亞洲文化火了！海外華裔學(xué)生建亞裔“表情包”小組迅速吸粉

Subtle Asian Traits: When memes become a diaspora phenomenon

最近，有個名為“微妙的亞洲特質(zhì)”的小組在臉書火了，近100萬人在這個小組中分享移民生活的笑話和表情包，討論文化認(rèn)同等問題。這些看似簡單普通的生活內(nèi)容引發(fā)了越來越多人的共鳴，
For many people of Asian descent living overseas, a Facebook group called Subtle Asian Traits has become a cultural phenomenon.
對于很多海外亞裔人來說，臉書上一個名為“微妙的亞洲特質(zhì)”的小組已成為一種文化現(xiàn)象。
Its jokes and memes — especially about life as a first-generation migrant — have made the page wildly popular. Almost a million people have joined the group since it began in September.
在這里，人們分享著有關(guān)第一代移民生活等內(nèi)容的笑話和表情包，使它廣受歡迎。自去年9月該臉書小組成立以來，已有近100萬人加入。
The posts, which can be made by anyone, have also sparked conversations about cultural identity.
任何人都可以在這個臉書小組里發(fā)貼，很多貼子引發(fā)了人們對于文化認(rèn)同的討論。
Its rapid success has stunned the group's founders — nine Chinese-Australian high school students who live in Melbourne.
“微妙的亞洲特質(zhì)”最初由9名居住在墨爾本的澳大利亞華裔高中生建立?，F(xiàn)在，小組的迅速走紅甚至讓他們也感到震驚。
"We were always sharing memes and jokes about Asian culture and growing up in a foreign country and kind of just wanted a place to share them together," co-founder Kathleen Xiao, 18, tells the BBC.
“我們一直喜歡分享有關(guān)亞洲文化、以及在外國長大經(jīng)歷的梗和笑話。我們只是想找個平臺能一起分享?！比航M創(chuàng)建者之一、18歲的凱瑟琳·蕭告訴英國廣播公司。
Anne Gu, 18, another founder, says they were thrilled when the group hit 1,000 members but "now it's just gone insane".
另一名18歲的創(chuàng)始人安妮·顧說，當(dāng)群組成員達(dá)到1000人時，他們已非常激動，“現(xiàn)在的規(guī)模簡直是瘋漲了”。
"We didn't think at all that it would get this big, or so serious," she says, referring to its growth into an online community for Asian diasporas.
她說，“我們從沒想到它會這么大、這么火。”現(xiàn)在，“微妙的亞洲特質(zhì)”幾乎已成為一個亞洲移民的線上社區(qū)。
She says the initial idea had been to simply share jokes about family life, Asian cultural "quirks" and bubble milk tea. (There are a lot of memes about this very popular drink.)
她說，最初的想法是簡單分享一些有關(guān)家庭生活、亞洲文化的“怪癖”和珍珠奶茶的笑料（有很多表情包與奶茶有關(guān)）。
What is the Subtle Asian Traits?
“微妙的亞洲特質(zhì)”是什么？
The posts span a range of topics, but they often focus on Asian culture as experienced by the children of migrants.
小組的貼子主題廣泛，它們更多關(guān)注的是移民子女生活中的亞洲文化烙印。
That is why most members are young people from Australia, the US, Canada and the UK, rather than those living in Asia.
因此，很多小組成員是來自澳大利亞、美國、加拿大和英國的年輕人，而非來自亞洲。
Ms Xiao believes that the page is so popular because it identifies "just little things in our lives that no one talked about before".
凱瑟琳·蕭認(rèn)為，該主頁之所以如此受歡迎，是因?yàn)樗恕拔覀兩钪袥]有人談?wù)撨^的一些小事”。
Many memes are about household customs — such as boiling tap water for drinking or using a finger to measure the perfect amount of water needed to cook rice.
很多表情包都與家庭習(xí)俗有關(guān)，比如燒開水，或用手指測量燒飯時所需的最佳水量。
Other jokes center on the experience of being a first-generation Asian person in a Western society, and "how we struggle, sometimes, to reach a balance between our two cultures", says Ms Gu.
安妮·顧說，其他笑話還包括來到西方社會第一代亞洲人的經(jīng)歷，以及“有時如何在兩種文化之間做出平衡”。
There are memes about "not being Asian enough": bilingual mishaps, struggles with Chinese homework, rebelling against family rules and traditions.
一些表情包是關(guān)于“不夠亞洲人”之處：語言障礙、中國家庭作業(yè)的折磨以及反家庭規(guī)則和傳統(tǒng)。
Then there are posts referencing experiences of casual racism or being made to feel "not white enough".
還有一些貼子提到了一些偶然的種族主義經(jīng)歷，或覺得自己有“不夠白人”的地方。
A common source of humor is "Asian parents" — who are stereotypically portrayed as cautious, strict and overbearing.
這些笑話通常的來源是“亞洲父母”——刻板印象會把他們描繪成謹(jǐn)慎、嚴(yán)厲和專橫的形象。

A post in the group is hilarious. It was captioned: "One day I told mother I didn't eat breakfast".
一則在小組里廣受歡迎的貼子讓人忍俊不禁。它的標(biāo)題是：“有一天我告訴我媽我沒有吃早餐”。
It bore an uncanny resemblance to texts from their own mothers, particularly phrases like: "I did not have a good sleep last night because of this."
這讓很多人想起自己的母親，尤其是類似的句子：“因?yàn)槟愕氖?，我昨晚沒睡好?！?br />Some users have sent the administrators messages of thanks.
一些用戶曾向管理員發(fā)送信息表示感謝。
"One girl said it was the first time she felt like a sense of belonging," she says.
“一個女孩說這是她第一次有歸屬感?！卑材荨ゎ櫿f。
Ms Xiao says the page helped her realize her experiences were common.
凱瑟琳·蕭表示，小組幫她意識到自己的經(jīng)歷很普遍。
"Growing up in a foreign country, it's just something you don't talk about because you're afraid that people won't understand you, or that you'll be made into a minority," she says.
她說：“在外國長大，這些本來只是你不愿談?wù)摰囊活愂虑?，因?yàn)槟銚?dān)心別人不理解你，或把你當(dāng)成少數(shù)。”
Find the balance
找到“平衡”
Like other internet groups which attempt to offer insights on cultural identity, there are some inherent challenges.
不過，與其他提供對文化認(rèn)同的思考的在線小組類似，這個小組也面臨一些內(nèi)在的挑戰(zhàn)。
Some initial criticism suggested that the group wasn't inclusive of all Asian cultures, as most posts related to East Asia.
最初有一些批評聲認(rèn)為，該組織并沒有包容所有的亞洲文化，因?yàn)榇蠖鄶?shù)貼子都是關(guān)于東亞的。
Ms Gu says the administrators have since prioritized including more diverse content. And in the group's rules, users are encouraged to "be inclusive to all Asian races".
安妮·顧稱，自那以后，管理員們就開始優(yōu)先考慮內(nèi)容的多樣化。在組織的規(guī)則中，管理員鼓勵用戶“包容所有亞洲種族”。
Other critics have said that memes about "tiger" parents or bad driving serve to reinforce negative stereotypes.
其他批評者說，“虎爸”、“虎媽”或不良駕駛等內(nèi)容的表情包只會加劇負(fù)面的刻板印象。
Such posts can also help people "to experience potentially negative experiences in childhood in a more humorous and positive light... like a healing through humor".
安妮·顧認(rèn)為，這些貼子可以幫助人們“以一種更幽默和積極的方式，回憶童年時潛在的負(fù)面經(jīng)歷……就像通過幽默療傷一樣?！?br />She adds that the page has also deepened her own cultural pride — something she had not expected.
她補(bǔ)充說，小組還加強(qiáng)了她對自己文化的自豪感——這是她沒有預(yù)料到的。
"I hope it gives others the confidence too, to not be so shy about their culture," she says.
“我希望這也能給其他人帶來信心，不要羞于談?wù)撟约旱奈幕??！彼f。