Unless you’re fortunate enough to have no trace of social media, at some point in your life you’ve had to come up with a username or handle of some kind. Early on, I used to change my Instagram username constantly just to be funny. As you can imagine, it became confusing for people pretty quickly.
When I started creating YouTube videos, I realized it was time to centralize all of this goodness and hide behind one name. Enter Blonde Asian.
Why Blonde Asian? For starters, I didn’t want a username with numbers or numbers pretending to be letters. That feels very 90s, early aughts. Something long was out of the question, and using my government name was never on the table. I took a step back, looked at myself, and instantly chose Blonde Asian.
When standing alone, the words “Blonde” and “Asian” are simply descriptors. Not offensive. For some reason, when you sandwich them together, calling anyone that feels offensive. It’s kind of funny, and also very true.
In my YouTube videos, I call myself the resident Blonde Asian. Resident, as in residency. I’m going to be here doing something for the time period I should be doing something. The opening slapped itself together and I kept it.
“Heidi ho, people I don’t know. It’s your resident Blonde Asian…”
The name felt obvious because I wasn’t trying to be clever. Whenever I tried to be clever, it came out forced and disingenuous. Like most things, keeping it simple and obvious worked better. When I decided to brand everything I do online, it felt like a no-brainer. I didn’t realize future me would be thanking myself for that.
When I tell people about my online antics and say I call myself Blonde Asian, there’s usually a chuckle.The name suddenly feels loaded. Once, during an Instagram Live, the person streaming said, “I almost feel like I shouldn’t be saying that out loud.” That made me laugh.
My friends get it immediately. They know me and understand my sense of humor. I’m very straightforward. I thought my mom might side-eye me for a second, but she didn’t. That’s how I knew it was a decent route to go.
I didn’t choose Blonde Asian to make a point. I chose it because it was accurate and true. It didn’t need to be reclaimed, defended, or outgrown. It just needed to be honest enough to stand still.
Everything I do online works the same way. I show up, I notice things, and I don’t spend much time explaining myself. The name sets the tone before I ever have to.
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