AITA: K-Pop-Obsessed Teen Makes Brother's Girlfriend Uncomfortable With Racist Behavior

Meeting a partner's family for the first time tends to be an anxiety-inducing situation. There's a lot of pressure to impress the people who raised or grew up with your "person." But sometimes it's the family that should be concerned with the kind of impression that they're making. Recently, a Korean-American woman took to Reddit for some advice regarding sticky situation she had with her boyfriend's 13-year-old sister. In her posts, she describes visiting her boyfriend's family and meeting his younger sister, who is a fan of K-Pop and Korean culture. Right off the bat the teenager started speaking to OP in Korean, asking questions that made her feel uncomfortable, and even taking photos of OP while she ate, saying she looked like an "idol."

The whole situation smacked of racism to the Korean woman, but when she opened up to her boyfriend about his sister's behavior, he became defensive and argued that his sister was simply excited to meet her. OP asks the r/AmItheAsshole subreddit if she was wrong to refer to her partner's sister as racist, and the responses, while varying, seem to be in her favor. It's a thin line between admiration and fetishization. Instead of being defensive, perhaps her brother could have used the situation as a teaching moment. While some users seemed to think OP was overreacting, the bulk of the replies are thoughtful, and even taught us a little about how racism manifests regardless of intention.

Posted by Ada Elder