Where are you from?
By Albert Hermo
“Where are you from?”
It’s quite a simple question, however, it’s more complicated for some. For most people knowing which country to call home is easy, but for those with an ethnic background, it often becomes a struggle to answer this. I would answer Australia, but then people would ask “no where were you born?”. What should I say then, should I just repeat the same answer and wait for the awkwardness to sink in? Should I just lie and answer with my parents heritage instead?
These questions continually circle my head whenever I’m asked. But after all the thoughts and questions it often left me wondering, where am I from? I was born in Australia, yet because of my Filipino ethnicity I was always questioned and treated as if I didn’t come from here. Just how was I supposed to feel a sense of belonging to a country that questioned where I was born? In an effort to answer this question, I looked online to the internet, which led me down a rabbit hole of cultural belonging and discovery.
According to the Australian census statistics, a second generation migrant was defined as “a person with at least one parent who was born overseas.” Studies show that this factor of living within two cultures, one taught at home and the other within the community has led to the creation of a “Third Space”. This Third Place was where children of migrants were left to choose between cultures of the ‘home country’ and the ‘new country’. In fact, according to the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues (CMYI). They stated that the dichotomy of being left in a space where children wanted to be like their parents to please them, or being an Australian where you had to reject them (their parents ways) led to a disassociation of identity. This dissociation was often strongly reinforced when identities were questioned through others stereotypical ideas of their appearance. An example would be “you speak English very well” when talking to a person of Asian appearance despite them growing up in Australia.
This “Third Place” while a place of questions and confusion, was also a source of strength and empowerment for some. According to Dr Liza Hopkins of Swinburne University of Technology, the advancement of technology and social media has greatly changed the way in which youth claim their identities. Modern generations could now adopt multiple identities within this space, multiculturalism as their culture. It was through connecting with these online communities that I was able to validate my sense of belonging with the Australian and Asian parts of my identity.
One such group on Facebook was titled “Subtle Asian Traits”. This popular facebook group was founded by a group of Australian-born Asians who decided to create a page that both celebrated and made fun of Asian traits in the Australian-Asian community. Finding other people with the same experiences I had grown up with helped me connect with a society that I couldn’t normally discover in my daily life. Being able to laugh at these traits and experiences that differentiates us from other Australians helped to instill my pride of being an Asian within Australia. Some posts talked about our strict upbringing and the standards of being an asian, others discussed our strange food combinations and how others viewed our cultural traditions with hilarious results.
Moreover this cultural exploration also affected the way I viewed my Australian identity. When I visited these online Australian groups I was surprised at how much I still connected with the Australian community despite also coming from another culture. Facebook pages such as “Australian Memes” or “Ozzy Man Reviews” who targeted Australians, created content that I could also relate to. They referenced the weird Australian sayings and traits we had in a global context, some even made fun of our culture and dangerous animals. All of which I understood through my daily life and being an Australian myself.
No longer was I limited to a choice of Australian or Asian, I realised I could be both. As a second generation migrant I had the privilege of working within the third space of cultural identity. Although I had difficulty discovering this, it was only through my journey within these online communities that I was able to identify my culture and finally answer the question, “Where was I from”? My answer is now both Australia and the Philippines, an answer that I take pride in.
