With a simple hashtag, one teen is giving Asians the recognition they deserve.
As part of a project for her AP Language and Composition class, Caitlin Delim, a 17-year-old from Las Vegas, started a campaign on Twitter to highlight the way Asians are represented in the media -- or aren't represented, rather. Using the hashtag #PraisinTheAsian, Delim, who is Filipino-American, shared her experience with being reduced to a stereotype and asked her fellow Twitter users to post photos and share their stories to reflect "the true diversity of the Asian community" and "how beautiful each individual culture is."
"Media tends to dismiss any Asian as a singular identity, but I hope my tag allows people to see how truly vast the possibilities are when it comes to the Asian community," Delim told The Huffington Post.
Though Delim thought that #PraisinTheAsian would stay within her group of friends, it soon spread throughout Twitter and became a trending hashtag. Some Twitter users embraced their backgrounds through photos, and others expanded on the stereotypes they've faced.
One week later, Twitter users are still tweeting with #PraisinTheAsian. Delim told The Huffington Post she's not done with the hashtag either, adding that she's interested in making shirts and a website to keep her campaign going. For now, she's proud of the Asian community online for helping her make a crucial point about the importance of representation.
"I'm hoping that the Asian presence on Twitter is able to make a statement that we come in all shapes and sizes and do not abide by the stereotypes that media has given us," she told HuffPost. "We are so much more than a physicality. We are strong individuals who have an arsenal of talents just waiting to be used."
See more #PraisinTheAsian tweets below.
H/T BuzzFeed
