Six Asian women were killed in Atlanta, Georgia by a white gunman targeting massage parlours — and tragically, this is not an isolated incident. Anti-Asian xenophobia is not a phenomenon where we can sit back as Canadians and believe it doesn’t happen to us. It does, and it opens up the conversation to include racism toward Asian Canadians on a broader level even before COVID-19.
Major cities in the U.S. have seen as much as triple-digit per cent increases in hate crimes against Asian Americans. This was no doubt fueled by Trump’s anti-Asian rhetoric surrounding COVID-19, where he went so far as to refer to it as the “China virus.” Conspiracy theories also gained traction during the beginning of the pandemic, including the idea that COVID-19 was a biological weapon produced by China. These comments and theories, which breed a hateful environment, don’t stop at the border. The important message is that Canada is not immune. In fact, Canada has a higher number of reported anti-Asian hate crimes per Asian capita compared to the U.S., according to Project 1907, a grassroots Asian advocacy group.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh cites in a tweet that in Vancouver alone anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 717 per cent from 2019 to 2020. This led to Singh introducing a motion in the House of Commons to “condemn the rise of anti-Asian racism and racist attacks throughout North America and urge the government to take further action to tackle hate crimes.” This motion requested the federal government to host a federal-provincial meeting centred on the rise of hate crimes and to create and fund dedicated hate crime units across Canada. Singh criticized Trudeau who, on the other hand, tweeted in support of the cause but failed to enact any government action.
We need to look at this form of racism at not just the national level, but also on a local level. A class I took in Summer 2020 had an open discussion for students about the Black Lives Matter movement and how it related to science and academia. Students began opening up about their own experiences with racism and discrimination, including a female Asian student who was called a racial slur while walking in Chilliwack.
The fact that a female Asian classmate was sharing this incident is also not a coincidence. An important aspect of this discrimination is that it disproportionally affects women, according to Project 1907. Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies, explains that this is a combined result of sexism and racism, promoted by the harmful stereotype that Asian women are submissive or meek. Intersectionality is critical to understand in the Georgie massacre: it’s not just that these women were Asian, but they were also targeted because they were women. Assaulters go after those they perceive to be vulnerable, and the racist stereotypes we allow to be perpetuated contribute to this.
On a broader level, and even before COVID-19, Asian women have been marginalized, fetishized, and hypersexualized. There’s the sexualized “China doll” stereotype, the equally sexualized “Dragon Lady” stereotype, the disposable worker stereotype, the high-achieving, model minority stereotype, and more. The gunman who killed Asian women in Georgia was confirmed to be treated for a sex addiction and would visit massage parlours “explicitly to engage in sex acts.” This recent shooting highlights the intersection of misogyny and racism, fueled by negative, sexualized stereotypes of Asian women.
According to the B.C. government’s website, hate crimes are one of the most underreported offences. U.S. advocacy group, Stop AAPI Hate, says if you witness an assault or verbal harassment, you can take action by introducing yourself and offering emotional support, actively listening to the victim, and accompanying them leaving the area. You can also check out free bystander intervention training online to learn new skills to de-escalate incidents of harassment. Whenever you can, dispel myths about COVID-19 being associated with a location or ethnicity. Support Asian-owned businesses and restaurants that may be struggling economically. Reach out to your workplace, schools, and community groups to issue statements denouncing anti-Asian xenophobia.
Now’s the time that we, as a community, need to take a stand against xenophobia and demand our governments to do the same. This national scrutiny of Asian hate crimes can’t become another headline that gets buried and forgotten — substantial change needs to be made politically and individually. Now, more than ever, our Asian Canadian neighbours need our solidarity.
(Juliana Romão /Unsplash)
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.
