boba liberal

English

Etymology

A reference to boba tea, a drink popular in Asian American communities.

Noun

boba liberal (plural boba liberals)

1. (US, derogatory) a liberal-leaning Asian American with politics or attitudes considered too tepid or whitewashed by other Asian Americans, stereotyped as focusing on superficial gestures over more meaningful actions especially in regards to Asian American activism.
   • 2021 January 29, Jiayang Fan, “Chronicles of a Bubble-Tea Addict”, in The New Yorker‎^[1]:

     I am admittedly vocal about my obsession with bubble tea; in fact, the editors of the Grub Street piece had cut several other mentions of it, on the ground that it was boba overkill. I also write for a mainstream, left-leaning American publication, and it’s true that I once wrote a Profile of the “Crazy Rich Asians” star Constance Wu. It hadn’t occurred to me that such proclivities made me a quintessential boba liberal (much less an idiot queen) […]

   • 2022 February 17, Eddie Kim, “Is the ‘Boba Liberal’ Really a Race Traitor?”, in MEL Magazine‎^[2]:

     But just as we’ve seen with the co-opting of the word “woke” as a sarcastic conservative slur against progressive ideals, the term “boba liberal” has been subverted, too. Instead of merely critiquing shallow identity politics, the term is now weaponized against progressive Asian Americans deemed insufficiently committed to the Asian cause — and nothing has accelerated that quicker than the panic over attacks on Asian Americans on the street.

   • 2022 April 18, 3:35 from the start, in Keep screwing up egg fried rice. It makes Uncle Roger happy‎^[3], via NPR:

     And Uncle Roger gets to both educate and complain about cultural appropriation without coming off as what Lau referred to as a boba liberal.

See also

• woke
• bleeding heart
• latte liberal