 I'm not just skinny. I'm skinny svelte and pretty. Yeah, I mean I think to be American size You're somewhat got to eat like American food man. Man. I'll see that chubby Asian dude over there, man No way. He ain't had a good burger before a New study shows that overweight Asians are seen as more American than skinny Asians in America man David we got to talk about this. Yeah, we got to talk about this scientific study that's going viral right now It's called unexpected gains being overweight buffers Asian Americans from prejudice against foreigners They said that this dynamic Andrew is not true for any other group of people white black or Latino But it is true that essentially overweight Asians get more put in the American category Whereas like skinny skinny Asians get put in the foreigner category and by overweight guys We don't only mean like fat and obese. We're also talking about stocky thick, you know everything in between It's just overweight. It's just your BMI body mass index being over a certain point So we're gonna get into some of the reactions our takeaways as well as our own personal experiences Andrew because growing up you were Considered more skinny and I was considered more stocky. Yeah, so please hit that like button check out other episodes of the hot Pop boys David real quick. Do you see the logic in this? I guess is their logic, you know, this is interesting This is something I have thought a little bit about but obviously I did not go to the point where it's like I did this whole Scientific study about it, but um, yeah, I mean if you look at Psy You know kind of jovial playful big like beef dairy eaters like side They still have bigger hits than BTS at the end of the day and it's certainly way more than G dragon in America Yeah, and I think especially like I mean you can boil it down to Americans Respecting masculinity more if you're thicker bigger even fatter that can be seen as more masculine You're just a viking tradition. Yeah, you're being conquerors and axe-wielding vikings Think about me. You can't get all fat like that eating little bits of soupy rice and fish, right and dried fish flakes Also anecdotally Andrew, there's that new Korean actress from a cocaine bear for example Like she probably wouldn't be accepted as a like gorgeous gorgeous Sexy actor in Asia, but is certainly accepted in America So it goes to show you Andrew America in a most broad-stroke sense Andrew thick boys Asia skinny boys. Yeah Yeah, let's get into the comments someone said yeah I would perceive bigger Asians as more American because there's no way illegal immigrants would be fat They'd be malnourished from the boat ride over. I just wouldn't perceive them to be like big boys. Yeah I mean I think when you think of the typical Immigrant that's new to America. You're thinking of a skinny person now whether it's skinny because of lack of meat For example or lack of like red meat for example, or you're just skinny just because that's the culture out Because they want to be skinner in Asia Literally the beauty standard is to be skinny and in America the beauty standard they still like skinny guys But there's the other side that they also like thick guys lean guys buff guys rip guys even stocky guys in a lot of Communities someone said do you think it's true that it used to be in America? How white you are determine how American you are and nowadays it's how fat you are that's pretty funny man I think that there is something to that because to be American fat You probably got to eat American food. Yeah became the transcendent identity marker Somebody said yeah, I could see this being true because fat Asians to me just look like fat Latinos And this was a comment from a white guy. I mean, I do think there's some truth that To the idea that when everybody's super fat like they tend to look a little bit more like each other like I Know it's because the features don't pop as much. Yeah when you're bigger I've seen like fat like white people smile and they're like cheeks go up because their cheeks go into their eyes So it kind of looks like Asian But yeah, I mean, I guess if Latinos like when it comes to the Latino side if they're indigenous that they are somewhat from a long 23 and me related to Asians a little categorize indigenous Latinos and Asians in the same category I would say to another point Andrew when people get to the age about 80 80 years old people a lot of the races start to look the same as well I've seen some Asian people look like Martin Scorsese or even like the old man from up. Oh Somebody said yeah, the truth is any identities that are more accepted or more widespread in the West such as being buff Being overweight being LGBT will make you seem more American. Yeah I think that like we like the action heroes here are thick I think there's things like football and being a firefighter that are very American Jackson Huh, yeah, he's a fob and he has a fob accent But a lot of people identify his vibe as very yeah, he's like, yeah, I play football Arizona Yeah, I do the greedy after a touchdown. Yeah, everybody loves me like he's just a lovable guy first of all It's personality, but he's got to be a thick strong boy to be playing college football Right. So you're saying that like he's clearly doing something that people find so rare and so American that that is Able to transcend the fact that he has like broken English Yeah And I think that since the stereotype is that a lot of Asian dudes for example Asian dudes are skinny and slimmer But if you're buffer or stockier or thicker that means you can fit in more with like masculine Americans, yeah I mean like you're stronger So therefore you can do more of the strong man things like you're gonna be able to be seen as a formidable opponent in an arm wrestling match In a football match in a in a whatever if you want to try out for the firefighters You know be do all these very American things. No, I actually think about it when I think about it in my past There's definitely some personal anecdotes to support this and we're gonna get to those after we get through the comments Somebody said yay fat Asians. I feel seen we might not be valued in the Asian Asian world But we can be accepted as American in the American world Yeah So, you know what next time that your auntie or your mom is like, oh you're getting so fat. Why you get so fat? You just I'm I'm getting American mom. That's what I'm getting. Yeah when they come for us Don't you want me to open up the door and represent the family? Um, I think it's really interesting that this comment brought up the fact that the same thing that makes you more accepted Amongst the American crowd also gets you somewhat ostracized amongst the Asian Asian crowd. Is that is that weird? Yeah, I think it's getting better But yes, obviously at the best standard of beauty and the most popular look is to be super slim and lean and skinny out Yeah in Asia then of course as a bigger Asian You're not as valued over there immediately as far as like looks wise So but now you get to be more excited. I don't know You know, what if it was like man when I'm over up. Yeah when I am in Asia I get joked on and treated like a pariah amongst my family gathering, but when I'm in America I am just one of the boys knocking back a six-pack in the old boy old Birdo beef sticks Yeah, I mean, I think to be American size you somewhat got to eat like American food man Because you you know in America it's like man. I see that chubby Asian dude over there man No way he ain't had a good burger before He locks a good flank steak somebody said hey guys not to be offensive or anything But have any fat Asians got hate-crimed because I think they like fit in more maybe people are scared of their size I think this gets into the semantics of it Andrew because if you're fat and you're tall You actually just become massive and any massive person is a formidable opponent to some extent Yeah, and they're not gonna get targeted as much obviously smaller people in general. It's not true necessarily I mean, I don't I don't know how fat this guy was but there was definitely a person who got attacked who was like chubby And so I don't think it's like it's not a for sure fire thing But yeah, I think if you're skinny and short you are maybe gonna get like Targeted more or be seen as a easier target. I can see that because if you're skinny and tall It's like oh, well that guy's like a fashion model and then if you skinny and short it's like oh There's just not enough mass. I can overpower Some people said, you know, I noticed even the few incidents where there was offensive Asians attacking other people they were fat So who knows I don't know. Yeah, somebody said, you know, I have once I got out of the army I joined law school and in my law firm I just made sure I was the buffest Thickest John Cena Asian guy around and I think that really helped my career break through the bamboo ceiling But I noticed that a lot of guys. They just don't want to do it. Yeah I mean in America they respect masculinity and size and buffness and I think you being like a Buff stocky Asian dude, even if you fill out your blazer and stuff, you know, like really well I think that's still seen as some type of power even if you're not that tall But what do you think about people saying? Man, that's unfair like my skinny white co-worker doesn't need to get buff to break hit the ceiling at his job Why do I need to do that? I refuse. Um, I think that first of all, I think scrawny people of any Color still get picked on by the bigger people in their group. That's just like literally like you're saying even Even in a white collar profession where theoretically that physicality doesn't come into play I mean because it'll be in a lawyer a lot of brain work. I've met a lot of larger white dudes who are bosses I'm not saying they got promoted because they're bigger But maybe them being bigger or you mean being seen as bigger you can handle yourself better You demand more respect obviously if you're Asian and you already suffer from certain stereotypes You also being Asian short and scrawny. It's tough, right because you're doubling down Yeah, you're just layering on top of the reasons that people are gonna see you as like not powerful What does it mean to be fat enough to be American Andrew? You did some research on the stats because a lot of people we got to understand why is this true? I think anecdotally a lot of people are like, okay. Yeah, I guess this makes sense But what are the stats listen 40% of Americans are obese not just fat This is obese 40% of Americans of all Americans. This is probably above like a 34 35 in the BMI index But obviously not shockingly Asians have the lowest obesity rate out of any American saying of any group in America Asians are the least Statistically obese. Yes 16% are obese. So you're saying if the stereotype is that most Asians are generally leaner or skinnier Then it's and then you're one of the 16% you're being like more American. I don't know. I mean, that's just how the math breaks down You know what I mean, right? You wanted to be American so bad You joined the rare 16% of your group to be like us one of us one of us one of us I'm moving on Andrew. We got to get in our takeaways. Oh real quick We got to get to our own personal experience because I would say that this is true that I have witnessed a few times in the streets Randomly or when we're playing basketball Sometimes especially when you were younger and or people would be more willing to try to pick fights with you on the basketball court Then they would be with me even though you are taller than me. Yeah I mean, I'm only like an inch and a half or something like not I'm not that much taller than you present as significantly Yeah, but you're way thicker than me and way stronger way stockier people look at your calves and are like, you know I'm messing with this guy can't even knock them down. Look at that stability in his Achilles, you know And I'm like, yeah, people think that they can knock me down because I'm leaner, right? Growing up. I hated being called skinny because we we grew up doing a lot of American things playing a lot of sports play We're around a lot of non-Asians. So I was like, I was considered skinny even though for an Asian. I'm not super skinny I'm lean and I've I have a little bit of shape now But I'm saying like I can tell you that I didn't want to be skinny growing up I hated being called that because also in our town. I was not benefiting from being a skinny Asian guy It wasn't like oh, there wasn't a lot of Asians in our town But there wasn't a bunch of girls that were like, oh, we're looking for a skinny Asian, dude But I guess do you think the skinny you in 2023 is like, I'm not just skinny. I'm skinny svelte and pretty I don't know. I think everything depends on your reward system and your group But I think the way out of fishbowl you're in right the fact that I'll do if you Like to do athletic things, you know being skinny is definitely not usually a a advantage unless you're a diver. Yeah Moving on to our final takeaways Andrew My first one is gimmicks like these visual markers and visual imaging ultimately as much as people hate them They're real and I think the bulk of you are like the more American you you'll get considered and that can be beneficial in certain Instances, however Andrew the same thing is true for clothing, right? If I wear a bunch of I'm a Leon Doree And those new balances, you know some Ronnie five joints I'm trying to present myself as a artsy hipster So it's like how hard is it to understand that fashion expression concept, but as a body type Mm-hmm, but I guess it's taboo to talk about Andrew because it's very difficult to change your body type Yeah, David the last point is like what's what's the value in being seen as American? You know, like I do know that obviously we all know a lot of Asians They get hit with the professional foreigner Steer a type of like oh where you from do you speak English? Oh, you're just like you're just like weird man Yeah, like you could say that I guess you know for example white and black people there They have their qualms with each other, but they do consider themselves part of the same Western family Yeah, what you're saying like sometimes skinny Asians don't even get considered part of that whole family dynamic at all Yeah, exactly. I mean I can think of this like let's say you're a skinny Asian You are probably more likely to wear Asian brands to so therefore if you are more inspired by the other skinny celebrities from Asia and you tend to end up looking like them And you wear things like Asian brands that are more fit for the Asian shape, which is skinnier Then you're definitely going to look even more Asian than if you were to dress some other way So maybe it's also like being skinny and being big it obviously Changes the way you perceive clothing and your look overall Yeah, how motivated do you think people are by just like fitting in with a group? Like we all know guys that grew up with us Andrew that grew up in our town That was mostly white and black people, right? So everybody's trying to play, you know hockey basketball football baseball Everybody's just trying to do these like really murrican things, right? But I noticed that there were some Asian guys that we grew up with that once they found the Asian Asian crowd in college They started growing out the J-pop K-pop hair looking like a final fantasy character wearing like you said, you know Yoji Yamamoto and kind of going into that lane because they found found finally found a tribe that like more accepted them Yeah, I mean people want to fit in anyways guys. We're gonna wrap it up right there Let us know in the comments down below what you think about all this doesn't make sense to you I mean it kind of does make sense to me But let us know how that makes you feel if you're skinny or if you're a bigger Asian Do you are the bigger Asians? Are you is this helpful to you? Like do you like to hear this or you're like, no, I'm still trying to lose weight You let us know in the comments down below Please hit that like button and check out other episodes of the hop-hop boys. Thank you so much for watching and until next time we out Peace