So you’re having a hapa?

13 Jan 2012 2 Comments

by Papa-D in The Pregnancy Tags:

I used the term “hapa” previously but it occurred to me this morning that many people reading this may not have heard it before.  According to Wikipedia, “Hapa is a Hawaiian language term used to describe a person of mixed Asian or Pacific Islander racial or ethnic heritage.”  I don’t know that I heard the term before moving to the Bay Area, but it’s very common around here.  (Apparently my spell checker has never heard the term either!)

The rumor is that hapas are more beautiful than pure Asian or white people.  It’s a modern urban myth…or is it?  According to this article in Psychology Today, “…according to a study…hapa faces are rated as more beautiful than European or Japanese faces. Researchers say the finding may extend to other racial mixes as well. ”  I tried to find the source of the study, but only found older references to it.  But who needs proof, just look at a hapa and you can tell!

As if our hapa-to-be didn’t have enough advantages with the enhanced beauty and the amazing parents, it turns out s/he will be generally healthier as well.  The same article states “…evidence suggests that half-Asians’ diverse genetic ancestry would enhance health…”.  Besides general health, they say “Genetic diversity, or heterozygosity, is associated with a lower incidence of some diseases. Genetic diseases, such as hemophilia and Tay-Sachs…”.

So the next time you hear us use the word hapa to describe Freckle, you’ll know we’re talking about our half-asian/half-white baby with +1 charisma and +1 constitution (Edited because my nerdy wife called me out on the original numbers).

Papa-D