RANT: Are Asians “People of Colour”???

Posted on July 9, 2010

Being a lover of the beauty industry, it’s always interesting to me to see how companies market to “ethnic” consumers. I’ve seen everything from “People of Colour” (which I think sounds archaic and slightly insulting — aren’t we all one color or another?), to “skins of color”…
I was in a group of fellow Asian sistahs, and when asked whether they related to terms like this…I was SHOCKED to learn that they didn’t consider themselves “people of colour”. They better identified to terms like “Light” or “Light/Medium”.
Where do I begin?
While I don’t directly resonate with the term “people of colour”…I don’t consider myself NOT a Person of Colour. My mother, on the other hand, is a 1^st generation immigrant, so I think her desire is to assimilate as much as possible into the “mainstream” culture.
Being a 2^nd generation here, I am very aware that I am not the white consumer. There are even certain brands I avoid completely because I know they are not “yellow girl friendly” with their shade range.
Granted that’s not the most marketable term, but I would definitely appreciate a company that made efforts to speak to me as an Asian American consumer. There is a HUGE disparity when it comes to Asian Americans being marketed to as an affluent, educated consumer – and there’s also a HUGE need for it (both the product offering and in product education). There is nothing out there in the market that speaks to us and our needs as a consumer. (only whatever products trickle over here from Asian-only launches)
It’s frustrating, disheartening and discouraging to hear my fellow Asian Americans’ self perceptions. It’s like they don’t want to disturb the peace, in the hopes that assimilation is easier than dissension. While I don’t think racial injustices against Asians are as publicized and highlighted in the media…they DO happen and they DO exist. It’s frustrating that we are not recognized as a minority or as a demographic in this country.
But I wonder: does the problem start with us as a community? Maybe WE don’t perceive ourselves as a minority or a demographic?
The real question is: how do you identify yourself? Do you identify yourself as Asian American? Do you feel a common tie that binds you to this community? Without this sense of connection… United we stand, divided we fall.
I’m hopeful that we are making progress. I’m hopeful that one day, our whispers will one day combine to form a great big SHOUT…directly to the ears, eyes, minds and hearts of the masses.
GO U ASIANS!

Is it me? Or is it ’cause I’m Korean?

Posted on October 8, 2009

Cultural upbringings definitely influence who you are as a person. The older I get, the more undeniably Korean I realize I am.
Kimchi will always be my #1 condiment (with mayo as a close 2nd). Chopsticks will always be my most favorite utensil. And I will ALWAYS buy my ankle-length socks from Hanyang Korean Market in Flushing, Queens. I is who I is.
←Pucca! She’s Korean, like me!
Lately, I’ve been wondering if my Korean parents have left me with 2 social afflictions.
1) Hanging Up Without Saying Goodbye
In Korean, there’s no real way of saying “bye, now!” over the phone. Usually, you just kinda grunt a “mmm…uh-huh!” and kinda hang up. My parents never really said “bye” and lately, I’ve noticed I’ve picked up this odd habit. My friends will call me back and be like, “WTF?! Why did you hang up on me?”
What I fail to realize: not saying “bye” is considered RUDE.
Apologies to my non-Korean friends, but this is my cultural disclaimer. Don’t take it personal. But we Koreans just don’t say ‘bye on the phone. (Or it is just MY family?! LOL)

2) Food = Caring
I think this is true of Asian cultures in general. I remember when I was in China, the phrase “Ni chi le ma?” (“Have you eaten?”) was an old-fashioned way of asking “How you doin?”
My parents always felt like they were doing a good job if you had a distended belly full-o-food.
If you are ever a guest in my home, or visiting for the weekend, I won’t feel like I’ve been a successful hostess unless you leave 5 lbs heavier. It is what it is.
*******************************************************************
Are there any other Koreans out there who experience similar afflictions?
I gotta say, though…KOREAN do what it do…right?

The Wonder Girls make me wonder…WHY?

Posted on August 11, 2009

I feel like I’m being a traitor to my people by writing this post. So first, let me make a disclaimer:

I am PROUD to be an Asian girl. PROUDER still to be a Korean woman.

I love and respect JYP and his incredible contributions to music in South Korea. I look at him as the Diddy of Korea. Incredibly talented singer, producer and dancer. Mad respect.

Asians are under-represented in mainstream media. We are LONG overdue for non-stereotypical roles in movies, music and TV.

As you know from my many rants & raves on Twitter, I am FIERCELY proud to be an Asian girl. Whenever there’s a reality show, I always want the Asian to win. (sorry, I just can’t help it!)
HOWEVER, this doesn’t mean I’m a blind supporter. It’s not like I’m PRO-Anything-Asian-That-Moves.
The Wonder Girls is one such instance.

They’ve been opening up for the Jonas Brothers Tour, and I recently saw them perform on Wendy Williams. My feelings are really torn about them.
On one hand: Yes, they are an Asian music group that have gained visibility in mainstream American media. As I said before, it’s long overdue.
On the other hand: Is it the RIGHT kind of visibility?

Image: They look like Asian Barbies. When we are constantly in a struggle to break stereotypes and break boundaries, is this the right kind of image we want to be projecting?

Talent: Do they have it? Jury is still out. Granted, I’m not a connoisseur of their entire discography, but they don’t come across much as talented vocalists.

Styling: I understand they are essentially a girl group, so I get the need to dress alike. But they may as well be wearing identical school girl uniforms and knee socks – they are overly done.

Say What?: I have this thing about people singing in their native tongue – I PREFER it. For example: Shakira singing in Spanish = heavenly. Shakira singing in English = she sounds like a muppet. I personally get very distracted by their accents during this song. Whenever someone “crosses over” to another language, I can’t help but feel like it’s forced & disingenuous, and ultimately just a money-making scheme.

We (Asians) need to break through, but we need to break AWAY from the stereotypes, not perpetuate them. I can’t wait for the day when I can see some of my fellow Asian artists making it big – and being THEMSELVES – in the mainstream.

Hip Hop Now: how Lincoln Center gets “down”

Posted on August 9, 2009

Last year, I went to see Planet B-Boy, a documentary about B-Boy crews from around the world, meeting in Germany for the International B-boy competition. The film was by Benson Lee, an esteemed Asian film maker.
The film featured 2 crews from Korea, and lemme just say, they did a SeoulDiva very proud.
A few weeks ago, Benson posted a link up to this free show @ Lincoln Center called Hip Hop Now:
http://new.lincolncenter.org/live/index.php/hhgn
I was SO excited to see that Last for One were part of the lineup, since they were also featured in Benson Lee’s Planet B-Boy:

There was NO question, I HAD to go.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. I was really happy to see such a diverse group of people in the audience! You had:

the Upper West Side Culturally Curious Crew

the Boogie Down BX

the Asian-Americans coming to support their peeps

the Asian-Asian families with kids and grannies in-tow, to support their peeps

the too-cool-for-school Brooklynites with hairstyles a la Kid ‘n Play, bright neon kicks and clear-lense glasses

First act: The Chinese American Arts Council Martial Arts Society. I don’t know if their act had anything directly to do with breakdancing, but as I was watching, the similarities between some of the martial arts moves and breakdancing were really striking.

Second act: FootworKINGz: “an all-star dance ensemble featuring the best of Chicago’s footworkers.” They came on stage looking all fly: matching shirts that said “I AM CHICAGO HIP HOP” and looking all CORDinated. :)

But then they started dancing, and they kinda looked like a hip-hop Riverdance. It’s like that line from Friends, where Chandler says: “They move about as if their legs are detached from their bodies!” Here’s a lil’ bit what I’m talking about:

To be honest, I was really there to see Last for One. And I think a lot of people were, too. They did not disappoint: here was their first set!

(Please excuse the MORONS who kept walking in my shot.)
Here was their amazing 2nd set:

(Please excuse my occasional outbursts of “NICE!” comments throughout the video. I was a proud momma!)
Everyone knows I’m a proud Asian Gyal. It was a beautiful night. The evening basically demonstrated how the Hip-Hop culture had managed to cross over and touch the entire world. Interestingly, it was sponsored by Bloomberg (BTW, Mr. Bloomberg, whoever is doing your PR – MAD props!)
I was especially happy that I got to see my fellow South Koreans perform and shine on stage. GO U ASIANS!!

Whatup My Ninja??! – DOPE T-Shirt Line

Posted on August 2, 2009

If you’re a responsible Asian, you must know who Far East Movement is. They are making it big and reppin’ music, soul & freshness out on the Left Coast. Have been big fans of theirs for years!
Being true entrepreneurs, they started a clothing line of DOPE Ts called MY NINJA! Clothing. In case any confusion ensues, here are some ways this phrase may come in handy:

“Whatup homie?” – him. “Whatup MY NINJA?“ -you.

“Psssh, did you REALLY think I would go out with that douchebag? NINJA, PLEASE.”

“MY NINJA…” -(in the voice of Denzel Washington, a la “Training Day”)

I’ve been eye-ing their Tees for quite some time, and have been salivating over these 2 designs in particular:

the My Ninja! “Grey” Tee, $28.00

My Ninja! Summer 2009 – “Pink Heart” Vee, $28.00
Not only is it a clothing line, it’s a lifestyle.
My one request is that they expand the line to include some oversized tanks. Which, I’ve been informed by @myninjaclothing, are coming!! YUM.
Can’t wait to get these in so I can rock them with disco pants and stilettos! Besides, who doesn’t love a Ninja?
JOIN THE MOVEMENT:

www.myninjaclothing.com
SUMMER SALE: Enjoy 20% off of any My Ninja! tee.

USE THE CODE: IROCKMYNINJA to get 20% off of all of their tees.

This is for a limited time only. The ending of the sale will not be announced. Don’t miss out!!!

iApp Horror: the Asian Persuasion category

Posted on July 10, 2009

I was looking for a wine log iApp tonight, under the Lifestyle category of the iTunes Store. To my utter HORROR, I came across several iApps for “hot Asian girls”:
Asian Spice Lite:

And then you have Cute Asian Girls:

I really can’t go on, but there are TONS more. Not to mention Russian Brides apps, and apps featuring questionable kiddie pics, (per Gizmodo). I wonder why they don’t just have a “PREDATOR” subcategory under the Lifestyle section?

I know I really shouldn’t be surprised that these things exist. Everyone knows I’m an Angry Asian Gurl at heart and I don’t agree with the exotification, objectification and “othering” of Asian women, particularly in Western culture. But, I’m not naive – they certainly exist.
HOWEVER, I guess I was a little surprised that apps like these get green-lighted by the good Asia-file people over at Apple, and yet I have to jailbreak my iPhone to get a video recording app??
Even MORE interesting: I don’t see a “Sexy Black Girl” iApp. Could you imagine the absolute UPROAR an app like that would cause among the African American Community? I am in constant awe and admiration of the way the African American community comes together against injustices.
As a community, Asians are a formidable force to be reckoned with; we have infiltrated positions of power in politics, finance, law and the beauty/fashion industry. WHY is it that there has been no movement by our community to challenge and attack the objectification and stereotyping of our women?
I am repeatedly baffled by how acceptable “yellowface” is in music videos. How I can open up an issue of amNY on any given day and see ADS for Asian Girls. How I can still walk down a street and have someone make kung-fu noises at me.
But it’s our own doing. The state of things is a direct result of our years of silence. And our silence is a ultimately a silent endorsement of all these misrepresentations and injustices.
I see a change, slowly but surely. When I do shows, or speak at colleges and universities, I see an awareness in the students that wasn’t there when I was a student.
It starts with awareness, and the community is definitely STARTING to become aware. But there is a HUGE distance between awareness and ACTION. I hope to be a part of the movement…and get to see these injustices rectified in my lifetime.
xx,
hp

Asian American Heritage Event at New York City Hall

Posted on May 20, 2009

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Some of you may remember from my Tweets, but last week, I was asked to sing the national anthem at this event at City Hall, hosted by Councilman John Liu. The evening was filled with performances by different groups, dancers and spoken word artist Kelly Tsai, culminating in a ceremony to honor a handful of high school students being recognized for their work and achievements.
While I was there, I heard a truly inspiring speech by Jennifer Hayashida on the state of Asian American Studies in higher education. I was so moved, I asked her to send me a copy of the speech so I could share it with everyone:
2009 APA Heritage Month Celebration
Wednesday, May 13^th, 2009
City Council Chambers, City Hall, New York City
Jennifer Hayashida
I am here as an educator at Hunter College, where I have been the Program Coordinator and Acting Director of Asian American Studies for the past two years. So, here’s the good news: about 30% of Hunter’s student body self-identifies as Asian or Asian American. And, the entire CUNY system serves more than 40,000 Asian American students – taken together, that’s as many students as there are enrolled at most large state schools, like one of the larger Penn State campuses, or UCLA.
But, it’s not just about the numbers: Asian American Studies is about more than just serving percentages of Asian American students – it is about how Asian American history is American history, Asian American experience is American experience.
To list just a fraction of what we do in Asian American Studies classes at Hunter, we study the relationships between first generation parents and their second-generation daughters and sons – in other words, we study the lives of you many of you in this room. We look at novels and poetry by Asian American writers; we look at how what happens in Pakistan impacts Asian American communities right here in New York City.
To sum it up, we look at events and experiences from U.S. history that are frequently overlooked or given just one page in the high school history textbook. These big gaps in what students learn lead to gaps in how they experience themselves as Asian Americans – just that term, “Asian American,” means that we insist that we can be both Asian AND American, that we do not have to choose between being foreign and being the invisible model minority. We began this struggle 40 years ago at San Francisco State College, and we still have a lot of work ahead of us.
Right now, I frequently have students who enter my classes with no idea about the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, WWII Internment of Japanese Americans, or hate crimes against Filipino men who wanted to marry white women in the 30s. Students don’t know that Chinese Exclusion is a precedent for the Patriot Act, that Japanese Internment predates post-9/11 detention and deportation of South Asians. Students don’t know that Depression-era anti-miscegenation legislation against Asian Americans is currently being examined as part of the legal debate around gay marriage.
Asian American history and experience – our “heritage” – is a cornerstone of American history and identity, but right now it is buried and inaccessible to most of the students, Asian American or not, of our city.
This knowledge is especially vital to our young people who are arriving as first- or 1.5- generation immigrants, who find themselves between cultures and identities, and who are struggling to find a place where they don’t have to pick between being foreigners or being invisible. Learning about their ancestors’ experiences gives them a foothold in America. And, just as importantly, learning about Asian American history can build bridges between Asian Americans and other communities of color.
It is our responsibility to advocate for the rights of our daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, cousins, and, for that matter, fathers and grandmothers, to be able to attend schools in this city and expect to learn about APA heritage, the heritage we are here today to celebrate. That way, we can celebrate the triumphs of people like Fred Korematsu, who ultimately received justice from the Supreme Court, fifty years after he was jailed for refusing to be interned. Or we can celebrate the 1965 Immigration Act, which eliminated the restrictions on immigration from Asia and made it possible for many of us to be here today. Most importantly, we can then truly celebrate the everyday accomplishments of the communities we live in today, because we will have a better understanding of where we come from, the obstacles we have triumphed over, and the work that is left before us.

411: Asian Eyelid Surgery

Posted on April 13, 2009

After writing last week’s post and mentioning Asian Eyelid surgery, I never realized that people might not know what that was. So let met step up on my soapbox for a minute.
Growing up as a Korean-American, I’ve always been very aware of my Asian appearance. In a mostly all-white community, you’re very self-aware that you do not look the same as your classmates and peers.
IMO, the concept of beauty in Asian culture involves a lot of self-hate. To me, it seems that Asians are always on a constant quest to look more Caucasian: from skin whitening, calf-reduction surgery (I’m not kidding), and the super-prevalent Eyelid Surgery.

What is Asian Eyelid Surgery?

Medically, it’s referred to as Blepharoplasty. Here’s what it is in people speak:
* About 50% of Asian are typically not born with an eyelid crease. This is often referred to as a “single eyelid”. Those who are born with an eyelid crease have a “double eyelid”.
* The technique involved making a small incision on the eyelid, removing some fat tissues, then re-sewing the area. When the eye heals, the “re-sewn” area is where the new “crease” is.
* The effect: it’s basically like “Pleating” your eyelid. Through plastic surgery, you’re permanently folding back your eyelid, so when your eyes are open, they look larger.
eyes_8_exhibit

Why do people get this?

If we are honest with ourselves, I think the primary reason is Vanity. As a young Asian Kid, who hasn’t been teased and taunted with the Miley Cyrus “chinky eyes” phenomenon? Another popular craze when I was growing up was Eyeliner and Eyebrow Tattoos. (I admit – I had my eyeliner tattooed when I was 16 years old). This was all in an effort to make one’s eyes look larger.
Of course, there is always the question of RACE: Do Asians do this to look more “White”? This is always a question that needs to be raised that has a lot of deeper sociological implications. Race is always a touchy subject, but it’s one that needs to be addressed. Would Asians even care that our eyes are not as large, if we didn’t think larger eyes were more beautiful?

Self-Love, not Self-Hate

I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from doing anything that makes them feel better about themselves. I just ask that you take an extra minute to question the reasons WHY. Is it to assimilate to the Caucasian standard of beauty? Is it because you want to look LESS Asian? And ultimately, why do you want to diminish one of the very things that makes you so beautiful?
I’m not doggin anyone who’s done this – Most of my friends have actually had this surgery – it’s something you do when you’re visiting your family in South Korea for the summer. It’s not considered a big deal at all.
Like I said, I’ve even considered getting the procedure. (My reason: my LEFT eye has a crease, but my RIGHT eye does not – what can I say, I’m a freak!). I wanted to get it so my eyes can look even. But the thought always scared me. And who cares? So I’ll look like Quasimodo in all my pictures – it’s fine.
(see the difference in my eyes?)
Ladies (and men too!) – let me say it: if this make you TRULY and deeply happy, I’m all for it!
But on a personal note: I am Asian. It’s who I am, it’s who my family is, and it’s who I will always be. No amount of surgery, whitening, bleaching, or physical alteration will change that.
Instead of expensive surgery, a more recession friendly, lasting option is SELF-LOVE.
food for thought,
hp

Red Blood of the Dragon’s Psyche

Posted on June 6, 2008

Last night, I was lucky enough to attend an opening for an exhibit curated by a Zhang Jie Song, a member of the Stone Forest Ensemble – a talented musician. The exhibit was in Tribeca, tucked away on Leonard Street and featured artists from China. Interspersed with the pieces, were excerpts and tidbits of Chinese history and current affairs.
Overall, the exhibit was really powerful and cohesive. Congratulations to Jie Song on a very outspoken exhibit. Here are a few of my fave pieces.

Salomon Arts Gallery
83 Leonard St, 4th Fl (Tribeca)
NY, NY 10013
June 5th – August 5th
212.966.1997

SEOULDIVA

for divas with SEOUL

Category Archives: GO U ASIANS!