But Where Are You From From?

Sposato, Jonathan Ng, & Watt, Michelle. (2022, September 1). But where are you from from? JoySauce.

JoySauce invented a fantasy game show entitled “Where are you FROM from?” and asked photographer Michelle Watt to create images illustrating it, as a way of mocking the question Asian Americans are frequently asked:

Uber driver/server/Tinder date/otherwise stranger: “Where are you from?”
Asian American: “Seattle.”
Stranger: “No, like, where are you from from?”
Asian America: “I mean, I was born in Brooklyn, but then moved to Seattle.”
Stranger: “No no, where are you really from?”
And on and on…

“In line with the core values of JoySauce, this irreverent series portrays four scenes that cheekily critique common misperceptions of AA+PIs, and examine some of the ways our communities have adapted to survive (and thrive) in America. These photos also invite the viewer to contemplate how AA+PI identities intersect, sometimes humorously, with other cultures in their broader American context.”

This article, and/or these images, would make a good classroom resource for teaching about stereotypes, Othering, and xenophobia. See also KC55: Stereotypes, KC39: Otherness and the Other, and KC89: Xenophobia.