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what is the hapa lifestyle?

the hapa community is a group of unique individuals that are not distinguished by their two different races, but are viewed as one big “hapa” family. 

 

“Hapa is a Hawaiian pidgin word used to describe mixed-race people — primarily, though not exclusively, those who are half white and half Asian. It's short for hapalua, the Hawaiian word that literally means ‘half’,” Alex Laughlin describes in her online article for NPR. “In recent years, though, hapa has become a term mixed-race people in Hawaii are proud to embrace It's this confusion of identity that characterizes the experience of being hapa — struggling to find a balance between being too white and too Asian.”

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references and more information:

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Laughlin, Alex. "'Half Asian'? 'Half White'? No - 'Hapa'." NPR. NPR, 15 Dec. 2014. Web. 05 July 2017. <http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/12/15/370416571/half-asian-half-white-no-hapa>

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"The Path to Ethnic Identity." UH Today Fall Review 06: Issue 1. University of Hawai'i at Manoa- Journalism Program, 2007. Web. 05 July 2017. <http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/uhtoday/spring2007/j402/alanatina.html>.

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