In Kip Fulbeck's photo gallery "Part Asian, 100% Hapa: A Retrospective," Fulbeck interviews people of mixed Asian descent 10 years after the first interview they participated in. Each of them discusses what their attitude is on being mixed in the different parts of the world they grew up in. For example, some grew up in Thailand, the Bay area, Hawai'i, and some grew up in less diverse areas. A couple of them have been proud to be Hapa for a majority of their living years, and a few discuss what they did struggle with as a half-Asian person. One girl spoke of how she was perceived being half-white in Thailand, and how it did contribute to people being more lenient on her in certain instances. Most of them have come to terms with being half Asian and don't feel the need to explain to anyone or get anyone's approval of being a mixed Asian. No one actually specifically states what they are mixed with except one, who is black and Filipina. From their perspectives, we can see that it is impossible to truly predict how a mixed person feels about being mixed. Some grow up in more welcoming environments while others grow up in less diverse, less welcoming communities. It is not possible to say for sure that a mixed person would look, act, or think a certain way simply because of their mixed blood. In this photo gallery, we can see them being more confident with their appearances and talking about the increasing number of mixed babies born all the time. Just from looking at their photos, it is hard to tell what they are mixed with, and it contributes once again to the idea that it is difficult to tell someone's mix just from looking at them. From this week's reading, I would like to ask: can you truly know someone's ethnic background just from their appearance alone?
People guess who is white among strangers
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