The Problem with “AAPI” and the Need for Disaggregation

Continuously and consistently, the term AAPI (and its related labels such as, API, Asia-Pacific, etc.) has been used to describe the supposedly shared experiences and struggles of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. However, there are numerous issues with the AAPI label.

Unmistakably, broad racial divisions serve to generalize the lived experiences of distinct peoples under one, ill-defined category. The constructed racial categories of “Asian American” and “Pacific Islander” already work to homogenize the experiences of its racial subgroups. There is significant variability across Asian American subgroups (e.g. the experiences of East Asians v. Southeast Asians v. South Asians) and Pacific Islander subgroups (e.g. the experiences of Polynesians v. Melanesians v. Micronesians). Moreover, there is significant variability within specific subgroups. Using AAPI to further expand the Asian American and Pacific Islander categories problematically generalizes the experiences of a vast number of peoples.

More importantly, the AAPI label serves to render the experiences of Pacific Islanders as invisible, as Pasifika communities already struggle with representation, let alone visibility, in the United States. Although Asian and Pasifika boundaries, histories, and contemporary experiences are interconnected, they are distinct and shaped by competing histories of colonialism and militarism. Several statistics have shown that there are clear health, education, income disparities between and within Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Beyond statistics, however, there are also visible differences in the ways in which structural violence targets Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Pacific Islanders continuously face human rights violations as Indigenous Peoples (e.g. the fight for sovereignty and self-determination, heightened effects of climate change, militarization and nuclear testing, desecration of land, displacement and dispossession, dependence of corporate tourism, etc.). The AAPI label effectively obscures the unique struggles that specifically affect Pacific Island communities by generalizing these struggles to Asian and Pacific communities as a whole.

Asian Americans, on the other hand, have been facing extreme, racially charged attacks against their community as a result of the racism and xenophobia that has been reinforced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though many have made well-intentioned efforts to speak out about these atrocious acts of racism, the usage of “AAPI” has been very prevalent. The recent attacks have been distinctively targeting Asian Americans (and those perceived as Asian), not Pacific Islanders. While there are mixed Asian-Pacific Islanders, and Pacific Islanders who may be perceived as Asian, these are different conversations that should not be conflated with the recent attacks on the Asian American community. It is important to navigate away from AAPI usage in these conversations - not only is it inaccurate and misleading, but it also shifts the focus away from the community being affected.

It should be noted that, although it is important to acknowledge the distinctions and specificities of Asian American and Pacific Islander experience, using racial and ethnic categories is inherently problematic “because these categories are based on historical and social contexts that operate as a tool to uphold power inequalities and the status quo.” However, as long as the world continues to use such categories, we should be mindful to disaggregate AAPI data to more accurately represent differences between Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

This is not to say that there are no meaningful, shared realities between Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; U.S. imperialism has prompted shared risks of displacement, dispossession, marginalization, and oppression for Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and numerous BIPOC communities. This awareness can shape possibilities for solidarity across racial, ethnic, and political divides. As CHamoru poet, scholar, environmentalist, and activist, Craig Santos Perez, stated, “ AAPI coalitions can be useful in our struggles for racial and environmental justice, decolonization and demilitarization, self-determination and sovereignty -- but we need to be careful about how it is employed and leveraged so it doesn't cause confusion, erasure, or conflation…”

More resources:

• Why it’s time to retire the term ‘Asian Pacific Islander’

• How data disaggregation matters for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

• US Pacific Islanders highlight their cultures and concerns as pushback against anti-Asian hate sees them swept up in AAPI acronym

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