The Sub-Umbrella

Last week I went to a fundraiser for a domestic violence advocacy organization called KAN WIN (Korean American Women In Need) with my mom who also works in this area. Thinking back to the event after our discussions on Orientalism I realized that the stereotypes Asian American women face have deep roots in the mystification and degradation of their own culture. After eating some mooncake and listening to one of their performers very slow version of “Over the Rainbow”, survivors and daughters of survivors of domestic violence gave testimonials. A common trend throughout their speeches was the intersection between the discrimination they faced as women and the discrimination they faced as Asian Americans. 

The organization was created in the early 80s as a response to second wave feminism. Many non-Asian women and men running domestic violence organizations claimed that Asian American women weren’t using their services because they were too “strict”, “submissive” and “passive.” KAN WIN was created by Asian American women for Asian American women in the Chicago area. KAN WIN took a different approach than other organizations and did outreach in their own language and catered to their own cultural background. Since its creation, KAN WIN has served thousands of men and women, and has educated communities on gender-based violence.

One of the most interesting parts of the night was seeing all the subcultures under the stereotypical umbrella of “Asian culture.” Even among the similarly aged Korean women sitting at the table with my mom and me there were cultural divisions. All the women at the table were third generation Korean American but two of them did not speak Korean and were received with a touch of hostility by the five other women who did. My mom and I, as the clear outsiders, overheard the five women accusing the two of Americanizing their kids, of not continuing Korean culture.

These conversations at the table made me think of how The God of Small Things was received in present day Ayemenem (more accurately Kottayam). Both Roy and the citizens of Ayemenem come from the same “umbrella culture” but, like the women at my table, they experience different subcultures that shape the way they view the world. Roy’s portrayal of Ayemenem was different and untrue to the way that many of its citizens experienced it but true to Roy’s experience. Realities are relative.

Orientalism doesn’t even depict the “umbrella cultures”, it shows one “ozone layer culture” and definitely has some holes in it. Depicting thousands of cultures and subcultures, and millions of experiences with a dozen white washed stereotypes speaks no type of truth.