Are You Chinamaxxing to the Max?

Flirting with Chinese culture is the new Western social media obsession with the term 'Chinamaxxing' now on everybody's feeds. What does it mean to Chinamaxx, and how can we be sure we are doing it to, um, the max?

Google AI defines the term as: a 2025-2026 social media trend where young Westerners adopt Chinese lifestyle habits and aesthetics. And while most Chinese people, and especially Chinese baddies (for obvious reasons), welcome this new trend with open arms the question must be asked: how much of this is a trend, and what happens once it passes?

It's true, everyone is Chinese at the Chinese restaurant, but what about once you leave?

Does your Chinese-ness continue into your everyday life? Is a Chinese baddie a baddie in her own right, or is it just a way of normalising your Asian fetish? Is she a forever baddie, or just a baddie for now?

I, like many Chinese baddies, have struggled with my heritage for most of my life due to Asian racism. From being bullied at school, to being tokenised in my career, fetishised in my dating life and facing daily harassment in the form of ignorant, inappropriate questions and racist catcalls. Yes, in my mid-20s that all changed. No, the bullying and othering didn't stop. But I decided to embrace the heritage I had been unconsciously trying to distance myself from as a biracial Asian (Wasian). I changed my IG handle to That Asian Girl, and began speaking up about my experiences with Asian racism. And yes, the gates were opened when K-Pop and Korean culture blew up but Chinese people simply rode the wave, and embraced the budding East Asian obsession. Until one day my algorithm began serving up pro-Chinese content.

Now given the extremely negative politically-driven connotations and stereotypes Western media (and indeed, South African media in turn) associates with China this was a culture shock. I was used to defending my roots, not being encouraged to embrace them. I was used to having to learn about my heritage, not being taught about it by white people. I was used to telling people what the Year of the Snake meant, not being told by influencers that this was the year of the Horse and why that mattered.

So I was excited at the sudden pro-Chinese culture shift.

But I couldn't help wondering if this was just a phase. Was this love of Chinese culture more szechuanationship than LTR? Where was the love during COVID-19 (originally the 'China Virus'); a time when Asian people were being attacked publicly and a trip to Spar that only displayed my eyes above my mask meant people keeping extra far from me? Where does the appreciation end and appropriation begin, when the language being used to sing praise of Chinese practices includes slurs and problematic stereotypes? When qipao is worn, a ji is twisted into a bun, or lucky coins are hung without any real effort to understand its origins or appreciate what it symbolizes?

Luckily, Chinese people are generally very happy to share and teach their culture freely with little regard for appropriation. Most racism is laughed off. We are not a people that gatekeep our practices, urging others to follow our lead especially when it comes to holistic health.

Chinese people however are also guilty of our own Western culture obsession.

We have toed the line for years between idolizing Western culture and beauty standards and conserving our own ancient and complex beliefs and practices. The positive of becoming a trend is that in the long run many young Chinese people (and those of Chinese heritage) may be encouraged to continue proudly in their otherness in a world that seeks to shame and whitewash it. And that those seeking grounding and a reprieve from the normalized fast-pace and disconnect of Western culture may have found a lasting way to do so.

For now, it is true that I am the most Chinese I have ever been, and likely so are you. Only time will tell just how far Chinamaxxing will go and whether your new obsession with broth is served with a warm glass of tolerance and support in politics, beliefs and values as well.