MidgarBlowedUp
Member
Based on just looks I'd place her in the bottom 3 of all the contestants with Tokyo at #1.
Very pretty. Mixed race people are generally very good looking so more of that please.
That doesn't sound like a very definitive answer...
Either way, being born and raised in Nagasaki most likely means that she identifies more with Japan than her father's homeland. Hard to say for certain, though..
My son is Canadian. He was born here. He lives here.This is his country. I was born in india. I consider my self Canadian too. Other then his skin colour he does not have anything to do with india.
Yeah, I just want to point out that Ariana also has, at the very least, some tangential connection to America; after completing middle school she "went to USA to complete her studies". So I don't think we can say for certain that she doesn't identify with the US at all.
But again, it would depend on the person as to the cultures they end up connecting to.
Why is it strange? People identify how they want to. My dad and his parents love the Italian American stuff. I don't care for it because I don't identify with it beyond joking about an inner Jersey guido or what have you. I disregard it, in other words. Not ashamed, just a lack of pride because I don't care either way. My sister embraces the Italian American "heritage" fully.
I don't think either of us is objectively right or normal. When a person makes a choice not out of shame or desire to belong to group, but just based on what they feel is important or not, I don't see the strangeness.
Are her parents not married since she has a Japanese familiy name? Just curious.
Basically both of you are saying it's both. You have to look Japanes and be Japanese or you will suffer racism. Got it.I thought it was pretty clear that I wasn't only talking about appearance. I'm sure that someone who totally looked Japanese, sounded Japanese and acted Japanese would have trouble in certain situations with landlords who had a no foreigner policy.
Basically both of you are saying it's both. You have to look Japanes and be Japanese or you will suffer racism. Got it.
I wonder if they feel the same way about a white woman representing America.Sucks that she has to deal with people saying she shouldn't represent Japan because she isn't pureblooded Japanese or some bullshit like that
oh hello racists in Kotaku comments
It's not going to happen in a homogenous culture(whatever 100% means). Also are you suggesting they're not at all Australian? It's awesome to be a part of multiple cultures and it would be a shame for them to be raised without being aware of both.That's what it seems like in my experience. I'll get to see first hand how life is for a person who is essentially Japanese (my two sons) despite looking different (they are both half Japanese). They will also be influenced by myself, an Australian so even though I don't personally think that that detracts from their "Japaneseness" it will undoubtedly make them stand out in the way they view things, being opinionated, etc.
Not how I feel about it at all. I believe that even if one of your parents is from a different culture that the fact you live here, go through the education system here and are constantly surrounded by other Japanese people, etc should be more than enough to make you 100% Japanese.
You know what they mean - same shit that this woman is facing in Japan. It is racism mixed with multiculturalism with a dash of political correctness to make it less bitter.
Edit: Not to say that multiculturalism is bad - but it is often used as a justification for telling someone they can't be x because they are y. Multiculturalism should be about taking many different cultures and making them your own, not telling people what they can't be because they are also something else.
It's not going to happen in a homogenous culture(whatever 100% means). Also are you suggesting they're not at all Australian? It's awesome to be a part of multiple cultures and it would be a shame for them to be raised without being aware of both.
that is my point. Every single day some one mentions oh you are Indian so this and that. Every Single day. This are not new people either they know me at job at market. I grew up here my son is Canadian yet they will ask question about politics to rape to everything like i am Indian and i should be responsible for those answer.
When you play sports they say hey you are suppose to play cricket. When I say I have one kid only they say how many more are coming there are one billion there. Every day something happens. One guy seriously asked and this is in office that how come you don't have more than one wife it is very common right in india?
I am going to start asking each person mentioning my indianess their background. If they say Canadian I will tell them if you are not native you are not from this point. just ask them where their forefathers where from and once i know i am never mentioning them as Canadian.
Example from one week before. I literally walk without any heavy jacket in -20c no problem. I am used to it. Weak ago i was not feeling well. Temperature was in positives at this point but i bundled up. First comment in the office was " It is too for you guys eh!. IT is not this cold in india. Get used to this cold" . Could he not see that i was not feeling well and just said hey man not feeling well? Above all this are the guys that bitch and moan about winter all year long. Go to vacation to cuba. While I have never said single word about it because by mistake if i say it is too cold i am sure i will be reminded of why i feel cold.
one day i will be happy if they actually comment on me being me rather than everything about be making it relevant to my ethnicity. Sorry for rant. This is getting off topic.
No- she is Japanese. I think that is the point of the thread. Genetically she is half African American and half Japanese- but culturally she identifies as being Japanese. Culture trumps genetics.
Anyways, I just asked my wife - who is Japanese- what she thought of it. She said is is strange and makes her feel weird because she is not fully Japanese- that it isn't fair because she is half. This is the mother of a biracial child saying this might I add.
I didnt want to fight with her about it, but after I asked she said if we had a daughter that wanted to be in a pagent, then she wouldn't want her to represent Japan.
Based on just looks I'd place her in the bottom 3 of all the contestants with Tokyo at #1.
Cute girl, tbh her contenders would maybe profit from sunbathing instead of 'being white'. That Asian norm is a bit outdated.
Anyway racism is bad, you have stuff like that in Europe too. Fact is that the best Miss gets selected.
You're going to have to explain that first paragraph.
Unless they were abandoned at birth most half children are in a unique position and will have different experiences than the average kid. Pointing that out or being inquisitive is not malicious.Homogenous doesn't have to mean that they can't be accepting, though.
I am going to raise them as Australian and to make sure they know about my country of birth. I just don't see why that will detract from how Japanese they are in the eyes of many.
Unless they were abandoned at birth most half children are in a unique position and will have different experiences than the average kid. Pointing that out or being inquisitive is not malicious.
Basically imo, harassment and prejudice against say, someone who's mother is a Korean immigrant = heinous racism. A white guy whining about not being 100% inconspicuous in an Asian country after 10 years = whatever.
I mean how much of an actual handicap is people noticing your heritage for people?
I don't think you have to worry about pale skin going out of style in east asia anytime soonBut what's wrong with having pale skin? It's certainly healthier than "sunbathing".
But what's wrong with having pale skin? It's certainly healthier than "sunbathing".
You do realize that, having pale skin, sunbathing will destroy your skin right? It's not like sunbathing gives you protection from UV.Enjoy your freckles and liver spots when you're old
You do realize that, having pale skin, sunbathing will destroy your skin right? It's not like sunbathing gives you protection from UV.
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So is Utada Hikaru American?
I don't get why this is even being brought up. She was born in Japan, she is Japanese. As well as being American, if she so chooses to be. Dual nationalities shouldn't stop people from feeling whole in either. She is no less Japanese just because she went to study in the US after middle school nor because her Dad wasn't Japanese.
Are her parents not married since she has a Japanese familiy name? Just curious.
It's funny you mention Utada Hikaru, because even she, with two Japanese parents, occasionally got treated differently and joked about for being "kikokushijo" or a returnee from abroad.
It's pretty obvious why this is brought up and it's because a lot of people have a pretty narrow definition of what makes someone Japanese. When someone has the option to choose either or, then it makes me who don't know that person question their Japaneseness. I'm not saying it's a good thing, but as long as we have things like nationality-based identities, I don't see it changing.
Look, the point is, this is a very outdated view that is hurtful to people. There are people who can deal with being told they are not like the rest of others, but especially in a place like Japan it would be hard to speak out as it is.
It's just a sense of pride really. The fact that even in the UK people have issues with identity means that in Japan it must definitely feel worse since they have a need to label people in almost every conversation.
Utada Hikaru is no more Japanese than this girl who won this pageant. Can't we simply agree that anyone who complains is a piece of shit? There is no other side of the argument that makes sense.
I mean shit, even when people are outside of their country, they care about their identity. At the very least I don't get the "where are you really from" in Japan, which is a pleasant surprise.
Worse, I went to school with a girl who had one Chinese parent and people referred to her as Chinese, stereotypes included. It pissed her off.
There is no way this stuff doesn't happen in Japan, is even worse, and is harder to speak out about. And "you don't understand because you are not Japanese" would be the worst thing to hear and I see it in these blogs all the time. God forbid my child will grow up to be a little different and assertive, have different hobbies from the masses, and is branded that it is all because her blood isn't pure.
If anything I assume this competition has similar judges to the international competition. It's a good thing, because I doubt if Miss Universe Japan were not an international competition she would ever be allowed to win since this girl doesn't "look" Japanese. Until that can happen, there is still xenophobia.
EDIT: Oh apparently 2014 was also Nagasaki, whoa.
No, I think I'll pass on that one. You're just drawing lines in a different way.
but Japan is absolutely still a country by and for the Japanese
Are you saying, even slightly implying, that you accept your half-child to not be Japanese?
Pointing out that the US still has racism prevalent doesn't make it okay and excuse ignorance in Japan.
No, of course he's Japanese, just like Ariana is. Thankfully we have laws that guarantee his status and (theoretically) prevent overt discrimination.
That's not going to stop people in both countries (U.S. and Japan in my case) from questioning his origin and identity. I'm optimistic that things will get better as time goes on, but it's not going to change over night. Personally, I'm not willing to condemn people and dehumanize them as "pieces of shit" simply for their ignorance. If they act on that ignorance in a malicious or violent way, then that's a different story, of course.
I think it should make it easier to understand to a reasonable person. If even the best example we have of multiculturalism is still rife with ignorance and racism, then how can we expect a homogenous country that values conformity to be somehow more enlightened? Humans are going to be human in the end.
how isn't the hottest girl in the universe a redhead? that makes no sense whatsoever
Ariana is cute but Akita got robbed. But the fact that the win is pissing off the racists in her country makes it delicious. Eat progress, you small minded bigots.I am trying to find a girl I think is cuter than Ariana
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