Twitter calls out the major problem with the ‘Asian hair streak’

American media often portrays Asian women with dyed hair and Twitter isn’t having it. In fact, many are calling for an end to the “Asian hair streak.”

On social media, there’s been a recent surge in people calling out American films and television shows for incorporating the “Asian hair streak” with female Asian characters. No matter what the story line seems to be, many Asian women appear to be falling victim to the idea that they need to have colorful hair in order to garner the interest of the audience.

Twitter user @nerdyasians called out this Asian hair streak tendency, with a message that said, “it’s time for western media to drop the idea that asian girls need neon streaks of color in their hair to stand out.” The tweet included pictures of a number of female Asian characters, all with their hair highlighted in some way.

This tweet kicked off a large debate on social media over the continued use of “neon” colors in Asian women’s hair in American media. Whether these characters are on television or in movies, it seems that a vast majority of female Asian characters have a bold color added to their hair.

While the reaction was mixed, there was still a very large response to the Asian hair streak. Many agreed with the original tweet and the idea that media needs to find a way to better represent Asian characters.

Some Twitter users pointed out that when you see Asian characters on screen who do not have their hair colored in some way, they are often portrayed as being more docile than their counterparts, who have that wild streak of color. Other users mentioned they wished the media would find ways to give better stories to these characters so that they would not need the Asian hair streak in order to grab the viewers attention.

Nayyera Haq, former White House Senior Director, even stepped into the debate. She noted that as an Asian woman who has dyed her hair, she did so to reflect “the style of anime characters” and “Japanese designed characters.” She added that Western media is essentially copying that look.

Of course, there were people who not only disagreed with the original post but also shared characters who did not fall into this apparent stereotype.

One of the biggest images from the original post’s graphic was Deadpool 2‘s Yukio. One commenter pointed out that the purpose of the Deadpool movies is to make fun of comic book stereotypes that seem to be so prevalent.

Another Twitter user, who explained they were Asian and not Asian-American, said they believed nothing was wrong with the trend as it is something they see in their everyday life.

Ultimately, the problem boils down to representation and the idea that an Asian character will only be seen as interesting if they have their hair streaked with some color. Many noted that the actual coloring of hair isn’t a problem, and honestly, that’s going to happen across all cultures.

The true issue is that American media often uses dyed hair as a crutch when portraying Asian characters. Many agreed on the thread that Asian characters should be given more depth and interesting storylines versus them rebelling with some unique hair color.

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With Twitter calling American media for its abundant use of the “Asian hairstreak”, perhaps things will start to change?