folks with Pacific Islander ancestry. It’s important that when you use AAPI, you mean AAPI.
A new acronym that has sprung up in response to the need to center the specific experiences of folks with Pacific Islander ancestry is NHPI (Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander). While no term is perfect, the expanding use of NHPI is helping to bring more attention to Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities, while allowing folks in those communities to build coalitions that enable them to exercise greater people power.
Similarly to AAPI, Asian American is a term that holds a huge group of diverse identities. Asian American as a word was born during the 1960’s and 70’s as a deliberate move by activists to bring together folks with Asian ancestry in order to build people power. The label has been tremendously successful in that respect, helping folks with Asian ancestry gain ever increasing levels of political influence and mainstream visibility.
Again though, the benefits are not shared equally among all of the people supposedly included in this label. Southeast Asian, South Asians, and West Asians have historically been banished to the margins of the Asian American narrative, making mostly light-skinned East Asians the default examples of Asian Americans in many minds.
A sweeping label like Asian American, which covers folks of roughly 50 different distinct Asian heritages, can erase unique cultural differences, as well as minimize specific community needs and disparities. So while Asian American is a worthwhile political identity, it is important that the individual ethnicities and levels of marginalization each Asian American person and community hold are not ignored in the name of unity.
The new term APIDA is one attempt at de-generalizing both the terms Asian American and AAPI. It does this by specifically highlighting the inclusion of folks with Desi (South Asian) ancestry within the community. It is a similar concept as BIPOC in relation to POC.
APIDA does suffer from several of the same issues as its label ancestors, like being a fairly broad definition for a diverse collection of communities, and potentially contributing to the erasure of the experiences of people with Pacific Islander ancestry. One other prominent issue at the moment is that APIDA is a term with very little mainstream exposure or recognition. That could change over time though. At the moment, APIDA is still a worthy option for folks looking to be more explicitly inclusive, and hoping to spark discussions about equal representation in both the Asian American and AAPI communities.
Because of the traumatic history of colonization, war, and oppression that the United States has inflicted on many Asian countries, some people with Asian ancestry living in the United States are uninterested in being identified as “American.” This can lead folks to simply identify as “Asian” or as part of the “Asian Diaspora” community.
As with all terms, these words are fluid, meaning different things to different people. What is beautiful about language is this constant ability to evolve, and also the vast array of choices we all have when defining our own identities and affiliations.
We encourage folks both within and without our AAPI, Asian American, APIDA, Asian, and Asian Diaspora communities to engage with the complexities of these terms and all of the other beautiful and complicated aspects of our cultures and histories. Most importantly, we encourage you do this not just in the month of May, but every day of the year.
Sources
Asian Americans Advancing Justice & EPIC (Empowering Pacific Islander Communities), “Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, A Community of Contrasts”, 2014, https://www.advancingjustice-la.org/sites/default/files/A_Community_of_Contrasts_NHPI_US_2014.pdf. Accessed 27 May 2021.
Cambridge Dictionary, “Diaspora”, Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/diaspora. Accessed 25 May 2021.
Ishisaka, Naomi, “Why it’s time to retire the term ‘Asian Pacific Islander’”, Seattle Times, 30 Nov. 2020. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/why-its-time-to-retire-the-term-asian-pacific-islander/. Accessed 26 May 2021.
Kambhampaty, Anna Purna, “In 1968, These Activists Coined the Term ‘Asian American’—And Helped Shape Decades of Advocacy”, Time, 22 May, 2020. https://time.com/5837805/asian-american-history/. Accessed 19 May 2021.
Kandil, Caitlin Yoshiko, “After 50 years of ‘Asian American,’ advocates say the term is ‘more essential than ever’”, NBC News, 31 May 2018. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/after-50-years-asian-american-advocates-say-term-more-essential-n875601. Accessed 19 May 2021.
Northwestern APIDA Staff Affinity Group (ASAG), “Who is APIDA?”, Northwestern University, 2021. https://sites.northwestern.edu/asag/about-us/who-is-apida/. Accessed 19 May 2021.
Vincenty, Samantha, “What AAPI Means, and Why AAPIHM Falls in May”, Oprah Magazine, 11 May 2021. https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/a36353830/aapi-meaning-asian-american-pacific-islander/. Accessed 19 May 2021.
Zhou, Li, “The inadequacy of the term ‘Asian American’”, Vox, 5 May 2021. https://www.vox.com/identities/22380197/asian-american-pacific-islander-aapi-heritage-anti-asian-hate-attacks. Accessed 19 May 2021.
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