The
ABGs (Asian Baby Gangsters) were usually associated with street gangs. They were mainly in
southeast Asian but sometimes East Asian gangs. An ABG lived a dangerous lifestyle full of struggle, the complete opposite of the model minority myth.
Due to the massive cultural shift, the term has been watered down into an aesthetic related to raves, fake lashes, tattoos, and boba, which has been largely criticized. There are numerous reasons this could have happened.
Nowadays, the ABG term is coined as
Asian Baby Girl. Being an ABG was never meant to be a compliment. According to sources, "it was a term created to shame these individuals, mainly women, for not being able to meet societal standards based on their poverty and the choices they make to protect themselves from the dangers that come with it".
Additionally, the
quarrel over terms goes back to the deep-rooted power imbalances between east Asians and southeast Asians migrating to America.