{"id":650656,"date":"2026-05-05T07:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T07:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/650656\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T07:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T07:16:17","slug":"embracing-being-wasian-with-a-little-help-from-laufey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/650656\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing being ‘wasian’ with a little help from Laufey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in Australia, I learnt very quickly that it was unusual to be biracial.<\/p>\n

Throughout my childhood, I went to a majority-Asian-population school. Being Asian was normal there, but being white felt normal everywhere else.<\/p>\n

But for me, being both was neither.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I constantly fielded questions about my name and appearance. Having a Vietnamese mother and a British father seemed to easily confuse a lot of people.<\/p>\n

\"Julia<\/p>\n

As a child, Julia learnt that being biracial wasn’t easy. (Supplied: Julia Faragher)<\/p>\n

It wasn’t until adulthood that I fully embraced my cultural heritage and found the joy in being Asian and white.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It took even longer to realise that I was also experiencing a third thing: being both.<\/p>\n

Being biracial or “wasian” (that is, both white and Asian) is a unique experience. There are lots of things I share with both Asian and white people, but there are experiences novel to being wasian.<\/p>\n

I’ve been told multiple times by some people that I’m too white to be Asian and by others that I’m too Asian to be white.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For a long time, I felt rejected by both communities.<\/p>\n

The impact of Laufey’s Madwoman<\/p>\n

Recently, Icelandic-Chinese singer Laufey assembled a cast of fellow wasians \u2014 including Heated Rivalry actor Hudson Williams, Olympic gold medallist figure skater Alysa Liu, KATSEYE member Megan Skiendiel and The Summer I Turned Pretty actress Lola Tung \u2014 to star in the music video for her latest song, Madwoman.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A scene from Laufey’s Madwoman music video, including actor Hudson Williams. (YouTube: Laufey)<\/p>\n

As soon as the video came out, criticism swiftly followed. It was exactly what I’d heard when I was younger, as people online accused wasians of not being “real” Asians.<\/p>\n

Wasians are everywhere, apparently. It’s the “real” Asians who need representation.<\/p>\n

Once again, I was hurt by the idea I’m not a “real” Asian because I only have one Asian parent.<\/p>\n

\"Laufey<\/p>\n

Global superstar Laufey using her platform to actively celebrate her cultural heritage makes Julia proud of who she is. (Instagram: @laufey)<\/p>\n

But now that I’m older, I’m confident in who I am. I’m one person. It’s not possible for me to be “half” anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am Asian. End of story.<\/p>\n

If being white and being Asian are two circles in a Venn diagram, I am both sides and the centre.<\/p>\n

A global superstar like Laufey using her platform to actively celebrate her cultural heritage makes me proud to be in the centre of that Venn diagram. I don’t care if it confuses other people.<\/p>\n

This is who I am.<\/p>\n

A girl in a pink dress<\/p>\n

This wasn’t the first time Laufey inspired me to embrace who I am.<\/p>\n

A couple of years ago, I was mindlessly scrolling online when I came across a video of Laufey on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Laufey<\/p>\n

Laufey at the 2024 Grammys. (AP: Invision\/Jordan Strauss)<\/p>\n

She was wearing a light pink Chanel dress, soft glowy pink make-up and her long dark brown hair fell in styled waves down her back.<\/p>\n

I looked at the video and immediately thought, “Oh my God, that’s me!”<\/p>\n

Obviously, I’m not a Grammy Award-winning artist. But as I watched the video, lying in bed with my bleach-blonde hair, I suddenly felt a pull to look like myself again.<\/p>\n

Seeing the image of Laufey reminded me of my younger self: a girl in a pink dress, soft make-up and long curled dark brown hair.<\/p>\n

Any desire to dye my hair blonde evaporated in an instant. I felt convinced that nothing would make me happier.<\/p>\n

I unpacked that feeling. It wasn’t that I hated the blonde. The blonde had been fun. I didn’t regret dying my hair. But I was overcome with the urge to return to what I knew was my true self.<\/p>\n

\"Julia<\/p>\n

Julia was overcome with the urge to return to what she felt was her true self. (Supplied: Julia Faragher)<\/p>\n

I never dyed my hair blonde again. Once I’d seen that video of Laufey, my mind was made up: I felt proud of what I looked like. What I had always looked like. I wanted my natural colour back.<\/p>\n

A few months later, when I told some of my female Asian friends that I was growing out the blonde in my hair, many expressed that they had been on a similar journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One joked that it was a “canon event” for Asian women: to give in to the Western standard of beautiful, blonde hair, only to return to your roots and grow it out again.<\/p>\n

Even if I felt lacking in biracial representation during my teenage years, I’m glad that someone like Laufey is championing her cultural heritage today.<\/p>\n

Just as Laufey made Madwoman for her younger self, I hope that my younger self would be proud of the person I’ve grown into.<\/p>\n

Julia Faragher is an artist and writer living in Melbourne\/Naarm.<\/p>\n

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