I was strolling through the library, intent on getting some work done before class, when someone caught my eye. My journey to tell this story has required the perspectives of unique South-Asians, something that I have struggled to find. I have become attuned to noticing South-Asians whenever I’m on campus, always in search of someone that I think will give me a good point-of-view on the story I’m chasing, and this specific person was no exception. 

This individual I saw in the corner of my eye was a South-Asian girl sitting at a table with her friend. Her outfit was cool to say the least, and her arms were spotted with tattoos, something that I rarely see people with in my culture. 

I had immediately begun to think about her perspective and the stories she would be able to tell me about her tattoos and her identity as a South-Asian woman. 

I switched into journalist mode and approached her, excited to learn more about who she was and about femininity in South-Asian culture. 

Aryana Banerji

I had met Aryana Banerji, a first-year student from Michigan majoring in Biomedical Sciences and minoring in Chemistry and Philosophy. 

During my conversation with her, it was easy to tell that she was very confident, optimistic, and sure of herself and her identity. I learned that her upbringing had had a significant influence on her growing into the person she was today, with two older brothers and parents that were opposites of each other. 

Her father was perhaps the one who had the most impact on her. She described her mother as being “the Indian poster child” who was accomplished in her career and never did anything wrong. Her father, on the other hand, was far from what a typical South-Asian father is perceived to be. 

“My dad is a little rebellious and I think that’s where I get it from,” Banerji said. “He taught me that concerts are fun, being yourself is fun. It makes everything more exciting and that’s where I kind of got it from. He was that kind of person.” 

Banerji is an extremely optimistic individual. She loves to be energetic and even after just one conversation with her, I can tell she’s the kind of friend to have your back and encourage you to do things that you may be doubtful about doing yourself. Her confidence was contagious. 

“I like to be enthusiastic with people, I like people to be excited and to uplift the room,” Banerji said. “I like to be surrounded by people and things that are really happy and make me feel that enthusiasm.” 

Though her father is an accomplished radiologist and is very much so an academic, he still strays from a traditional Indian father. He enjoys music, films, and art. Banerji had even described him as a “player,” even if he still wears the infamous traditional Indian dad sandals.

The well-roundedness of her father, the duality of his artistic expression and of his magnetism towards academia had rubbed off on his daughter, creating an individual that values both. This balance became an important part of her identity and how she lives her life. 

Mental Health

Banerji and I went through the same topics that I had discussed with every interview prior to her, and she had a lot to say about why South-Asian culture treats the humanities the way it does. 

“I feel like Indian people are very closed off with their emotions,” Banerji said. “I feel in Indian culture mental health is not necessarily looked at. So things regarding mental health–therapists or anything regarding the arts and humanities sociology or psychology…they aren’t real. ‘Just brush it off, you’ve gone through much worse. Just use your brain, you’ll be good.’” 

The lack of importance put on mental health in both South-Asian and Asian cultures has been prevalent for generations, with the newest generation of kids trying to fight the stigma against hesitant parents. 

These jobs are oftentimes disregarded, as what they are dealing with is not seen as something worth even mentioning. 

“They don’t believe that there’s an importance to these jobs because they feel like it’s a very American way of life,” Banerji said. “‘Paying attention to this and making problems out of this shouldn’t be a big deal, just relax.’” 

Apart From The Majority

What drew me to Banerji was just how strong her personality and self expression was. She is so unapologetically herself, and though her parents encouraged her to be herself, she was still faced with some pressures to follow a certain standard of South-Asian woman. Standards that were not effective in putting Banerji into any category of identity other than the one she formed herself. 

“Why do I have to conform to that idea of the brown woman from every family?” Banerji questioned. “I still have that liberty to be my own person, white or brown. Through the eyes of brown parents, they have that traditional mindset of a woman…it’s not ideal.” 

She’s very expressive, all of her tattoos are her own drawings. Her two nose piercings are a reflection of her and so is the way that she dresses, talks, and acts, and it does not exactly fit into how most people would perceive her if they just judged her by the color of her skin. 

“There’s always a social construct of someone’s identity,” Banerji said. “It’s in your full control whether you follow that and occupy that generalization of a group of people.” 

As I had mentioned before, her confidence was contagious. I told her my own hesitance with getting a tattoo myself, somewhat due to the permanence of such a decision, and somewhat due to me believing that I shouldn’t simply because I am South-Asian, and she was quick to brush away my doubts. 

“If you want one and genuinely have a cool idea, get it,” she said. “Don’t even look at the color of your skin, just do it because you like it and it’s for you, not for anyone else.” 

Banerji is a STEM major with one of her minors being in the humanities. Her ideology of balance, of being a well-rounded person, flows into her academic life. 

She enjoys philosophical conversations and being aware of the people around her. Their feelings, their lives, what makes them who they are, are all things that she values. 

Banerji chose a field in STEM because it was what she enjoyed. She’s on the path to become a vet, something that she’s always wanted to do, and she’s been able to do it on her own terms. 

Her parents let her be who she was, someone that didn’t fit into any typical stereotype of a South-Asian woman, she was herself. 

She dresses the way she wants and she acts the way she wants. Her tattoos can be seen as her connection to art and to her father, but they are also representations of who she is. The kind of friend to encourage you, with all the enthusiasm in the world, to go get that tattoo you’re so afraid of getting.