Ja Du, born a white male named Adam, now considers himself a Filipino. Turns out the purple ride he drives around in is called a Tuk Tuk, an Asian-derived vehicle used for public transit in the Philippines he says.
Ja Du is part of a small, but growing community of people who considers themselves transracial. It refers to someone born one race, but identifies with another.
Sound weird? Not to them. Ja Du says he grew up enjoying Filipino food, events and the overall culture.
“Whenever I’m around the music, around the food, I feel like I’m in my own skin,” he said.
“I’d watch the history channel sometimes for hours you know whenever it came to that and you know nothing else intrigued me more but things about Filipino culture.”
If you look on Facebook, where we found Ja Du, groups dubbed transracial are popping up with dozens of members.
Dr. Stacey Scheckner is a licensed psychologist with a B.A. from Washington University, plus M.A. and doctorate from Florida State. She hasn’t had a client who wanted to change their race but has worked with many clients wanting to change their body in some way.
...
Ja Du hasn’t told his family yet because he believes they will laugh at the notion of changing your ethnicity. The public was very critical of Dolezal and might be for him as well, but Scheckner believes everyone should be more understanding.
“If that’s who they are and they want to celebrate it and enjoy it, then you have to think what harm is it doing? All they want to do is throw themselves into that culture and celebrate it.”
“I think before we get offended, we need to take a step back and think about what is the harm.”
Many might question Ja Du’s intentions or say that he is a perfect case of cultural appropriation.
He knows this can be a problem, but says he’s not trying to take advantage of anything.
“I believe people will [take advantage] just like other people have taken advantage of their identity to get their way, but the difference between me and them is that I don’t want that. I think that we all have the freedoms to pursue happiness in our own ways,” he said.
That brings up another major change with Ja Du. He is also transsexual and is considering changing his gender as well. He has spoken to his mom and family about that.
I am Japanese.they'll make a statue for you at your human's train stop
I am Japanese.
I am Japanese.
I was about to post a semi-detailed fantasy I had a week or two back about me and etiolate and a couple other posters here, but then I realized the fantasy was transspecies, not transracial. I’ll wait until an appropriate, related news story appears before I share.
And etiolate, no shade, you came across best of anyone included in it.
Did I miss it in the article, or has this loon never actually been to the Philippines?
Can I say I'm transracial so I can sing the n-word along with my favourite N.W.A. song?
Ninjas with attitude. They were big Turtles fans.
Ninjas with attitude. They were big Turtles fans.
Ninja, pls.
Did I miss it in the article, or has this loon never actually been to the Philippines?It makes sense. If he had visited the Philippines and still felt this way, he would truly be crazy.
Ninja is the n-word ICP fans use as a term of endearment or whatever for each other.I may adopt this phraseology.Ninjas with attitude. They were big Turtles fans.Ninja, pls.
Did I miss it in the article, or has this loon never actually been to the Philippines?
He drives around in a Tuk Tuk and watches the History Channel, isn't that enough?
It also looks like he eats a lot of lumpia.
Why cannot the guy just claims to be "Filipino at heart" and leave it at that ?It doesn't put you on the TeeVee.
:confused
Hero, pls.Ninjas with attitude. They were big Turtles fans.
Ninja, pls.
Ninjas with attitude. They were big Turtles fans.
Ninja, pls.
I may adopt this phraseology.
Hero, pls.Ninjas with attitude. They were big Turtles fans.
Ninja, pls.
(in the U.K.)
Actually this is nothing new; anime fans have been doing this for decades! :doge
No, really- when I was a senior in high school in 1998-1999, someone told me that there was a girl name "Michi" who was all into anime. He tells me that Michi is Japanese and she had the dude give me her website. I go home and look at the site, and see that it is a poorly-made fansite for a Sailor Moon character named "Michiru Kaiou." This character has green hair.
The next day in school, my classmate tells me that Michi is sitting at a table across the room at lunch. I look over and don't see any Asians sitting there, but there is a blue-eyed, blonde haired white girl with a bad green hair dye job sitting there looking stupid. And that of course, was "Michi." She was "Japanese."
:neogaf
She was telling everyone that she was a quarter Japanese or some bullshit...because she liked a fucking cartoon character. I told my classmate how full of shit she was and that she appeared to have dyed her hair because of this character and he laughed pretty hard. Never heard him talk about her again and I never talked to this girl since she was an underclassman and I didn't have any classes with her, but I'd occasionally run into her or be around and hear her gushing about anime. Every time she would see me, her face would turn red and she'd stop talking about it, lol. I worked at a video game store at the time and had encountered plenty of otaku-types, but this was the first time I'd ever seen a weeb in the wild, so the memory still stands out.
Actually this is nothing new; anime fans have been doing this for decades! :doge
No, really- when I was a senior in high school in 1998-1999, someone told me that there was a girl name "Michi" who was all into anime. He tells me that Michi is Japanese and she had the dude give me her website. I go home and look at the site, and see that it is a poorly-made fansite for a Sailor Moon character named "Michiru Kaiou." This character has green hair.
The next day in school, my classmate tells me that Michi is sitting at a table across the room at lunch. I look over and don't see any Asians sitting there, but there is a blue-eyed, blonde haired white girl with a bad green hair dye job sitting there looking stupid. And that of course, was "Michi." She was "Japanese."
:neogaf
She was telling everyone that she was a quarter Japanese or some bullshit...because she liked a fucking cartoon character. I told my classmate how full of shit she was and that she appeared to have dyed her hair because of this character and he laughed pretty hard. Never heard him talk about her again and I never talked to this girl since she was an underclassman and I didn't have any classes with her, but I'd occasionally run into her or be around and hear her gushing about anime. Every time she would see me, her face would turn red and she'd stop talking about it, lol. I worked at a video game store at the time and had encountered plenty of otaku-types, but this was the first time I'd ever seen a weeb in the wild, so the memory still stands out.
To be fair, DNA is weird. Who knows if she was telling the truth? And what would it matter? I've got friends (you, too) who have kids who are 1/4 Vietnamese or ½ Asian via China/Philippines/Japan who are blonde and fair skinned. It happens.
It's disappointing that we geeks and nerds, who were bullied most of our lives, seem to look for reasons to take apart people who are close to what we are, the things which interest us, the values we hold.
PS: probably should have taken this to the drunk thread. I had a lovely Chilean red and some bourbon, and am feeling nothing but love. Mostly tough love, but still love.
Actually this is nothing new; anime fans have been doing this for decades! :doge
No, really- when I was a senior in high school in 1998-1999, someone told me that there was a girl name "Michi" who was all into anime. He tells me that Michi is Japanese and she had the dude give me her website. I go home and look at the site, and see that it is a poorly-made fansite for a Sailor Moon character named "Michiru Kaiou." This character has green hair.
The next day in school, my classmate tells me that Michi is sitting at a table across the room at lunch. I look over and don't see any Asians sitting there, but there is a blue-eyed, blonde haired white girl with a bad green hair dye job sitting there looking stupid. And that of course, was "Michi." She was "Japanese."
:neogaf
She was telling everyone that she was a quarter Japanese or some bullshit...because she liked a fucking cartoon character. I told my classmate how full of shit she was and that she appeared to have dyed her hair because of this character and he laughed pretty hard. Never heard him talk about her again and I never talked to this girl since she was an underclassman and I didn't have any classes with her, but I'd occasionally run into her or be around and hear her gushing about anime. Every time she would see me, her face would turn red and she'd stop talking about it, lol. I worked at a video game store at the time and had encountered plenty of otaku-types, but this was the first time I'd ever seen a weeb in the wild, so the memory still stands out.
no dox me pls