By Louis Chan
AsAmNews National Correspondent
You may have noticed an abundance of family pictures on your Twitter feeds this weekend as Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders were encouraged to post pictures of their families.
The hashtags #MyAsianAmericanFamily and #MyAANHPIFamily trended throughout the weekend in time for Mother’s Day.
But according to its creators, Jason Fong and Jenn Fang, this was more than just honoring our moms.
“Stereotypes of Asian American families often presuppose that Asian American parents are cold, unloving, excessively strict and hard; and also, that Asian American children are ungrateful, privileged and uncaring,” said Fang, the founder of the long-running blog, Reappropriate. “Yet, the reality is that some of the fiercest love and support can be found among Asian American and Pacific Islander families. That deep commitment and caring for one another is rarely seen and appreciated both within and outside the AAPI community. This Mother’s Day weekend seemed like a good opportunity to change that narrative.”
The hashtag was a nice change from the trolls and fierce political debates that have at times taken over Twitter since the November election. It was something we could all rally around.
“Jenn Fang and I wanted to do something to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Mother’s Day and also give folks a break from all of the bad news on their timelines,” said Fong. “We thought that sharing photos would spread some positivity after a pretty rough few months in our country.”
The enthusiasm AAPIs showed for the hashtag was beyond expectations.
“We were surprised and moved by the generosity with which members of the community shared stories of familial love, commitment, and support to the hashtags. What resulted was a beautiful online exhibit that showcases the powerful and emotional connectivity that bind together this nation’s millions of Asian American and Pacific Islanders families in all their incredibly rich diversity,” said Fang.
You still have time to most your family photos throughout Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Here’s some inspiration:
Great-great uncle (right) in 1934. He’s also in the Baseball Hall of Fame, as a semipro player. #MyAsianAmericanFamily pic.twitter.com/ENxt89rlqo
— Mike Sakasegawa (@sakeriver) May 13, 2017
The husband doesn’t have Twitter but wanted me to post a photo of us for #MyAsianAmericanFamily. Here’s us at our wedding in 2013 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/GPHxzMLCzB
— Dr. Chanda ?? (@IBJIYONGI) May 13, 2017
“Jenn Fang and I wanted to do something to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Mother’s Day and also give folks a break from all of the bad news on their timelines,” said Fong, a high school senior and former AsAmNews intern. “We thought that sharing photos would spread some positivity after a pretty rough few months in our country.”Flying home to surprise my mom for mother’s day. Love to the single-parent & non-trad families #MyAsianAmericanFamily #MyAANHPIFamily
— Vanessa Na (Teck) (@VanessaTeck) May 13, 2017
My father, engineer and oceanographer, who supported himself at CalPoly in the 60s teaching karate and tae kwon do. #MyAsianAmericanFamily pic.twitter.com/ul2Jr13ZNz
— Alexander Chee (@alexanderchee) May 13, 2017
#MyAsianAmericanFamily Where biryani and samosas meet fried rice and egg rolls ?????? pic.twitter.com/VfOeDjOdFi
— SW (@SWu521) May 14, 2017
i come from some of the most clever, intelligent,& powerful people. heres to the hustle from vietnam to the USA#MyAsianAmericanFamily pic.twitter.com/yDTyGAMlOa
— VVN ? (@reinforcedpaper) May 14, 2017
Half Japanese& Half African American. #MyAANHPIFamily #MyAsianAmericanFamily pic.twitter.com/ugLdo8orhS
— Ri (@RiRobertson) May 14, 2017
Recognizing my grandmother today for #MothersDay, and to honor #MyAsianAmericanFamily #MyAANHPIFamily #APAHM WRA no. 198 @bancroftlibrary pic.twitter.com/MX3KKag17W
— kent matsuoka (@kentmatsuoka) May 14, 2017
Me and my sibs with our mama. We miss her a lot. #MothersDay #MyAsianAmericanFamily #MyAANHPIFamily pic.twitter.com/F7oEvltddW
— Jennifer de Guzman (@Jennifer_deG) May 14, 2017
and #HappyMothersday to my greek family, a different type of AAPI family but #MyAsianAmericanFamily nonetheless. #MyAANHPIFamily #aKDPhi pic.twitter.com/h5w3C0AaQZ
— Susie Lee (@jademulan) May 14, 2017
here’s a look at my family! my mom & dads side, i truly love them all ♡ #MyAsianAmericanFamily #MyAANHPIFamily pic.twitter.com/uUO8zW9Q0r
— fritz (@selmanftdobrik) May 14, 2017
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