As usual. Beautiful piece and so so real. I'm south Asian (Pakistani) and I've been saying phrases like "it's like the Walmart of Pakistan" SO MUCH. Even to people who aren't white. Because we're fed so much American content that we understand what someone means by Walmart of something. Even if we live across rhe globe and have only heard of america as this perfect place that you can never go to. It's crazy to me just how americanised we get without even realising. Like I'm not whitewashed, many people aren't, but ideas like these are just so embedded in us it's actually insane to think about. And also adding onto the shifting countries, I moved from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia when I was like 7. And the cultural shock I got when I couldn't eatch Cartoon Network or Hindi dubbed Doremon on TV anymore was CRAZY. I was suddenly watched cartoons in Arabic dub, and getting annoyed because I couldn't understand ANYTHING. Even the English ones I didn't get, because at the time I wasn't good in English either. Small things like corn on cob as a street food wete gone, I hated caned corn so much. The ice creams I've eaten for 7 years (Corneto, Walls, etc) were gone replaced by arab brands that I didn't like the taste of. I wasn't singing Pakistans national anthem at school but instead Saudis. Half my class was arab and the language barrier was too much. I hated it all. And although I grew up to really enjoy things here and my English got much better from watching YT videos (my Arabic is still 0). And I now love living here. It was very hard in the beginning and I still feel homesick. I related so much in acting American on the Internet, I'd use their slang and lie to people on roblox saying I went to forever 21 and would give a kidney to buy one of those American girl dolls. Going to America use to be my biggest dream as a child. Then I grew up and learnt that USA was just this selfish little country that fucked up mg country and carpet bombed the entire middle east and yet somehow still holds so much power over the world. And now, I definitely don't dream to live there or glorify it as I use to. I've come to love my culture and identity. But I related to this piece SO MUCH (as I usually do idk how you do this fr) and it's so real for so many kids. I wanna write more about south Asian representation in media (which is also extremely stereotypical and shitty) but I won't this comment is already WAY too long. Tysm for writing thus and posting it. Healed my inner child istg.
Mahi, thanks for commenting as it seems we struggled through similar things as children! I also dreamed so much to return to America, and did so when I turned 23. It was only 6 months before I realized I couldn’t do it, before I realized how much I missed life in Jordan (I wrote about this before), so it’s definitely not all what you think/thought it is. I believe America is incredibly romanticized in the media!
Culture shock is something I really haven’t heard much about in the mainstream, so it’s nice to start a dialogue about it. Please do take a step and write about your experiences - I guess it’s up to individuals, sometimes, so share their thoughts and ideas which will be the step to normalizing them. People think moving to another country is easy - but especially for kids, it’s incredibly difficult.
Thank you so much for reading and leaving me your thoughts! I love seeing the world from your eyes.
Ofcourse! Your posts always leave me feeling so seen and appreciated in a way. I'll definitely write abour my own experiences and tag you as you're the one whose given me inspiration. ♡
So I'm Indian, and I don't know if I've seen the everyday Indian who's born and raised in the West in the media I've consumed. Especially not a Muslim Indo-Canadian.
This is a well written piece. It reminds me of an essay I read recently by Saad Yakuub. If I find it I'll tag you in the comments. But he talks about how art is shaped and then it shapes. The art we consume is shaped by someone, and it shapes the art we make. And it's so so important that WE, and not the orientalists if we're gonna use Said's language, create our art and represent ourselves, because the representation that is done (the one muslim guy/girl) is in a way just a tool that maintains the status quo and continues otherifying Muslims. Same goes for any non-white ethnic group.
But as you say, even if there is really representation by brown (is brown an umbrella term for all non-whites?) creators, there's still a looong way to go before brown people just become regular characters in the media, all with their own complexities. I don't know if that's ever gonna happen. Like do you think Groot or Rocker or any such character from Marvel will ever be Muslim or Arab or brown? So I think the best we can do is just represent ourseleves and to seek out media that makes us feel seen.
Also spongebob in an Egyptian accent is probably hilarious lol.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to leave me this amazing comment! I definitely agree that we have a long way to go; “brown” has certainly become an umbrella term and I believe we have to continuously remind media that the world outside of America is incredibly complex.
Please do tag me in that essay if you come across it! I’ll be doing my research on it.
Such a deep thought process and poignant review on representation. I am a third culture Sindhi and it is funny how no one knows about us. No books. No films. No series. And the few that do know of our community, equate us to businessmen. As if that's the only thing we are good at. It's one of the reasons I'm writing a book. To show who we are and what (else) we can do. For me and for the women in my community, who've had no voice to represent them for decades.
I know exactly how you feel and I understand the pull of wanting to write, create, and release to the world to show who we are. Forceful representation. I wish you all the luck on your book. Thank you for reading <3
as an indian, i relate so hard. we’re only on tv in tiny, racist caricatures - i longed for years as a child to see a girl, a brown girl, somebody who looked like me. and your main point, that arabs are only represented in a few key boxes, is so true. especially compared to other races/ethnicities, it feels like both arabs and south asians are represented so rarely. thank you for writing this 🩷🩷
To be honest, I was so tunnel-visioned when writing this piece and felt like Asians/other ethnicities were represented so much more than us. Then, I received so many comments that opened my eyes and made me realize that, truly, a lot of the “representation” we see of cultures other than white cultures are truly caricatures and… pretty racist.
Thank you for reading and commenting and giving me your point of view. I really appreciate it and will try my best to get more educated on representation in different cultures, too!
as an arab girl myself, i've never felt so seen. thank you <3
also the survey question you added at the end hurt. i've seen this way too many times, i remember thinking it must be a mistake when i was doing my college applications. i felt confused and overlooked, mama told me to just choose white and proceed with the other questions, but it still haunts me to this day how neglected that question made me feel. so, again, thank you for sharing!
I am so glad you felt seen through this; I feel seen through your comment. We're not alone here 💖
I also felt so hurt by the fact that "middle eastern/arab" isn't an option on those surveys. So many people told me exactly what your mom told you, to just put "white" with some backstory about how "technically" we are white, but we aren't! Arab and middle eastern cultures is so far removed from white culture.
Sending you love! Thanks so much for leaving me your thoughts 💖
I always feel the centralization of attention leads to everything being dumbed down and many people feeling unrepresented. People look at me and see a straight white male and even I feel unrepresented by mainstream culture. The words I use are different. The way I see the world is different. The way I walk and talk is different.
I think the best thing we can do is not seek to be a part of the mainstream but to focus more on individual relationships and supporting pockets of people that we can relate to, especially pockets that are more diverse.
I never once felt “my people” are white people or Americans. I actively seek out people with different experiences from mine who speak different languages and come from different parts of the world, maybe they look different or maybe not but who want to connect through concepts and values, things like creativity, a belief in universal love (not exclusive to any religion), supporting others, balancing individuality and community, these kinds of things.
Representation in Hollywood is a losing battle, Hollywood doesn’t care about any of us, not even white people.
Just share who you are, many of us are eager to see you for you, and if you feel that includes your heritage, feel free to share it. 🙏
Hello & thank you for reading 💖 I agree in some aspects, perhaps, that things have been incredibly dumbed down lately. However, I do think that representation in media is incredibly important as the media/internet is literally the society that we currently live within.
i really really love this piece, I'm Jewish, part ashkenazi (european) part mizrahi (middle eastern) and I often find myself having a hard time connecting to other jews because I'm not full ashkenazi. I grew up eating mizrahi food and didn't look similar to the rest of the kids at my hebrew school. this really hit thank you so much for writing it even though I'm not the intended audience or anything I greatly appreciate this piece. :)
Hi Nadav! Being a third-culture kid is NOT easy - I know how exactly how you feel, trying to balance two different cultures, trying to fit in inside both. I wish I could give you the perfect advice, but unfortunately, I think life is just a process of trying and trying until you find the right spot. I wish you the best, and just know you're not alone. <3
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I really appreciate it!
Don't tell me Egyptians are African lol. I mean, technically yes, but when I think of my Egyptian friends I don't ever see them as anything but Arab. Though maybe I'm unaware of nuances there.
Next time I see my friend, I’ll make sure to listen to his answer super clearly, but yes, from memory, I think they are African. Egyptians don't even speak Arabic - they speak their own language. It’s not a dialect, it’s a language on their own and I suppose (per my friends opinion) it’s incorrect to name them Arab.
Whaaat no what do you mean? Egyptians speak Arabic through and thriugh. Wait lemme google this. I've never heard that they have two languages. I understand if you mean that Arabic was not the original language, but I'm pretty sure rn they all speak Arabic. Hmmm...I wonder if there's the equivalent of indiginous groups in Egypt as there ade in North America.
So, I did not mean that they speak another language that’s not Arabic - I meant that Egyptian isn’t Arabic. Though it sounds similar, it’s not. Technically. My best friend is Egyptian, and so this discussion has prompted me to maybe interview him or something like that. He has a lot of knowledge on Egypt and it’s origins that I’d love to learn and share! What I’m saying right now are just key points from a discussion we had a while ago on Egyptians not being Arabs
Africans doesn’t necessarily mean black there are a lot of indigenous north african groups, what they mean by not arab (probably, i’m not Egyptian but I’m north african) is that they were conquered by islamic arabs.
No no ofc, there are deffinitely indiginous groups like the amazigh that span across much of North Africa, but I wasn't aware of any such group in Egypt. But I will look it up. Would be cool if there were tribes or something like that in Egypt that actually don't speak Arabic.
You got me at the 7 11 icees. The only one in my area (I'm in Toronto) closed some 13 or so years ago, when I was 10. I remember my sister once won a jumo icee and brought it home after school. She was in grade 11 or 12 then. I don't remember what it tasted like anymore. But any slushed up juice is always amazing. Oh, yeah, I think we called them slushies, not icees.
We had one ICEE machine here in Jordan that my mom would often take me to, but that store closed a long while ago. The taste of ICEEs is so reflective of my childhood!!! There was a specific taste the ICEE machines that I have never seen recreated
This is so well written. You and your life aren't invisible, though - American hegemony is blind. I think you will live long enough to see that change, for what it's worth. I hope so.
As usual. Beautiful piece and so so real. I'm south Asian (Pakistani) and I've been saying phrases like "it's like the Walmart of Pakistan" SO MUCH. Even to people who aren't white. Because we're fed so much American content that we understand what someone means by Walmart of something. Even if we live across rhe globe and have only heard of america as this perfect place that you can never go to. It's crazy to me just how americanised we get without even realising. Like I'm not whitewashed, many people aren't, but ideas like these are just so embedded in us it's actually insane to think about. And also adding onto the shifting countries, I moved from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia when I was like 7. And the cultural shock I got when I couldn't eatch Cartoon Network or Hindi dubbed Doremon on TV anymore was CRAZY. I was suddenly watched cartoons in Arabic dub, and getting annoyed because I couldn't understand ANYTHING. Even the English ones I didn't get, because at the time I wasn't good in English either. Small things like corn on cob as a street food wete gone, I hated caned corn so much. The ice creams I've eaten for 7 years (Corneto, Walls, etc) were gone replaced by arab brands that I didn't like the taste of. I wasn't singing Pakistans national anthem at school but instead Saudis. Half my class was arab and the language barrier was too much. I hated it all. And although I grew up to really enjoy things here and my English got much better from watching YT videos (my Arabic is still 0). And I now love living here. It was very hard in the beginning and I still feel homesick. I related so much in acting American on the Internet, I'd use their slang and lie to people on roblox saying I went to forever 21 and would give a kidney to buy one of those American girl dolls. Going to America use to be my biggest dream as a child. Then I grew up and learnt that USA was just this selfish little country that fucked up mg country and carpet bombed the entire middle east and yet somehow still holds so much power over the world. And now, I definitely don't dream to live there or glorify it as I use to. I've come to love my culture and identity. But I related to this piece SO MUCH (as I usually do idk how you do this fr) and it's so real for so many kids. I wanna write more about south Asian representation in media (which is also extremely stereotypical and shitty) but I won't this comment is already WAY too long. Tysm for writing thus and posting it. Healed my inner child istg.
Mahi, thanks for commenting as it seems we struggled through similar things as children! I also dreamed so much to return to America, and did so when I turned 23. It was only 6 months before I realized I couldn’t do it, before I realized how much I missed life in Jordan (I wrote about this before), so it’s definitely not all what you think/thought it is. I believe America is incredibly romanticized in the media!
Culture shock is something I really haven’t heard much about in the mainstream, so it’s nice to start a dialogue about it. Please do take a step and write about your experiences - I guess it’s up to individuals, sometimes, so share their thoughts and ideas which will be the step to normalizing them. People think moving to another country is easy - but especially for kids, it’s incredibly difficult.
Thank you so much for reading and leaving me your thoughts! I love seeing the world from your eyes.
Ofcourse! Your posts always leave me feeling so seen and appreciated in a way. I'll definitely write abour my own experiences and tag you as you're the one whose given me inspiration. ♡
I'm looking forward to it!
from one invisible arab girl to another, im feeling so seen in this. beautiful words amal ❣️
I’m so glad to hear that… thank you so much <3
So I'm Indian, and I don't know if I've seen the everyday Indian who's born and raised in the West in the media I've consumed. Especially not a Muslim Indo-Canadian.
This is a well written piece. It reminds me of an essay I read recently by Saad Yakuub. If I find it I'll tag you in the comments. But he talks about how art is shaped and then it shapes. The art we consume is shaped by someone, and it shapes the art we make. And it's so so important that WE, and not the orientalists if we're gonna use Said's language, create our art and represent ourselves, because the representation that is done (the one muslim guy/girl) is in a way just a tool that maintains the status quo and continues otherifying Muslims. Same goes for any non-white ethnic group.
But as you say, even if there is really representation by brown (is brown an umbrella term for all non-whites?) creators, there's still a looong way to go before brown people just become regular characters in the media, all with their own complexities. I don't know if that's ever gonna happen. Like do you think Groot or Rocker or any such character from Marvel will ever be Muslim or Arab or brown? So I think the best we can do is just represent ourseleves and to seek out media that makes us feel seen.
Also spongebob in an Egyptian accent is probably hilarious lol.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to leave me this amazing comment! I definitely agree that we have a long way to go; “brown” has certainly become an umbrella term and I believe we have to continuously remind media that the world outside of America is incredibly complex.
Please do tag me in that essay if you come across it! I’ll be doing my research on it.
Such a deep thought process and poignant review on representation. I am a third culture Sindhi and it is funny how no one knows about us. No books. No films. No series. And the few that do know of our community, equate us to businessmen. As if that's the only thing we are good at. It's one of the reasons I'm writing a book. To show who we are and what (else) we can do. For me and for the women in my community, who've had no voice to represent them for decades.
I know exactly how you feel and I understand the pull of wanting to write, create, and release to the world to show who we are. Forceful representation. I wish you all the luck on your book. Thank you for reading <3
as an indian, i relate so hard. we’re only on tv in tiny, racist caricatures - i longed for years as a child to see a girl, a brown girl, somebody who looked like me. and your main point, that arabs are only represented in a few key boxes, is so true. especially compared to other races/ethnicities, it feels like both arabs and south asians are represented so rarely. thank you for writing this 🩷🩷
To be honest, I was so tunnel-visioned when writing this piece and felt like Asians/other ethnicities were represented so much more than us. Then, I received so many comments that opened my eyes and made me realize that, truly, a lot of the “representation” we see of cultures other than white cultures are truly caricatures and… pretty racist.
Thank you for reading and commenting and giving me your point of view. I really appreciate it and will try my best to get more educated on representation in different cultures, too!
as an arab girl myself, i've never felt so seen. thank you <3
also the survey question you added at the end hurt. i've seen this way too many times, i remember thinking it must be a mistake when i was doing my college applications. i felt confused and overlooked, mama told me to just choose white and proceed with the other questions, but it still haunts me to this day how neglected that question made me feel. so, again, thank you for sharing!
I am so glad you felt seen through this; I feel seen through your comment. We're not alone here 💖
I also felt so hurt by the fact that "middle eastern/arab" isn't an option on those surveys. So many people told me exactly what your mom told you, to just put "white" with some backstory about how "technically" we are white, but we aren't! Arab and middle eastern cultures is so far removed from white culture.
Sending you love! Thanks so much for leaving me your thoughts 💖
I always feel the centralization of attention leads to everything being dumbed down and many people feeling unrepresented. People look at me and see a straight white male and even I feel unrepresented by mainstream culture. The words I use are different. The way I see the world is different. The way I walk and talk is different.
I think the best thing we can do is not seek to be a part of the mainstream but to focus more on individual relationships and supporting pockets of people that we can relate to, especially pockets that are more diverse.
I never once felt “my people” are white people or Americans. I actively seek out people with different experiences from mine who speak different languages and come from different parts of the world, maybe they look different or maybe not but who want to connect through concepts and values, things like creativity, a belief in universal love (not exclusive to any religion), supporting others, balancing individuality and community, these kinds of things.
Representation in Hollywood is a losing battle, Hollywood doesn’t care about any of us, not even white people.
Just share who you are, many of us are eager to see you for you, and if you feel that includes your heritage, feel free to share it. 🙏
Hello & thank you for reading 💖 I agree in some aspects, perhaps, that things have been incredibly dumbed down lately. However, I do think that representation in media is incredibly important as the media/internet is literally the society that we currently live within.
i really really love this piece, I'm Jewish, part ashkenazi (european) part mizrahi (middle eastern) and I often find myself having a hard time connecting to other jews because I'm not full ashkenazi. I grew up eating mizrahi food and didn't look similar to the rest of the kids at my hebrew school. this really hit thank you so much for writing it even though I'm not the intended audience or anything I greatly appreciate this piece. :)
Hi Nadav! Being a third-culture kid is NOT easy - I know how exactly how you feel, trying to balance two different cultures, trying to fit in inside both. I wish I could give you the perfect advice, but unfortunately, I think life is just a process of trying and trying until you find the right spot. I wish you the best, and just know you're not alone. <3
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I really appreciate it!
this is such a beautiful beautiful piece. thank you. you deserve to be seen!!!!!!
Thank you so so much <3
Thank you for the link! I love this.
Of course! Thank you!
Don't tell me Egyptians are African lol. I mean, technically yes, but when I think of my Egyptian friends I don't ever see them as anything but Arab. Though maybe I'm unaware of nuances there.
Next time I see my friend, I’ll make sure to listen to his answer super clearly, but yes, from memory, I think they are African. Egyptians don't even speak Arabic - they speak their own language. It’s not a dialect, it’s a language on their own and I suppose (per my friends opinion) it’s incorrect to name them Arab.
Whaaat no what do you mean? Egyptians speak Arabic through and thriugh. Wait lemme google this. I've never heard that they have two languages. I understand if you mean that Arabic was not the original language, but I'm pretty sure rn they all speak Arabic. Hmmm...I wonder if there's the equivalent of indiginous groups in Egypt as there ade in North America.
So, I did not mean that they speak another language that’s not Arabic - I meant that Egyptian isn’t Arabic. Though it sounds similar, it’s not. Technically. My best friend is Egyptian, and so this discussion has prompted me to maybe interview him or something like that. He has a lot of knowledge on Egypt and it’s origins that I’d love to learn and share! What I’m saying right now are just key points from a discussion we had a while ago on Egyptians not being Arabs
Well that will be an interesting read for sure! Do tag me if and when you interview him and write a post.
Africans doesn’t necessarily mean black there are a lot of indigenous north african groups, what they mean by not arab (probably, i’m not Egyptian but I’m north african) is that they were conquered by islamic arabs.
No no ofc, there are deffinitely indiginous groups like the amazigh that span across much of North Africa, but I wasn't aware of any such group in Egypt. But I will look it up. Would be cool if there were tribes or something like that in Egypt that actually don't speak Arabic.
You got me at the 7 11 icees. The only one in my area (I'm in Toronto) closed some 13 or so years ago, when I was 10. I remember my sister once won a jumo icee and brought it home after school. She was in grade 11 or 12 then. I don't remember what it tasted like anymore. But any slushed up juice is always amazing. Oh, yeah, I think we called them slushies, not icees.
We had one ICEE machine here in Jordan that my mom would often take me to, but that store closed a long while ago. The taste of ICEEs is so reflective of my childhood!!! There was a specific taste the ICEE machines that I have never seen recreated
This is so well written. You and your life aren't invisible, though - American hegemony is blind. I think you will live long enough to see that change, for what it's worth. I hope so.
Thank you for reading <3 I believe I that, too, actually, but starting to get impatient, haha!