Recently, the term boba liberalism has been making its way around online political spaces. Specifically, Asian American online political spaces. The definition of a boba liberal is a person of Asian American descent who only seems to advocate for Asian American issues in a shallow manner, meaning they focus on the aspects of activism that are deemed acceptable by the public. These topics are often only ones that involve upper-class East Asians, including, but not limited to things such as representation in media, typical stories about not fitting in with white people, or being bullied for having small eyes. This is not to say these topics shouldn’t be discussed, however, it becomes a problem when only these topics are discussed. Like the drink it is named after, boba liberalism is sweet and trendy but lacks deeper meaning.
An example of something that is often included in this type of activism is lack of intersectionality and sensitivity. This has been especially prevalent recently due to the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes. Although many people choose to speak on these crimes, many have failed to link it to the larger picture, only focusing on the issue at surface level. This could look like calling for action against the perpetrators of the hate crimes and leaving it at that, not bringing attention to why the crime occured in the first place or how to fix them. In more than a few scenarios, some of this “activism” from boba liberals was even anti-Black or promoted anti-Black thought. In order to begin to solve the problem, we must address the fact that it is rooted in oppression on a systemic level.
Of course, boba liberalism isn’t entirely the fault of the people who perpetuate it. Oftentimes, we are conditioned to only speak about oppression in a way that is digestible and easy for those in power to use to their advantage. However, just because we are conditioned to focus on the more palatable aspects of injustice doesn’t mean we cannot break away from doing so. For the sake of our community, we must turn our focus to issues that are uncomfortable and impactful.
