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Asian Celebrities at the 2019 MET Gala
Let’s celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month by admiring these Asian star’s wonderful looks on the MET Gala Red Carpet!
Source:
https://www.eonline.com/ap/news/1039513/the-campiest-asian-stars-at-the-2019-met-gala
How Asian fetishization legitimately poses harms to the Asian community, particularly Asian women
(Twitter thread from @asianpocunite on Twitter and @asian.actiivist on Instagram)
Asian Representation in popular culture
In recent years, there have been leaps and bounds in terms of Asian representation in the media, with all-Asian movies like Crazy Rich Asians being a huge hit in Hollywood just last year. Here are some examples of amazing Asian actors, actresses, and singers who have made it big!
1) Lana Condor
Lana Therese Condor is a Vietnamese-born American actress and dancer. She made her debut as Jubilation Lee / Jubilee in the 2016 superhero film X-Men: Apocalypse and had her first lead role as Lara Jean Covey in the 2018 film adaptation of To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Picture via Famebytes.com
2) Ross Butler
The Singapore-born and raised actor Ross Butler is well-known for his acting role on Netflix's popular high school-themed show 13 Reasons Why. He also had a small role on the sixth season of MTV's Teen Wolf, starred as Reggie Mantle on The CW's Archie Comics reboot, Riverdale, and played a small yet vital guest starring role in Disney’s hit sitcom K.C Undercover. Picture via Pride.com
3) Priyanka Chopra
Indian actress Priyanka Chopra made history as the first South Asian actor to star in a leading role in an American network series (ABC's Quantico), and the first South Asian actor to win a People's Choice Award! Priyanka also is a current UNICEF ambassador and has also been vocal about the need for diversity in entertainment. It's safe to say she, along with other actors like Dev Patel, brings South Asian representation to a film landscape that so desperately needs it. Picture via akclinics.org
4) Karan Brar
Karan Brar is an American actor who is of Punjabi Indian ethnicity and is best known for his child roles as Chirag Gupta in the Wimpy Kid feature film franchise, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, as well as for his co-starring role as Ravi Ross on the Disney Channel Hit Series Jessie, and its subsequent spin-off Bunk'd. Picture via teenplicity.com
However, despite the progress made in the past years, Hollywood has yet to confront its history of whitewashing originally Asian characters and the long history of yellowface. Here are some really great articles that explain the disparity in Asian Representation in popular culture, be it in the media, in Hollywood or in pop music:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/06/t-magazine/asian-american-actors-representation.html
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/yellowface-whitewashing-history
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/06/t-magazine/asian-american-actors-representation.html
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/yellowface-whitewashing-history
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-immigrants-are-underrepresented-tv-despite-being-fastest-growing-immigrant-n921311
https://www.pride.com/identities/2019/5/02/20-asian-actors-helping-make-hollywood-more-diverse#media-gallery-media-4
https://famebytes.com/lana-condor-bio/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karan_Brar
https://teenplicity.com/karan-brar-discusses-diversity-and-bunkd/
How the Model Minority Myth actively harms Asian American youths
(Twitter thread from @asianpocunite on Twitter and @asian.actiivist on Instagram)
Asian Hate Crimes on the Rise
Asian hate crimes are on the rise and we cannot treat this issue lightly. Just two months ago in New York City, a fatal hammer attack occurred in a Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn. A man identified by the police as Arthur Martunovich entered the restaurant at around 5pm on January 15, and fatally beat 3 Asian employees to death. He felt no sense of remorse or regret. As he ran into the restaurant, Mr. Martunovich, a white man, told a Latino employee that he wouldn’t hurt him because of his race, and that he only wanted to hurt Asian men, thus, this heinous act was evidently a racial hate crime - which was motivated by prejudice, and fuelled by hate. The murders have affected the restaurant’s employees, many of whom had been unnerved by the attack, and not to mention, greatly impacted the 3 men’s loved ones.
“This was a violent, horrific and harrowing attack on three completely innocent, hardworking men who were targeted simply because they were Asian,” said Eric Gonzalez the District Attorney
Despite many believing that today’s society is very homogeneous, cases of hate crimes such as this one demonstrates how fragile our community truly is, and highlights the effort we need to put into maintaining peace and harmony in society. This is just one example of the numerous racial hate crimes that have occurred, and it is disheartening to hear of such crimes which are fuelled by hate against another racial group, still taking place in this day and age. Actions must be taken against individuals who attack or hurt others based on their ethnicity, race, or religion, as their actions greatly affect the cohesiveness and balance of our already delicate society.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/nyregion/hammer-attack-brooklyn-chinese-restaurant.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/asian-hammer-murders-brooklyn-hate-crime_n_5c54b7aee4b08710475365d0?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALbdnnbsTCHlo7crduyq08BR_alqN7ovO6KcCTKw2XEo-39e3NCET4NTm5Kwgl4MTmGlhALDHvhv0MIVh_NRhFwCgQELnbL7y9tfr6ht-1cY8ErCh99A6tM2n6dk33mHTA3eYz6L8W0uifibpiWSB2NWup5oaTG9IO5t1HBPyC3L
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/local/what-it-takes-to-track-and-prosecute-a-hate-crime/2017/03/24/7ec48eea-1095-11e7-aa57-2ca1b05c41b8_video.html?utm_term=.4b51ae71f040
Racial discrimination against Asians
To begin our section on the issue of racial discrimination against Asians, at RACEforequality we truly hope for countries to create equitable policies and for activists to truly understand the issues minority groups like Asians face. The types of discrimination that Asians face may not be as palpable or as clearly visible as that of African Americans, for example, but that does not mean it is not important to tackle. In fact, many Asian-empowering movements and activists don’t carry with them much traction, which means the issues Asians face in terms of racial discrimination often go unsaid or unheard of.
We felt that this topic would be very appropriate considering that it just so happens to be Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month!
Such issues are usually faced in regions where Asians are the vast minority, i.e. America, the UK and Australia, for example. Thus, the discrimination that Asians face is usually talked about in relation to these countries. In our discussions of these inequities, we will mainly be focused on tackling the inequalities Asian-Americans face. At RACEforequality, we strongly stand with all groups that campaign for actionable change of policies, mindsets, and stereotypes regarding the Asian community that serve to denigrate and marginalise minorities!
Sources:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjgyPyu2o7iAhWL7XMBHQAhBogQjhx6BAgBEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F2018%2F10%2F18%2F17984108%2Fharvard-asian-americans-affirmative-action-racial-discrimination&psig=AOvVaw2DiZZa4qWkUEyrEVnVVokU&ust=1557500052768540
This is a very interesting video by CNN which compares opinions of children on racism as they grow older. It is very saddening to observe the trend of children becoming more and more aware of racism as they grow up, and that racism affects the children in our society as well. We must work hard to combat racism, so that one day, children will no longer be susceptible to racism and we can have an inclusive society not limited by race!
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OKgUdQF-Fg
DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE
This infographic depicts the types of workplace discrimination faced by people at their workplaces. It is shocking to see that nearly 30,000 people face discrimination in their workplace due to their race. This is a large number that we need to quickly reduce to help establish workplace equality, and we need to stop the prejudiced mindset of judging and hiring individuals based on their race or other superficial qualities instead of based on their abilities. We should not discriminate against those who are different from us but learn to appreciate their abilities, strengths, and capabilities instead. Racial discrimination accounts for nearly 34% of workplace discrimination, which is incredibly worrying and problematic. In a meritocratic society, we should all be striving to end discrimination in the workplace and judge people based on racial stereotypes!
