Climate change isn’t a race thing. Nevertheless, we often tend to stereotype white women as the “face” of sustainability, in ways good or bad. Vegan “Karens” who shame people who eat meat. A vsco girl, often white, wielding scrunchies and metal straws, screaming, “SAVE THE TURTLES!!!”, and white businesswomen promoting their reusable coffee cups.
But really, is that an accurate view of our society? No. Although many might not know it, Asian parents are doing their fair part in keeping the earth clean in ways that you might not expect.
Growing up in an Asian household meant that my parents were very conscious of the environment and made sure I ate every last bit of rice in my bowl. “Think about the less fortunate!” they would say whenever I didn’t finish my bowl of rice. Though this did make me feel overfull sometimes, it did make me think more about where my food was going. Now, I mostly try to leave leftovers in the fridge and eat them for breakfast the next day.
It would be wrong to say that all Asian parents act this way. There are wasteful and environmentally conscious people regardless of race, gender, or age. But why is that when people use metal straws or it’s seen as a “trendy” and desirable thing to do, whereas when some Asian parents save plastic bags it’s put down to frugality?
Once, I had a friend over at my house and we were cooking some meringues. As my friend reached into the cupboard to find a mixing bowl, she noticed the big ball of plastic grocery bags. “Why do you have that there?” she asked somewhat incredulously as if she couldn’t fathom why on earth plastic bags would be saved there. I told her that the grocery bags were saved by my parents, who liked re-using them, and that it was more environmentally friendly.
“But why, though? Are reusable grocery bags that expensive?” she asked. To be fair to my friend, I’m sure that she meant no offense. However, I didn’t like how she put my reasonable explanation for why the plastic bags were under the sink aside and immediately assumed that they were there solely so that we could save money.
My friend’s flawed method of thinking wasn’t a one-off case. I know a close Asian friend of mine who had a (now ex) boyfriend, whom she invited over to dinner. Over the dinner table, the topic that they were discussing turned to cars, and he expressed surprise over my friend’s family’s car, a fully functional Hyundai Santa Fe, and told them that they should “relax” and “get a new car”. He said that with a house like theirs, they could surely afford a better car and told them to “loosen up”. Again, this probably wasn’t intentionally offensive but it implied that they were too frugal to get a new one.
The answer behind why some are led to think that Asians are more frugal in a negative way lies in “covert racism”. Covert racism is an umbrella term for a number of methods that are used to oppress people of color subtly. A good example of this would be the stereotype of Asian women as being “submissive” and “exotic”. Though on the outside this may seem like words of praise, these phrases objectify Asian women and aren’t compliments at all. This sort of covert racism is applied to Asian parents when we apply the double standard of ridiculing them for not throwing plastic bags away or acting “cheap”, whilst applauding those that pick trash up from the ground. In reality, both are commendable acts and deserve praise.
Asians aren’t excessive penny-pinchers most of the time. They just tend to think carefully about where their money goes, how things can be repurposed, and prioritize their money on other matters of importance such as education instead of buying their children’s cell phones or turning the heater on. For some, this kind of lifestyle may seem unfathomable and too minimalistic, which is understandable. But for many Asian families, it’s how they feel at peace, and I see no problem at all, especially when their environmentally conscious ways aren’t hurting but also helping others.
Image credit: Hans Braxmeier