Hapa; you see that word everywhere who claims being half Asian / Pacific Islander. Some people may even look at you funny if you’re white passing and you say that you’re of Asian decent. Mostly because white passing people have very few qualities that make them “look” or “act” Asian… It seems kind of racist doesn’t? Just because you don’t look, sound, have an Asian last name, or the so called intelligence of your forefathers, means that you can’t be Hapa.
But, the true question is, do we even recognize Quapas? The answer, sadly, is not really. Now you may be scratching your head saying what is a Quapa. Well they are a quarter of Asian decent. Now these people are in the ultimate search for self identity. They can’t exactly check off being Asian, yet, they aren’t fully white either. Being a quarter of anything and wanting to claim it, is easy, but it comes with a lot of ridicule and dirty looks. The “You can’t be Asian (insert a number of reason)!” Therefore, you are forced to keep quiet and go along with the I’m just White or Black or Latino. See Hapas’ face some difficulties but they can easily claim their ethnicity. We must open our eyes and see that Quapas are just as important as anyone else. Why do we feel to ridicule someone who wants to claim part of their heritage?
As someone who can claim being a Quapa I can personally relate to the challenges of trying to claim my heritage. I’ve gotten hate messages, dirty looks, and snide remarks saying that I’m not Asian because I don’t look or sound it. I’ve have been very hesitant to even claim it since I’ve had to keep throwing proof at people that I know still won’t believe what they see because I am not the textbook looking Chinese person. Of course I’m not going to look pure, I’m mixed, yet people are still saying that that is impossible to be of mixed Asian decent. But as I write this for everyone who is going through the same thing, we can unite and show the world that even though we may be a minority we are still here and that we deserve to be able to claim our family heritage that has been shoved into the dark!
Please feel free to share your stories about trying to claim your identity and showing it to the world!
Quapa: A hybrid of quarter and hapa. Refers to a person’s cultural/ethnic identity as being a quarter or three-quarters of something, in other words at least one parent is hapa or half. One could be three-quarters Japanese American and one-quarter European American or one-quarter Japanese American and one-quarter French Canadian and half African American.
Urban Dictionary
GenZNews 
This literally brought me to tears. I am quapa and have struggled my whole life not feeling “Asian enough” to claim it as a part of me. Both of my parents grew up in Asia so my cultural identity feels much more than 25%, but I’m white passing so people think I’m just another white girl into Asian culture. I’ve had the hardest time finding people who understand and share this struggle. Thank you for speaking out for Quapas!
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My grandmother is from Korea and I go through the exact same thing, however I think racism is what makes a person Asian in this society. My mother and grandmother experience racism on a daily basis but I am white passing and look more Irish than Korean. Though I might be culturally Asian, having celebrated the 100 day anniversary, celebrating lunar New Year, and grown up making Korean food; I will never have the experience in this country that my mother and grandmother had. So you and I are culturally Asian of course, but we will never know what it is like to live in this society like our parent and grandparent because we were not made to feel like outsiders in the way that they were.
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And some people who are 1/4 still do not pass as “white enough” to the dominant culture. I concede that there are privileges if people are passing as the dominant culture (generally Caucasian in the United States), and in some contexts, people may pass more than others. But there are also people who are not “white passing enough” to be judged as white, or not fully (which to most Caucasians means non-white). I have been mistaken as over a dozen different ethnicities (mostly polynesian or Hispanic). Sometimes even as part of a more darker skinned Asian group such as South Asian or Filipinas, but no one can tell I belong to the ancestry I do.
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And some people who are 1/4 still do not pass as “white enough” to the dominant culture. I concede that there are privileges if people are passing as the dominant culture (generally Caucasian in the United States), and in some contexts, people may pass more than others. Many ‘quapas’ very much fit in this category, and people could benefit from being aware of when they ‘pass’ and do not ‘pass’ as part of the dominant power. But there are also people who are not “white passing enough” to be judged as white, or not fully (which to most Caucasians means non-white). I have been mistaken as over a dozen different ethnicities (mostly polynesian or Hispanic). Sometimes even as part of a more darker skinned Asian group such as South Asian or Filipinas, but no one can tell I belong to the ancestry I do.
And yes, some quapas, though it is not widely reported, do face discrimination for their heritage, even if not the same level as a full-on person of Asian descent.
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Yes this is very true. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and white skin. However, my sister who is also a quapa looks more Korean and is not white passing. Someone even said to my white dad in a store, “Where did you get that Asian baby?”(about my sister). People have questioned if my half Korean mother is really my nanny. The experiences of quapas are all different, I have the choice to hide my Asian identity (and I don’t because I am not ashamed and don’t give a fuck) but my sister, mother, and grandmother will not have this choice. People made Asian eyes at me once after finding out about my Asian family but if they hadn’t seen my family for themselves they never would have known. (I got my revenge though and told them to “fuck off you racist motherfuckers, this is my family and you’re just jealous about how good looking we are.”)
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Related article:
https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Mixing-it-up-Multiracialism-redefines-Asian-2381990.php
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Also, sorry my double-post happened. I was trying to edit the original post and for some reason the forum decided I made two. 😦
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I’m gen z and a quapa. It’s not about feeling “Asian” enough. As quapas, our parents and grandparents will experience racism because they look Asian. I can’t tell you how many times someone has looked at my half Korean mother and mistook her for my nanny. As quapas, it is our place to stick up for our parent and grandparent and use our white privilege to stop racists (if you are a white quapa). The people complaining in the comments about not being “Asian” enough are ridiculous. If you are a quapa then you do not look Asian and therefore will not be treated in society like an Asian. Yes our parent and grandparent will have this experience but we will not. You can say that you are culturally Asian. I, for example look white but grew up eating Korean food and having a 100 day celebration and celebrating lunar New Year. There is a difference between this and experiencing racism on a daily basis like our parents (unless you are a quapa of color). Therefore, we will of course never be Asian like or parents or grandparents because they go through Asian racism; but we will grow up with them and defend them from racism which still gives us the experience of being in an Asian family.
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Edit: I failed to mention that there are quapas who look Asian. My sister looks more Asian even though she is genetically more white. For those people, of course they will experience racism. My dad was once asked where he got an Asian baby (my sister) since he is white. The comment above was intended for white looking Asians like myself who do not struggle with the same racism that Asian looking quapas and Asians in general do.
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Thank you for your words. I also wish I had come to the same insights as you sooner. Though ethnic ambiguity is not the same as White Anglo appearing, I still took for granted how I was spared some of the worse treatment that my mother and grandmother went through. Exoticization and fetishization is not the same as fearing ICE agents coming, or other assumptions. Racism on passing folks is significantly soft scaled. Unless someone is actively looking for your difference, Otherness is not painted on your face the way it is others.
I am hoping to write about the topic of how whiter adjacent multiracials have upheld systems of oppression and conversations related to this one will be referenced. We often get stuck in our own dissonance with how we are treated and how we identify, and forget to make space for our less passing relations. And even if we are still mostly mistaken as another racial group, the White ancestry still insulates us from maltreatment to one extent or another.
Thank you again for speaking truth.
I also found out that quapa and hapa are both taken from native Hawaiians who are 1/2 and 1/4. Code switch by NPR has an article on it. So I have chosen to eschew use of the terms except to note their origins now, and just stick to White-POC Multiracial or mixed race.
–A
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A reflection:
To be clear, passing privilege is also not as simple as being seen as white. Ethnic ambiguity, which I have, I realize this past year is technically passing privilege. At the end of the day, I will not be directly singled out nearly as much as full on Asians. And we all as said have a responsibility to stick up for our family when they face the worse of the oppression.
In short, passing does not negate ethnicity. What it does means is being willing to dismantle the privilege of being more white adjacent. I have taken colorism for granted before and I am now more vigilant on it.
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Great post!! As someone who is hapa with children who are quapa, I agree that we should recognize them & that they should identify as such if they choose to. The fact that they are a quarter Asian doesn’t diminish their Asian-ness. They should celebrate that quarter of them.
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