'As an Asian woman, Tina Provis' story on I'm A Celeb hit too close to home.'

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Australia is back in full swing and there have already been so many memorable moments.

From Shayna Jack opening up about her infamous doping scandal to Reggie Sorensen and Matty J 's tearful conversation about her deteriorating eyesight, this season has really brought the vulnerability. And tonight's episode was no different.

Amidst the exciting challenges, one crucial moment during tonight's episode had me and, I'm certain, many other Asian people, glued to their screens.

Whilst having a conversation about bullying with her fellow contestants Matty, Reggie and Dave Hughes, participant and Love Island alumni, Tina Provis, shared her own experiences of being bullied due to her race.

Watch Tina Provis talking about racism. Article continues after video. 

"Did it make you not like your heritage then?" Matty asked in response.

"Yeah, I feel like I grew up just wanting to be like everyone else," Tina said tearfully.

"I just wanted to be white." 

Six words every Asian person has felt at some point or another.

Tina went on to describe her strong desire in high school to alter her body in order to blend in.

"It's really sad when I think about myself in high school wanting to change my eyes or my hair, or not wanting to associate myself with something I should be really proud of," she added. "It became a thing, that I would actually make fun of my race first before anyone else could."

"As a defence mechanism?" Matty asked.

"Yeah," Tina responded.

Tina was been on Love Island Australia twice. Image: Instagram/tinaprovis.

And sadly, the experience Tina described is a collective one. One that many Asian-Australians have experienced growing up.

As a Chinese-Australian woman myself, watching this exchange felt equally validating and painful. Because while part of you has grown beyond the feelings of inadequacy when it comes to your race, another part of you still grapples with the feeling of constantly being seen as 'other.'

Growing up in a predominantly white community, where your features, your language, and your customs are seen as undesirable, you find yourself wishing things were different.

And the act of detaching yourself as far as possible from your culture becomes a means for self-preservation. Because if you kick off the racist banter first, then you're in on the joke. They're not laughing at you, they're laughing at them. The other Asians.

I can't even begin to process the amount of times I've tried to alter my appearance or my values in order to be aligned with the racist narrative being fed to me.

As an adult, looking back, it feels shameful that I ever tried to separate myself from my community and paint them as lesser-than, in hopes that it would make me more palatable.

It's taken Tina a long time to reprogram how she feels about her culture. Image: Instagram/tinaprovis. 

It's been a journey but, like Tina, I'm also still coming to terms with my identity and breaking down the self-hatred that exists somewhere in here.

But it's like Tina said, "It's taken me some time to kind of reprogram how I think, and accept how great it is that we're all unique, and we're all different, and be better than people that don't have something good to say about it."

And I couldn't agree more.

So, if you're someone who constantly pokes fun at their Asian friends or has ever dismissed someone because of their race, all I have to say is… be better.

Feature Image: Channel 10.