As racism and hate crime surges, being an Asian-American woman is like living in a bell jar

Daily life is now viewed through the lens of race and ethnicity, where any possible discrimination, bias or ignorance comes under intense scrutiny

But out of the negativity has come a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion by corporate America and public and private organisations

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A child attends an AAPI Rally Against Hate in New York on March 21. Photo: Bloomberg

Amy Wu

Amy Wu is a Chinese American journalist based in New York and California who writes about cross-cultural issues.

Published: 3:30am, 22 Apr 2021Updated: 3:41am, 22 Apr 2021

A lot of thought goes into being Asian-American these days. For me, this starts with a somewhat frenzied search for identity.

Even before the Atlanta shootings on March 16, I was struggling with an identity crisis. I have had multiple identities – swimmer, writer, journalist, daughter, sister, single person, woman who identifies with the pronouns she/her/hers. I am an ABC, an American-born Chinese, and the daughter of first-generation immigrants.

That said, for the first time in my life, I have found myself scrutinising the shades of what could be discrimination, bias or ignorance. Daily existence is now viewed through the lens of race/ethnicity, something completely foreign to me.

At the swimming pool, my ritual of greeting fellow swimmers with “good morning” elicited a “konnichiwa” from a woman. Before I could correct her, she disappeared. It seemed somewhat comical and yet it lingered a bit, an unappealing aftertaste.