This is kind of fraught, because there's all this stuff about immigration and assimilation tied up with it But, essentially, my Chinese name has never been my *legal* name on my birth certificate and it's not on any documents or anything, legally I've always been "Arthur Chu"
-
-
Show this thread
-
A mangled version of my Chinese name is my legal middle name, which I'm fine with people knowing, if only as disambiguation from other "Arthur Chu"s But my whole life my actual Chinese name has only been used in the context of my parents and my other relatives saying it
Show this thread -
Thanks to various indignities associated with going viral, my Chinese name is out there on the Internet I have had people unexpectedly greet me with it before It's uncomfortable, it's a form of context collapse, like hearing a childhood nickname from a total stranger
Show this thread -
This isn't, I think, particularly unique, nor is it all that big a deal, but it's part of why True Name Discourse is uncomfortable for me (as I'm sure it was for Chuck Lorre getting yelled at about his "real name" by Charlie Sheen)
Show this thread -
(FWIW, the people I've found who most reliably "get" this are Jewish people who had "Hebrew school" names -- Chuck Lorre was, in fact, named "Charles" on his birth certificate just like I was "Arthur", even though his "real name" among his older relatives was "Chaim")
Show this thread -
Anyway that's my very small personal contribution to this Discourse about "real names" and pseudonyms I haven't actually had much occasion to use different names in different contexts but everyone from an immigrant culture knows that it's a Thing and that it's personal
Show this thread -
I'm very big on Asian representation and on being proud of where I come from but I'd still experience someone *demanding* my "real name" from me or rewriting my life story to use my "real name" as a hugely invasive, presumptuous act
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
It reminds me of how Paul Mua'dib has his Fremen name and his sietch name, Usul; or at least, that is how I've come to rationalize and accept it. The four character name is also pretty atypical, and the less people I tell, the more useful a shibboleth it can be
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Wow I think addressing ppl by other than preferred form of address is disrespectful
-
It’s as simple as that, isn’t it?
- Show replies
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.