The Problem With Awkwafina
Why a pattern of cultural appropriation isn’t harmless fun.
Two weeks ago, Awkwafina hosted Saturday Night Live. The breakout star from Crazy Rich Asians and stage name of Nora Lum, Awkwafina has risen from YouTube personality to bona fide Hollywood celebrity.
But while many find Awkwafina’s act endearing, just as many question her sincerity.
Before I begin…
…I am a white guy. A ginger. The spitting image of my red-haired father. However, my mother is Japanese. Born in Japan during the occupation, she and her mother immigrated to America in the late 1950s.
My grandmother was the rock of our family, the matriarch. Though her regal face was present all throughout my childhood, it was absent in many aspects of Americana. Few people in TV or movies looked like Nana. So whenever I saw positive Asian or Asian American performers, it felt like a victory. It’s still a feel-good moment for me to this day.
I tell you this not to prove allegiance, but to explain that Asian American representation is important to me. I’m thrilled over the smashing success of Crazy Rich Asians, and I want everyone involved to keep doing what they’re doing.
Everyone except Awkwafina.
The Problem
For those out of the loop, Awkwafina has been accused of cultural appropriation. In her rapper facade, she dresses in (supposed) inner-city fashion, throws her voice, and flamboyantly waves her arms around.
Her role in Crazy Rich Asians, Goh Peik Lin, takes this behavior to the next level. Lin exaggerates her mannerisms, going all-in with gesture and speech, snapping her fingers theatrically while parroting African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
In fact, Awkwafina’s entire portfolio to date — from her YouTube rap videos, to her role as Constance in Ocean’s 8, to Lin in Crazy Rich Asians — has relied on this stereotype. It’s a pattern. And that’s a problem.
Cultural appropriation is a very misunderstood concept, and it’s often mistaken for gatekeeping. It doesn’t mean “only people of this background can do this.” Rather, it’s about pointing out a double-standard.
“‘Well-spoken?’ What, did he have a stroke or something?”
That quote came from one of my friends last week, as he vented over an experience at work. After a job applicant — who was a black man — had finished his interview, my buddy asked the manager what he thought of him. “I really liked him,” the boss said. “He’s very well-spoken.”
Discrimination based on dialect is a real thing. And it’s not just anecdotal evidence — peer-reviewed study supports this statement.
Professor John Baugh is a linguistics expert who has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, and Washington University at St. Louis. He’s also African American, and has dealt with racial discrimination in his own life.
For example, while house-hunting in Los Angeles, Baugh noticed that real estate agents he spoke with on the phone expressed surprise when they met him in person. Baugh inferred they assumed he was white, due to his professional phone demeanor. This isn’t insidious, as our mind’s eye can sometimes fabricate a face for a voice. I do it with NPR reporters all the time.
But what’s damning was that upon meeting Baugh, some agents did an about-face and claimed the property was no longer available. By some miraculous last-second deal — or lapse of memory until a black man pulled into the driveway — the home was off the market.
This would inspire Prof. Baugh to conduct an experiment. Multiple housing advertisements were selected, and each received three phone calls from a different intonation of English. One was described as African American vernacular, another as Mexican American vernacular, and the last as Standard English vernacular.
“Hello. I’m calling about the apartment you have advertised in the paper,” was how every call began.
The findings:
“The results demonstrate that landlords discriminate against prospective tenants on the basis of the sound of their voice during telephone conversations.”
Purnell, Idsardi, Baugh. 1999. “Perceptual and Phonetic Experiments on American English Dialect Identification.” Journal of Language and Social Psychology Vol 18 №1 (March).
Specifically, response rates discriminated against the African American and Mexican American dialects, significantly favoring the caller using Standard English.
Though AAVE may have real-world consequences to some, it doesn’t seem to have adverse effect on Awkwafina. In fact, it’s been quite beneficial, a cash cow of an act. It’s brought her fame and fortune.
Isn’t it ironic that people who actually use this dialect are met with prejudice and hardship, yet people who imitate it in performance are welcomed with success?
As it happens, English has a word for this phenomenon:
Minstrel
3 a : any of a troupe of performers typically giving a program of black American melodies, jokes, and impersonations and usually wearing blackface
Awkwafina may not wear blackface, but it’s undeniable that her act has relied on a caricature of African Americans.
What’s disappointing is that Awkwafina fiercely opposes the stereotypical Asian accent and understands the hurtfulness of tacky impersonations. In an interview with Broadly she even explained that performing the accent would make her feel like she’s “making a minstrel out of [her] people.”
Back in college, I knew a Japanese exchange student. When she first studied abroad in America, her host family helped her become fluent in English. Naturally, she absorbed their mannerisms, as well as the dialect they used. She was hosted by a black family in the south, so she “sounded black.” But the key thing is it wasn’t an act or front. It was genuine.
Awkwafina is a different case. While Lum is a proud New Yorker, she grew up in Forest Hills, a middle-class neighborhood in Queens. It’s also mostly Asian and white. In fact, the last census put the black population in Forest Hills at only 2.5%. She didn’t exactly live south of 8 Mile Road. To claim Awkwafina is just Lum honoring her hood is a stretch at best, and a deceit at worst.
Some people draw parallels to Eddie Huang, claiming that Awkwafina is a victim of a sexist double-standard. The snapback-wearing, hip hop-loving Huang has been accused of cultural appropriation, misogyny, and even bigotry. His brash, outspoken attitude has gotten him in hot water throughout his life. But with Eddie Huang, what you see is what you get. There’s little pretense — he doesn’t hide behind an alter-ego like Lum does with Awkwafina.
I want to reiterate that I wish Nora Lum well. I don’t think she’s a bigot, I don’t think she’s a bad person, and I’m not even calling her a one-trick pony.
But I’m not a hypocrite. If I condemn those who stereotype Asian Americans, I have to call Asian Americans out on their own misbehavior. Awkwafina’s schtick is unacceptable, and we shouldn’t look past it.
Hopefully Lum will prove me wrong. I would love to eat crow if she breaks typecast, expands her range, and becomes a great representative of Asian Americans in media.
But until then, I have to call Awkwafina what she is: a 21st century minstrel.
Update: October 2019
Since the publication of this article last year, Nora Lum — still acting under her stage name of Awkwafina — has indeed expanded her repertoire of acting roles. 2019’s The Farewell featured Lum in an outstanding lead role that was critically-acclaimed; and she’s set to have supporting roles in Raya and the Last Dragon and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
This makes me very happy for Lum and proud of her, as I mentioned in my thesis that I wanted her to branch out and not fall into a character-acting niche. She did exactly that.
That said, I will leave the original article unedited and as it was, because I stand by my examples of what cultural appropriation is and why it’s wrong.
Lastly: I never thought this story would get over 1000 claps! Thank you so much for reading and enjoying this article, it means a lot to me!
You can also find me on LinkedIn and Twitter! Much love to you, dear reader!
