I'm a Japanese American. 4th Generation, my mom is a full blooded 3rd Generation from Hawaii, my dad is a white guy. I have all the religious views of a rock and vote for Democratic candidates (but hate hippies and other far left types, while being a horrible materialistic capitalist myself). My friends are almost all white or 3rd and 4th generation Japanese and Chinese Americans. I'm about as far from the Asian stereotype as possible, though I'm pretty arrogant about racial matters and have plenty of money. And honestly, I'm kind of lame and have never done anything non-platonic with a girl. That part's kinda stereotypical. I'm a terrible student, not musical at all, and still live at home in my early 20s. Not that I'm unhappy or depressed, though I do encourage myself to be a better person and live up to my potential, instead of just kicking back and enjoying life.

When I look at the profiles of other Asians on social networking/dating sites, mostly Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese, I notice that a lot of them are 1st or 2nd generation. They're more stereotypical. The guys are either "gangsta" or wimps. The girls often appear oversexual. And both sexes mostly split two other- the studious ultra serious business types or the loserly types who try to be as American as possible, turning their back on everything (including studying) from their culture. And a growing number of them are extremely religious, mostly Christian. And a little to the right of Ghengis Khan. You hear about their parents cracking the educational whip, making them go to piano lessons, and white families moving away from Asian dominated high schools because they're taking school TOO seriously (a twisted and almost amusing version of white flight). They're either taking life way too seriously or not taking it seriously enough.

Other Japanese Americans are so rare, I can't reach any conclusions on them, but the few I know (outside of family) tend to be upper middle to upper class, 4th or 5th generation, and generally more well-rounded and less "extreme". And rarely religious, or if they are, not fanatical. But they don't seem to be "typical" Asian anymore (school performance aside), and most of them aren't interested in their roots or (romantic) relationships with other Asians. Or anyone not white.

So what IS an Asian in the US these days? Is an Asian the stereotypical Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese from California, who's either stiff and conservative or loserly and "gangsta"? Are Japanese-Americans, who aren't all that common anymore, still Asian, or will their children even be, with marriages to whites the norm these days? Is there a difference? Or are we all still Asian, and just need to relax and not worry about superficial things? I don't know anymore. I just want some opinions.