Although most Asian Americans are culturally assimilated (Americanized), they often encounter racism as people of foreign-origin, because of their distinctive Asian racial appearance. The Asian Americans have to face racism because they are assumed to have close ties with their Asian ethnic culture. The Americans always feel that Asian Americans do not belong to their country; so they wish to know the foreign ethnic origins of Asian Americans.
Ethnic identity of Asian Americans has been a considerable challenge for them over the years. Many Asian Americans are identified more as Americans in comparison with their Asian cultural heritage even if they continue to acknowledge its impact.
The reason for this consists in the fact that they have become assimilated with the American culture and are part of the culture, hence, they are not discriminated against a lot. Since they have been accepted in some way by the society the live in, the Asian Americans do not actively assert their ethnic identity.
The issue of ethnic identity comes to surface in the context of viewing the Asian Americans as foreign ethnic minority in America due to their race and place of birth, being the factors, which cannot be evaded. Many Asian Americans are proud to be of Asian descent since they accept and enjoy Asian ethnic heritage, which is encouraged by the fact that America has a multi-ethnic ideology and interest in cultural diversity.
In the context of ethnic identity, there has been the emergence of Asian Americans as the ethnic identity that includes all ethnic minorities of Asian origin in the United States due to the fact that various groups of Asian American descent have been counted as a nation. In the political scene, the mobilization of people with Asian American descent as a nation has also contributed to this aspect.
Also in the sphere of education, the term Asian American is popular among youth since they feel they cannot identify their exact ethnic race, hence, they refer themselves to one group due to their origin. However, older people of Japanese American descent do not identify themselves as Asian Americans since they feel they are different from other Asian Americans, as such, the term can be considered broad.
In the history of ethnicity, ethnic revival has been evident among the latest generations of Asian Americans. Some of the youth of Japanese American descent have claimed that they regret that they have become assimilated to such an extent due to the lost of the Japanese ethnic heritage. It has created the awareness connected with the ethnic revival, making the Asian Americans feel that maintaining and sustaining their ethnic heritage is essential, hence, they should avoid becoming Americanized.
The future of Asian Americans in American society is still debatable considering the fact whether they can be fully considered as whites. The Asian Americans have become part of the society, but they have not been considered as whites. Even if they become more assimilated in terms of culture, the Asian Americans will hardly be considered as white. The reason for such consideration is that there is a difference between the physical appearance of various races.
The determinant factor to how one is viewed and identified within their ethnic race is mainly their physical appearance. An individual is mainly identified by his/her race due to their nature and origin. However, this can eventually change with the consideration of high intermarriage rates between Asian Americans and whites. Many people born in intermarriages, consider and identify themselves as whites since their physical appearance resembles whites.