‘Chinese’ or ‘Any other Asian’. The boxes that people of vastly varied East and South East Asian heritage have to tick when declaring their ethnicity on many forms in the UK.
This represents a shameful sweeping together of a diverse heritage and experience. East and South East Asian people have lived and worked in the UK for centuries, fought for the British Army in both world wars, have influenced British culture through food, writing, music and art in a multitude of ways. And yet this influence is often overlooked.
People of ESEA heritage experience unique forms of racism. Asian food is mocked as unhealthy and Asian restaurants as dirty. ESEA women are exoticised and sexualised, and assumed to be the nanny of their mixed-race children. The community was scapegoated for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Anna Sulan Masing addresses these issues in a comprehensive way. She explores what it means to be East and South East Asian in Britain today, and celebrates the varied experiences that make up ESEA identity. Powerful, moving and illuminating, this will be a must-read for anyone interested in the make-up of our multicultural society.
Chinese and Any Other Asian by Anna Sulan Masing (Hardback)
Dr Anna Sulan Masing is a writer, poet & academic based in London. She is the co-founder and EIC of Sourced, a public research project, and of Cheese: The Magazine of Culture. Anna is one half of podcast Voices At The Table and co-founder of communications agency A+F Creative.