In the modern era of Western civilization, the behaviors and actions of youth have evolved to accommodate the ever-growing capitalist society, focused on the concept of maturity and climbing up the socioeconomic ranks.
The ever increasing expectations of parents and peers stress young adults to mature faster and to adopt behaviors they associate with adulthood.
This includes attitudes, mannerisms, and behaviours they primarily learn from secondary socialization sources (i.e. classmates, friends, coworkers, etc.) and what they see on media outlets.
One group of American youth tends to be extremely affected by this, and can be observed to go extremely far against the values of their culture, and the values their parents impose upon them during primary socialization.
This group is a subculture of Asian American females, commonly known as A.B.G.s in American culture.
he Urban Dictionary defines an A.B.G. as the acronym for “Asian Baby Girl”, or more commonly spelled, “aznbbygirl”, within youth social media culture.
These individuals are described as an “Asian gangsta girl who likes to hang out with Asian b-boys and parties all night long.  (They) put a lot of makeup on and is usually a slut” (Urban Dictionary 2011).
This recent trend among Asian girls could be a result of their reaction to the challenges and influences of Western culture.  This article will discuss how an otherwise “normal” Asian girl transforms into this deviant yet fascinating individual within American culture.
This transformation is due to previous experiences and hardships stemming from early childhood in an Asian household, which created and fueled their rebellious nature from the time they are exposed to the culture, to their time in college, where the A.B.G. nature is allowed to fully solidify in their lives.
The process of becoming an A.B.G. begins at a young age for these Asian girls.  Common Asian families tend to run on traditional and very strict values.  With these values came the attitude of female insuperiority, as male figures dominate the family structure in almost all Asian households.
According to the article “Cultural Differences in Parenting Practices: What Asian American Families Can Teach Us” by the McClelland Institute at the University of Arizona, Asian American structures strongly differ to that of other family structures, as they are strongly based, if not founded on the idea of control.
“Compared to the White American parents, Asian American parents may appear stricter and lacking in warmth… control is not only necessary, but also a key role for (Asian) parents” (McClelland 2010).  Although the cultures in Asian countries reinforce this ideal of heavy parental control, Western culture encourages more independence and freedom of their youth.  For Asian girls, these two different cultures, Asian and American, can conflict, where parents enforce one ideal but the society around them encourages another.
In many cases, secondary socialization will have a strong impact and influence over the Asian American girl, as restrictions placed upon her by her family can be stressful, leading to the desire for releases and alternative lifestyles.
As she grows older and becomes more entangled with the Western culture of America, the young Asian girl will make the choice of either rebellion or continuing compliance within their family, with the first choice leading to the initial steps of becoming an A.B.G..
Not all Asian girls will choose that route of rebellion, but it is the key point for those that do, as it will commonly be a place of no return.
Dr. Carl Pickhardt writes for the news outlet Psychology Today, “ Rebellion at this (early adolescence) age is primarily a process through which the young person rejects the old child identity… to clear the way for more grown up redefinition ahead” (Pickhardt 2009).
What the article argues is that youth will choose a more rebellious lifestyle as a way of gaining more freedom from parents, as well as a way of achieving what they perceive as maturity and adulthood.
The article also explains that during this rebellious phase, the individual will push themselves to experiment and try different personalities and cultures, especially ones that were heavily shunned/disapproved by their parents.
They will look towards what they defines as “cool”, “trending”, and “mature”, so they can establish a goal and reason to their rebellion.
For Asian girls in this situation, they tend to become A.B.G.’s through influence by hip hop, rap music, and gangster culture, which can be seen as the polar opposite of traditional Asian culture.
As the polar opposite, the common A.B.G. finds this gangster culture the perfect goal for their rebellion against their parents and traditional Asian culture.
As they continue their development from childhood to young adulthood, the A.B.G. seeks out acceptance in social groups that support their behaviors and rebellion.
This reinforces their acquired personality, making the A.B.G. lifestyle the Asian girl’s primary lifestyle over time.
Although parents may still have some influence and control, that control may only last as long as the A.B.G. is under their physical roof.
Where the culture of the A.B.G. really flourishes is in the abroad setting, such as college/university.
There, the Asian girl’s parents have little to no control over their daughter.
Young adults at college embrace their new found freedoms, living on their own with no curfews nor supervisors.
The party culture of many American colleges only further reinforces the A.B.G.’s deviant behaviors, leading them to further experiment with more deviant behaviors such as premarital sex, psychedelic drugs, and whatever the girl decides is gangster/A.B.G. culture.
It is in this final stage, where the A.B.G. truly becomes.
As this A.B.G. culture is still relatively new, with many of the original A.B.G.s still attending university, it is uncertain where their behaviors and actions will take them further in life, or if any serious consequences will result of their choice to become an A.B.G..
All across America, especially at locations of high Asian populations, the emergence of A.B.G.s and similar subcultures of Asians will continue, as young Asian Americans struggle to find their place in a society that has many cultural conflicts to that of their parents.
In the coming years, research can be conducted on how the A.B.G. continues life from young adulthood to adulthood, and perhaps a new subculture of Asian Americans can emerge from the children of A.B.G.s.
