I, of course, was drawn into this Slate article on racial preference and dating by the teaser on the front page, which read: “The Myth of the Asian Fetish,” and featured an Asian woman’s face.
Continue reading "Asian Fetish Myth: Not Debunked"
Posted by neela at 12:41 PM | Comments (6)
There have been some interesting studies/conversations about which young people are using what social networking site, basically what it means about you and your background if you are on MySpace all day versus Facebook.
Continue reading "What Your Social Networking Site Says About You"
Posted by neela at 5:28 PM | Comments (3)
The Asian American Arts Alliance celebrated its 25th anniversary with a star-studded gala, GALAXXY. Since 9/11 the AAAA has reached out to community organizations to help in rebuilding Chinatown. Karma paid them back, with plenty of big names coming out to the AAAA gala to support their efforts on behalf of artists. Hyphen's Rikki Massand reports from the Tribeca Rooftop on Tuesday, October 16th, while enjoying sushi and an open bar.
Willa Kim was also honored by the AAAA. One of the foremost costume designers in ballet, theatre, opera and TV, Kim has been honored many times since 1964 including Emmy, Tony and Obie Awards.
Margaret Cho watches the presentation from the front table with Knox Chandler.
Continue reading "GALAXXY: The Asian American Arts Alliance's 25th Anniversary Gala"
Posted by melanie at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)
Eric Wong was honored alongside Kal Penn and Willa Kim at the Asian American Arts Alliance's “GALAXXY” gala on the TriBeCa Rooftop last month. Wong is the Chief Marketing Officer of Bad Boy Entertainment and Senior Vice President of Marketing for Atlantic Records. Hyphen's Rikki Massand shared a few words with the man of the hour.
Continue reading "Eric Wong, AAAA's 25th Anniversary Honoree"
Posted by melanie at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)
Gala co-chairs B.D. Wong and Nusrat Durrani take the podium at the beginning of the presentation.
San Francisco’s own favorite son B.D. Wong, the accomplished Broadway and Hollywood actor who currently stars in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, said he is encouraged to see the progress made by Asian Americans in the arts. Hyphen's Rikki Massand chatted with Wong at the Asian American Arts Alliance Gala this October.
Continue reading "A Check-up With B.D. Wong"
Posted by melanie at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)
DJ Rekha performed for the audience at the Asian American Arts Alliance's 25th Anniversary Gala on October 16. Hyphen's Rikki Massand caught up with DJ Rekha just a week before the launch of her first album, "Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra," in stores now.
Continue reading "Q&A with DJ Rekha"
Posted by melanie at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
James Kyson Lee, who plays Ando Masahashi on NBC’s television series Heroes, attended the Asian American Arts Alliance's 25th gala. Here's a chat Hyphen's Rikki Massand shared with Lee atop the TriBeCa Rooftop in New York City last month.
Continue reading "Mixing Drinks with Stars, Heroes"
Posted by melanie at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
We’re in the final stages of putting Issue 13 to bed, so I’ve been in super-editing and proofing mode. In two of our stories about Asian American literature, Amy Tan’s name comes up.
The girls from the Pan-Asian Repertory Theater's revival of The Joy Luck Club, from Broadwayworld.com
Continue reading "Does 'The Joy Luck Club' Need a Revival?"
Posted by neela at 11:20 AM | Comments (5)
I just got a press release about the book Mythix I: Revelation by 12-year-old Justin Tse.
Continue reading "What's Up with Asian American Child Authors?"
Posted by neela at 9:04 AM | Comments (0)
Filipino Americans have been up in arms lately over the highly publicized Desperate Wives bashing of Filipino doctors, as Harry reported, and also about the way Frannie Richards, 33, was mistreated by employees at a Chicago H&M.
Continue reading "Is the 'Desperate Housewives' Slur Worth $500M?"
Posted by neela at 12:33 PM | Comments (6)
A couple of weeks ago I attended the Zine and Comic Expo at APAture, which is always a treasure trove of finds.
Continue reading "APA Zinestresses Rock My World"
Posted by neela at 1:30 PM | Comments (0)
The man who revolutionized running in the kitchen won the third season of Top Chef last night.
Continue reading "Hung Wins Top Chef"
Posted by neela at 3:47 PM | Comments (6)
The Houston Chronicle reports about the flourishing of Indian American newspapers in Houston, which has a huge South Asian population.
Continue reading "Indian American Newspapers Compete in Houston"
Posted by neela at 5:36 PM | Comments (1)
So it's been, like, months since I've blogged here. Mostly because since the arrival of my little one, I've have limited time. But also, this is the Hyphen blog, and I'm thinking, my life has been revolving around this little fellow who eats/pee/poos/sleeps and hardly leaves time for me to do the same, and why would anyone here want to read about that?
Posted by momo at 10:38 AM | Comments (2)
When I’m not sitting on the newly-elected Hyphen Board (woo-hoo!), I also sit on the Circle of Directors of Purple Moon Dance Project – a non-profit arts organization whose goal is “to increase the visibility of lesbians and women of color and to encourage social change, peace and healing in our society through the medium of dance.”
Continue reading "Come Heal Yourself and Nominate Fierce Women Artists and Community Builders"
Posted by neela at 8:17 PM | Comments (0)
So, months after the dust from the AsianWeek “Why I Hate Blacks” debacle has settled, the organization seems to be trying to make amends in the community. Along with a newly designed website, they are holding focus groups to find out what the community wants in an Asian American newspaper.
Continue reading "Tell AsianWeek What They Are Doing Wrong and Get Fed"
Posted by neela at 3:42 PM | Comments (0)
If you've never been to the dynamic APAture: A Window on the Art of Asian Pacific Americans festival hosted by the historic Kearny Street Workshop -- this is your chance.
Continue reading "APAture 2007 Opens Tonight"
Posted by neela at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)
As the nation woke up to live broadcasts of 9/11 memorial services this Tuesday, I was shaken by an angry Indian mother telling me to shave my beard, just like she’s done every year since the tragic event filled Americans with disdain for all persons brown and bearded. She said people might, yikes, mistake me for a Muslim.
I’m brown, proud and too damn lazy to shave. And this seems to only bother other Indians. I just got back from an overseas vacation and to my family and friends’ surprise, I wasn’t hassled, cavity searched or anal probed by security. As much as I’d like to write off my mom’s paranoia as ignorance, it’s been a warranted precautionary measure for all South Asians and Middle Easterners ever since the hate crimes that followed and continue six years later.
We live in fear. We know our country’s history of persecuting its minority citizens. And we know that over-patriotic and under-educated Americans have a hard on for hatred toward us. Just check Craigslist’s Rants and Raves section, where morons engage in dumbass discussions and hurl racist remarks like it was a Klan rally in the 40s.
Here are a few gems from the Bay Area Craigslist:
“I use to be a non-racist person. That is until you ragheaded Islamic freaks had to come to this country and fuck it all up! You fucking Islamic ragheads are the one's responsable for 9/11. All you MotherFuckers are pieces of shit! You fucking stink and you are fucking rude.” – click-clack if you want to read more.
“Fuck Islam. I'm against Bush. Against the war in Iraq, but if you think for a second that I will convert to your Godless ‘religion’ then prepare for me to fight you to the death and take as many of you motherfuckers with me.”
“rememberr 9/11 kill a turban day”
I wonder what's being said in other communities and forums across the nation? And maybe I'll trim my beard just a little, for mom's sake.
Posted by Zoneil at 4:46 PM | Comments (3)
This guy could change the gender balance of the Indian American community? Yikes!
An interesting story about ads for The Fertility Clinic, a Los Angeles-based center that claims they have the "world's largest and most successful PGD sex selection program," running in Indian American media.
Continue reading "Sex Selection Ads Cause Controversy"
Posted by neela at 1:01 PM | Comments (5)
There seems to be nothing hotter than Asian American graphic novelists and comic book artists. (Be sure to check out Issue 12 of Hyphen for a great story on South Asian-centric Shakti Comics at Virgin and what desi comic artists have to say about it.) Now, add to the list an exciting new project from our friend Jeff Yang and his buddies in the comic industry: Secret Identities: The Asian American Superman Anthology.
Continue reading "Let Your Inner Asian American Superhero Out with "Secret Identities""
Posted by neela at 12:49 PM | Comments (2)
When I arrived in San Francisco as a country-bumpkin from the Midwest, I often found myself standing by the hole in the ground at the corner of Jackson and Kearny in Chinatown. I had seen the amazing documentary The Fall of the I-Hotel back in college and I was amazed that the space was still being protected. It was the last year of the dotcom boom and all the history of displacement seemed incredibly relevant.
Continue reading "Remembering Filipino American Activist: Bill Sorro"
Posted by neela at 11:56 AM | Comments (3)
I recently drove from L.A. to San Francisco in a poorly air conditioned car and the only thing that kept me going was listening to M.I.A.'s Arular over and over. "I got the bombs to make you blow/ I got the beats to make you bang!"
Continue reading "M.I.A. Rawks!!"
Posted by neela at 11:54 PM | Comments (1)
It’s been almost two years since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. While the major focus has been on the failure of the government to provide support to the majority African American community in the 9th Ward, the resilience of the Vietnamese American population in New Orleans East – a suburban community 15 miles northeast of downtown New Orleans – has been getting a great deal of attention. Both academic research and mainstream media seem to point to the idea of a hard-working community whose been through much worse than Katrina's destruction.
Continue reading "The Success Story of Vietnamese Americans in New Orleans East"
Posted by neela at 2:42 PM | Comments (1)
So, the most beautiful woman in the world, Aishwarya Rai is poised for the big crossover from Bollywood to Hollywood.
Continue reading "Can Aishwarya Rai crossover?"
Posted by neela at 3:36 PM | Comments (16)
Image from Korean Resource Center
In the recent debate over immigration reform there was a lot of talk about the need for humane legislation for immigrant workers and families, but not enough discussion about how immigration reform would benefit undocumented students.
Immigrant students who are undocumented face big time barriers to higher education. The LA Times reported that every year, 50,000-60,000 undocumented students graduate from high school after having lived in this country for at least five years. And that’s just the reported number! Forty percent of those undocumented students live in California.
There are a whole lot of Asian students that are undocumented too, but you wouldn’t know from how the media has focused most of its attention on Latino immigrants. According to the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium Asians make up over 1 million undocumented immigrants. One out of five Korean Americans are undocumented.
Continue reading "Many Dreams of Higher Education Deferred"
Posted by carmina at 12:21 PM | Comments (10)
Image from Korean Resource Center
In the recent debate over immigration reform there was a lot of talk about the need for humane legislation for immigrant workers and families, but not enough discussion about how immigration reform would benefit undocumented students.
Immigrant students who are undocumented face big time barriers to higher education. The LA Times reported that every year, 50,000-60,000 undocumented students graduate from high school after having lived in this country for at least five years. And that’s just the reported number! Forty percent of those undocumented students live in California.
There are a whole lot of Asian students that are undocumented too, but you wouldn’t know from how the media has focused most of its attention on Latino immigrants. According to the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium Asians make up over 1 million undocumented immigrants. One out of five Korean Americans are undocumented.
Continue reading "Many Dreams of Higher Education Deferred"
Posted by carmina at 12:21 PM | Comments (10)
Image from Korean Resource Center
In the recent debate over immigration reform there was a lot of talk about the need for humane legislation for immigrant workers and families, but not enough discussion about how immigration reform would benefit undocumented students.
Immigrant students who are undocumented face big time barriers to higher education. The LA Times reported that every year, 50,000-60,000 undocumented students graduate from high school after having lived in this country for at least five years. And that’s just the reported number! Forty percent of those undocumented students live in California.
There are a whole lot of Asian students that are undocumented too, but you wouldn’t know from how the media has focused most of its attention on Latino immigrants. According to the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium Asians make up over 1 million undocumented immigrants. One out of five Korean Americans are undocumented.
Continue reading "Many Dreams of Higher Education Deferred"
Posted by carmina at 12:21 PM | Comments (10)
The idea of marriage makes my hands sweat, not in a good way. I’m trying to figure it out though, really I am. Therapy has helped me realize that it’s one part rebellion to the South Asian obsession with weddings, one part my parent’s divorce ... and the rest is still murky. I mean, I’ve always been a bit of a cynic: the whole concept of “forever” that marriage is predicated on just doesn’t compute for me. The idea of celebrating that idea by spending thousands of dollars for a huge party just seems like asking for it … but at the same time, I love champagne.
Continue reading "Big, Fat Indian Weddings, and a Few Divorces"
Posted by neela at 12:52 AM | Comments (4)
The idea of marriage makes my hands sweat, not in a good way. I’m trying to figure it out though, really I am. Therapy has helped me realize that it’s one part rebellion to the South Asian obsession with weddings, one part my parent’s divorce ... and the rest is still murky. I mean, I’ve always been a bit of a cynic: the whole concept of “forever” that marriage is predicated on just doesn’t compute for me. The idea of celebrating that idea by spending thousands of dollars for a huge party just seems like asking for it … but at the same time, I love champagne.
Continue reading "Big, Fat Indian Weddings, and a Few Divorces"
Posted by neela at 12:52 AM | Comments (3)
The idea of marriage makes my hands sweat, not in a good way. I’m trying to figure it out though, really I am. Therapy has helped me realize that it’s one part rebellion to the South Asian obsession with weddings, one part my parent’s divorce ... and the rest is still murky. I mean, I’ve always been a bit of a cynic: the whole concept of “forever” that marriage is predicated on just doesn’t compute for me. The idea of celebrating that idea by spending thousands of dollars for a huge party just seems like asking for it … but at the same time, I love champagne.
Continue reading "Big, Fat Indian Weddings, and a Few Divorces"
Posted by neela at 12:52 AM | Comments (4)
Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy is looking like the streets we named after him -- permanently under construction...
Directed by Zia Mohajerjasbi, Blue Scholar's "Back Home," off of the recently released Bayani, is powerful, poignant and necessary. Sure, the video's not terribly original (cemetery setting, weeping widows, kids holding portraits of lost loved ones) but it captures the inevitable suffering and pain that comes with war.
I know I've posted about Blue Scholars before but I'm just geeked off the fact that there are still some rap cats making meaningful music instead of those annoying ass dance songs. If only the masses would start taking note...
Posted by at 7:52 PM | Comments (3)
Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy is looking like the streets we named after him -- permanently under construction...
Directed by Zia Mohajerjasbi, Blue Scholar's "Back Home," off of the recently released Bayani, is powerful, poignant and necessary. Sure, the video's not terribly original (cemetery setting, weeping widows, kids holding portraits of lost loved ones) but it captures the inevitable suffering and pain that comes with war.
I know I've posted about Blue Scholars before but I'm just geeked off the fact that there are still some rap cats making meaningful music instead of those annoying ass dance songs. If only the masses would start taking note...
Posted by Zoneil at 7:52 PM | Comments (3)
Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy is looking like the streets we named after him -- permanently under construction...
Directed by Zia Mohajerjasbi, Blue Scholar's "Back Home," off of the recently released Bayani, is powerful, poignant and necessary. Sure, the video's not terribly original (cemetery setting, weeping widows, kids holding portraits of lost loved ones) but it captures the inevitable suffering and pain that comes with war.
I know I've posted about Blue Scholars before but I'm just geeked off the fact that there are still some rap cats making meaningful music instead of those annoying ass dance songs. If only the masses would start taking note...
Posted by at 7:52 PM | Comments (3)
The New York Academy of Medicine released a report in May on the needs of APIs living with HIV/AIDS in the New York City area.
Some key findings show no real surprises (many barriers to care like cost and language, evidence that APIs delay testing, and overall low knowledge of HIV prevention and treatment), but something to note:
• Extreme Isolation and Mental Distress Because of HIV Stigma. Reluctance to disclose one’s HIV status because of HIV stigma was a major theme in the qualitative interviews. Many participants experienced extreme social isolation because of their fears about disclosing their HIV status and the sometimes negative responses they received when they did disclose. Social isolation appears to have had significant negative mental health consequences. 71% had low or very low mental health scores, compared to 50% for the cohort. (emphasis mine)
Yet even given these high levels of isolation and mental distress, relatively few had utilized mental health services; providers said the barriers were both clients’ reluctance to seek mental health services and the lack of appropriate services. Once again, we see mental health as a major unaddressed issue in our community.
There are many APAs around the country trying to bring more attention to the issue of AIDS in our community and prompting folks to get tested (Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon got an oral test in front of the press in May). But at the same time, HIV clinics and researchers are seeing their funding slashed as the result of an administration that prefers to promote abstinence instead of sex ed to combat AIDS. Here in San Francisco, a Japanese American researcher at UCSF who worked with Asian and transgender communities was recently fired (he claims racial prejudice and lack of concern for transgendered communities).
I wrote about undocumented Asian immigrants living with HIV/AIDS in New York City in HYPHEN’s Fall 2006 issue (The Music Issue), and it never fails to amaze me how invisible this issue is to our community. Maybe people think it’s a nonissue; it has fallen off our radar since the ’80s and ’90s when it was on all the celebrities’ lips and lapels. Or, more disturbingly, maybe people think that Asian Americans simply don’t get AIDS. I once read a submission from a writer who didn’t use condoms because he assumed the Asian women he slept with were “clean” (his words).
So what to do? Volunteer with or donate to APA AIDS/HIV research and service groups, don’t assume HIV is just a gay or White issue, get tested regularly and for God’s sake, use a rubber.
Posted by lisamac at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)
The New York Academy of Medicine released a report in May on the needs of APIs living with HIV/AIDS in the New York City area.
Some key findings show no real surprises (many barriers to care like cost and language, evidence that APIs delay testing, and overall low knowledge of HIV prevention and treatment), but something to note:
• Extreme Isolation and Mental Distress Because of HIV Stigma. Reluctance to disclose one’s HIV status because of HIV stigma was a major theme in the qualitative interviews. Many participants experienced extreme social isolation because of their fears about disclosing their HIV status and the sometimes negative responses they received when they did disclose. Social isolation appears to have had significant negative mental health consequences. 71% had low or very low mental health scores, compared to 50% for the cohort. (emphasis mine)
Yet even given these high levels of isolation and mental distress, relatively few had utilized mental health services; providers said the barriers were both clients’ reluctance to seek mental health services and the lack of appropriate services. Once again, we see mental health as a major unaddressed issue in our community.
There are many APAs around the country trying to bring more attention to the issue of AIDS in our community and prompting folks to get tested (Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon got an oral test in front of the press in May). But at the same time, HIV clinics and researchers are seeing their funding slashed as the result of an administration that prefers to promote abstinence instead of sex ed to combat AIDS. Here in San Francisco, a Japanese American researcher at UCSF who worked with Asian and transgender communities was recently fired (he claims racial prejudice and lack of concern for transgendered communities).
I wrote about undocumented Asian immigrants living with HIV/AIDS in New York City in HYPHEN’s Fall 2006 issue (The Music Issue), and it never fails to amaze me how invisible this issue is to our community. Maybe people think it’s a nonissue; it has fallen off our radar since the ’80s and ’90s when it was on all the celebrities’ lips and lapels. Or, more disturbingly, maybe people think that Asian Americans simply don’t get AIDS. I once read a submission from a writer who didn’t use condoms because he assumed the Asian women he slept with were “clean” (his words).
So what to do? Volunteer with or donate to APA AIDS/HIV research and service groups, don’t assume HIV is just a gay or White issue, get tested regularly and for God’s sake, use a rubber.
Posted by lisamac at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)
The New York Academy of Medicine released a report in May on the needs of APIs living with HIV/AIDS in the New York City area.
Some key findings show no real surprises (many barriers to care like cost and language, evidence that APIs delay testing, and overall low knowledge of HIV prevention and treatment), but something to note:
• Extreme Isolation and Mental Distress Because of HIV Stigma. Reluctance to disclose one’s HIV status because of HIV stigma was a major theme in the qualitative interviews. Many participants experienced extreme social isolation because of their fears about disclosing their HIV status and the sometimes negative responses they received when they did disclose. Social isolation appears to have had significant negative mental health consequences. 71% had low or very low mental health scores, compared to 50% for the cohort. (emphasis mine)
Yet even given these high levels of isolation and mental distress, relatively few had utilized mental health services; providers said the barriers were both clients’ reluctance to seek mental health services and the lack of appropriate services. Once again, we see mental health as a major unaddressed issue in our community.
There are many APAs around the country trying to bring more attention to the issue of AIDS in our community and prompting folks to get tested (Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon got an oral test in front of the press in May). But at the same time, HIV clinics and researchers are seeing their funding slashed as the result of an administration that prefers to promote abstinence instead of sex ed to combat AIDS. Here in San Francisco, a Japanese American researcher at UCSF who worked with Asian and transgender communities was recently fired (he claims racial prejudice and lack of concern for transgendered communities).
I wrote about undocumented Asian immigrants living with HIV/AIDS in New York City in HYPHEN’s Fall 2006 issue (The Music Issue), and it never fails to amaze me how invisible this issue is to our community. Maybe people think it’s a nonissue; it has fallen off our radar since the ’80s and ’90s when it was on all the celebrities’ lips and lapels. Or, more disturbingly, maybe people think that Asian Americans simply don’t get AIDS. I once read a submission from a writer who didn’t use condoms because he assumed the Asian women he slept with were “clean” (his words).
So what to do? Volunteer with or donate to APA AIDS/HIV research and service groups, don’t assume HIV is just a gay or White issue, get tested regularly and for God’s sake, use a rubber.
Posted by lisamac at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)
Super-popular blog Feministing has been running a series of brief commentaries by Asian American women -- mostly from the grassroots membership-based org National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) -- entitled "Voices of API Women."
Continue reading "API Women Speak Up on Feminist Blog"
Posted by neela at 12:35 PM | Comments (19)
Super-popular blog Feministing has been running a series of brief commentaries by Asian American women -- mostly from the grassroots membership-based org National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) -- entitled "Voices of API Women."
Continue reading "API Women Speak Up on Feminist Blog"
Posted by neela at 12:35 PM | Comments (19)
Super-popular blog Feministing has been running a series of brief commentaries by Asian American women -- mostly from the grassroots membership-based org National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) -- entitled "Voices of API Women."
Continue reading "API Women Speak Up on Feminist Blog"
Posted by neela at 12:35 PM | Comments (19)
I was poking around make-up megastore Sephora the other day while waiting for a meeting and came across this display for Shalini Vadhera’s Global Goddess line. Come to think of it, I was actually looking for some concealer that would match my skin tone and there it was – a whole line of beauty products made by a South Asian woman, catering to different skin tones.
Continue reading "My Global Goddess Dilemma"
Posted by neela at 12:49 PM | Comments (5)
I was poking around make-up megastore Sephora the other day while waiting for a meeting and came across this display for Shalini Vadhera’s Global Goddess line. Come to think of it, I was actually looking for some concealer that would match my skin tone and there it was – a whole line of beauty products made by a South Asian woman, catering to different skin tones.
Continue reading "My Global Goddess Dilemma"
Posted by neela at 12:49 PM | Comments (5)
I was poking around make-up megastore Sephora the other day while waiting for a meeting and came across this display for Shalini Vadhera’s Global Goddess line. Come to think of it, I was actually looking for some concealer that would match my skin tone and there it was – a whole line of beauty products made by a South Asian woman, catering to different skin tones.
Continue reading "My Global Goddess Dilemma"
Posted by neela at 12:49 PM | Comments (5)
I have to give Center for Asian American Media and everybody involved in the 25th SFIAAFF kudos – I think it was an amazing week.
Continue reading "Where Were All the South Asian Films at the SFIAAFF?"
Posted by neela at 1:54 PM | Comments (8)
I have to give Center for Asian American Media and everybody involved in the 25th SFIAAFF kudos – I think it was an amazing week.
Continue reading "Where Were All the South Asian Films at the SFIAAFF?"
Posted by neela at 1:54 PM | Comments (8)
I have to give Center for Asian American Media and everybody involved in the 25th SFIAAFF kudos – I think it was an amazing week.
Continue reading "Where Were All the South Asian Films at the SFIAAFF?"
Posted by neela at 1:54 PM | Comments (8)
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