When mainly white people on platforms such as
Reddit and TikTok appropriate the aesthetics of East Asian culture (particularly Japan and Korea) often sexualising it.
They tend to get defensive, play the victim card or claim to be culturally 'appreciating' rather than 'appropriating' when called out by actual East Asians or
EA Wasians.
An academic would understand this as Orientalism, a geographer would understand this as an 'outsider, media perspective of place', but an
EA baiter just thinks they are ~unique~.
EA baiters also frequently seem to combine Korea, Japan and China into 'Asia' forgetting about South-East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East.
Non-
EA who actually try to learn about and appreciate the complexity of
EA countries, traditions,
history, culture, future etc. are wonderful people.