Diverse|City
Where arts and diversity meet
Diverse|City featured on Hapa Voice website
January 4th, 2012 at Wed, 4th, 2012 at 10:42 am by Gabrielle Nomura
It used to almost be a dirty word – ”hapa,” meaning “half” in Hawaiian.
It was once a derogatory term to describe people of biracial ancestry. Today, many multiracial individuals of part-Asian or Pacific Islander descent have embraced the word as a term of prideful self-identification. Although some object to the term’s appropriation and perceived misuse outside of its traditional Hawaiian context, “hapa” has been widely adopted by the part-Asian and part-Pacific Islander multiracial communities, and even by some multiracial, non-Asians.
Diverse|City blogger and staff writer for Bellevue Reporter, Gabrielle Nomura, shares her story growing up Japanese, Filipina, Irish and all-American on the website, http://www.HapaVoice.com.
Gabrielle Nomura is a journalist with a multicultural background, a passion for diversity stories and insight into dance, theater, opera and music. Her articles appear in Bellevue Reporter, NW Asian Weekly, The Bellingham Herald and the blog, Seattle Dances. Follow on Twitter: @GabrielleKazuko.
More articles by Gabrielle Nomura >
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