Seira Narita: Week Four Readings for ASA 115

The readings required for week four included “From Dust to Gold: The Vietnamese Amerasian Experience” by Kieu Linh Valverde, “Happy Hearts All Day: The ‘Plight’ of Mixed-Race American-Okinawans, 1965-present” by Akemi Johnson & Lily Anne Yumi Welty, and “Desire and Dislocation: Asian International Transracial Adoptee Cultural Production and Mixed Race Identity Discourse” by Greg Choy. The readings provided apply to the theme of "Sleeping with the Enemy and War Babies" as these authors discuss the stereotypes and discriminations faced by people of mixed race who were born from women and soldiers of war. These multiracial people have been labelled as “Amerasians.” They experience a particular set of issues as they not only face the preconceived notions and stereotypes from their communities, but they also deal with struggles as refugees and immigrants. However, Amerasians are attempting to break down these stereotypes and generalizations with the use of education and self-awareness.

In “From Dust to Gold: The Vietnamese Amerasian Experience” by Kieu Linh Valverde, the author discusses the experiences of Amerasians from Vietnamese women and American soldiers during the Vietnam war. They confronted many issues such as being looked down upon by both American and Vietnamese communities, and being perceived as the result of “sleazy” flings during the war. Additionally, the author reviews “bui doi,” or Amerasians labelled “the dust of life,” that are viewed as being lower in society as they were the “homeless or rebellious individuals” (148). Reading this article reminded me of the Broadway musical Miss Saigon. This musical covers issues such as the racism and sexism faced by mothers of Amerasian children in being considered as traitors from both groups. This musical also touches on bui doi by displaying the struggle of a Vietnamese mother to get her Amerasian child to the United States so he could have a chance at a better life. Although this musical is based around the tragic tale of a romance, it made many efforts in educating people on the experiences of Amerasian children and the generalizations made about those with the “American dream.”