Steve Haruch can’t quite get into the Halloween spirit (Halloween file photo by Eddie.)
In his piece for Pubic Radio East, he shared the uneasiness he felt seeing a four-year-old young white girl dressed in a purple kimono.
“I felt an involuntary uneasiness. I wanted to ask her parents who she was supposed to be,” wrote Haruch.
Haruch thought back to his youth when an adoptive white parents dressed their Asian daughter for Halloween in a coolie hat.
“What was she supposed to be?” Steve asked.
“An Asian girl,” the mom replied.
That mom was Steve’s mom. Both Steve and his sister were adopted from Korea into a white family.
Steven says Halloween has always been tricky for him. Even if he wanted to affirm his Asian American identity, just exactly how would he do that? You can read about his dilemma on Pubic Radio East.
What are your ideas for the perfect Asian American costume?