Will the Year of the Rabbit finally bring us some peace in 2023?
People often assume Frankie Huang is a rabbit.
She was born in Beijing in January 1987 — after the start of the Gregorian new year but before the start of the Lunar New Year.
In the Chinese zodiac, rabbits were born in 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963, 1951 and so on — but after the Lunar New Year, which in 2023 falls on Jan. 22. So Huang, born at the tail end of the Tiger year, has always felt like a "secret tiger."
Many people think of bunnies as cute, soft and cuddly — something to be protected — said Huang, a writer and illustrator now based in Massachusetts. In Chinese culture, bunnies are often feminized, associated with the Jade Rabbit that lives with the moon goddess and symbolizes selflessness, piety and sacrifice.
Maybe it comes from being an Asian woman and always being underestimated, Huang said, but her whole life, she's felt like saying: "No, I'm strong and angry, and I will fight you."
Recently, though, Huang has been rethinking her own stereotypes of the calm and docile rabbit. She's in her second trimester of pregnancy with a future Year of the Rabbit baby. She's having a boy.
The rabbit is the symbol for the #MeToo movement in China, she pointed out. #RiceBunny was coined by Chinese feminist activist Qiqi to avoid censorship. In Mandarin, "me" sounds like "米 (rice)," and "too" sounds like "兔 (bunny)."
