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#BeingAsian Is A Hashtag That's Too Real For Many Of Us

Twitter nails it.
Beijing,China
BJI / Blue Jean Images via Getty Images
Beijing,China

Once in a while Twitter users will come up with a hashtag that reflects so many people's everyday lives.

On Tuesday, Mic.com notes, Asians across the Twitter world took up the hashtag #BeingAsian to highlight some of the hilarious truths about having an Asian background and some of the daily struggles people of colour have to face in North America.

The hashtag was first tweeted by 17-year-old Michael Tarui, a Twitter user behind the @AsianAdvocacy Twitter page, and originally started in a group chat, NBC reports.

Tarui wanted to discuss the racism that comes with being Asian on a larger scale. Soon, people began to share their own experiences, both funny and upsetting.

"Confronting issues such as the racism we face and the internalized racism it has caused in many of us is important as it helps us move forward ... We also believed it was important we discussed the issues highly prevalent in our communities such as racism against one another, colourism, and anti-blackness," Tarui told the news site in an e-mail.

The mix of tweets talk about everything from the age-old stereotype of all Asians eating dogs to Asian moms using cookie tins for sewing products to how one user said, "Asian women are over sexualized [and] seen as nothing but exotic [and] submissive while Asian men are de-sexualized [and] only seen as nerds."

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