Now that the person has publicly clarified that they aren't Chinese, I'd personally like to put on my "good faith" lenses about this person. However, I feel there's still an important convo to be had about non-Chinese people picking Chinese names upon entering C-media fandoms. https://twitter.com/quigonejinn/status/1380290328213749762

I think that danmei fandom is heading in the same direction as anime fandom did decades ago. Where weeabos started emerging, we're starting to see sinoboos, where JP names like "Sakura" or "Hime" started becoming popular online monikers, we're also starting to see CN monikers.

Personally, I'm really not sure I'd go so far as to say that "non-Chinese people shouldn't give themselves Chinese names." Not all Chinese people will agree. Some Chinese people will say "it's very much okay" and some will say "it's very much NOT okay."

If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend you read this statement released by a group of diaspora in January because it encompasses a lot of the feelings diaspora in danmei fandom have been feeling. https://twitter.com/pumpkinpaix/status/1345964369792946178?s=20

For me, I think the crux of the issue is that when you're choosing a Chinese name for yourself as a non-Chinese person: please remember that not all Chinese people have the luxury to use their Chinese names publicly.

When you start getting into Chinese culture and media: please remember that for some Chinese people, being Chinese is something that they've had to live with, and something that has brought them a lot of hardship.

I'm a Chinese majority, but amongst western diaspora friends, I see CONSTANT accounts of how they are afraid to use their Chinese names publicly, how they've been made fun of for using their Chinese names, or how for some, their parents didn't even GIVE THEM a Chinese name.

If you aren't Chinese, stepping into C-media fandom is like stepping into a bubble being Chinese is "cool". You can don your Chinese name when you step into fandom, you can don the "Chinese culture enthusiast" coat-- and then take it off when you leave.

I want to quote that statement again because this line has stayed with me since January:

"We don't have the luxury of stepping away from our culture when we get tired of it. We don't get to put it down and walk away when it gets difficult."

Being in Chinese fandom is a really fraught experience for many people. For many people, it's a place where we feel we can finally "come home". For Chinese minorities who face racism in their daily lives, it's the first place it feels okay to be Chinese.

For myself, personally, as a queer non-binary Chinese majority, it's the first place where I've been able to feel like "there is a space for people like me in Chinese culture", it's a space where I can finally begin to reconcile my queer identity and my Chinese identity.

Seeing people getting into Chinese culture, researching, asking questions, learning Mandarin, is a very bittersweet experience for me. On one hand, I love sharing my culture and language. I love that I FINALLY have people to talk about culture things and c-media with.

But at the same time, there are times that I've closed my twitter and discord app, turned off the lights, and laid down to sleep, and alone where I've taken the "bee, danmei enthusiast" hat off,

I have to face the many ways I've been told, angrily, and with disgust, that I do not have a place in my culture because I am a queer, NB, and feminist.

I have to face the accusations that I don't understand Chinese values because I'm queer, NB, and feminist. I have to read the newspapers and see how Chinese culture, values, and philosophies are used to oppress people like me.

I have to confront the guilt that I'm not filial and that my parents will never have the grandchildren they so dearly want because of me.

When I see non-Chinese people getting into c-media, becoming danmei enthusiasts, becoming CHINESE CULTURE enthusiasts, giving themselves Chinese names and trying on hanfu and loving this culture,

I feel happy at the wonder that Chinese culture and media brings to them. But at the same time, I sometimes resent the people who can put down Chinese culture and walk away when it gets hard, who don't have to deal with the ugly parts of Chinese culture, only the good.

To end off, this is not a thread to tell you that you can't give yourself a Chinese name, you can't become a Chinese culture "geek", you can't own hanfu or have a "danmei enthusiast" persona online that you leave behind when you step into your real life.

When Chinese diaspora have voiced discomforts in the past, I feel there have been many accusations of "bad faith", "shit-stirring", and "bullying". I've also seen accusations of "gatekeeping" and "making non-Chinese people feel unwelcome." https://twitter.com/quigonejinn/status/1380320853502656513?s=20

So this is a gentle reminder that this fandom experience is both wondrous and painful for a lot of Chinese diaspora. It's also an explanation why some diaspora might hate when others use Chinese names, or feel strongly about cultural erasure in fan works.

This fandom engenders a lot of complex feelings. There is no simple solution to make the bad feelings go away. But sometimes in life there ARE no solutions, and all you can do is just listen, sympathize, and be patient.