Personal Problems
The RTD is rarely on time, making me late and their website is hard to navigateThe RTD train cars are too crowded and I never get a seat because there’s no way for me to know which cars are emptyI never plan ahead for dinner and it’s because I always forget to buy groceries and it’s hard to find timeThe RTD was cancelled and it was difficult to find out because the page where cancellations was posted was hard to findThere’s no extension or app that shows me the differing Uber / Lyft / Taxi / Public Transport prices in a comparison format, making it hard to know the cheapest option
Bigger Problems
There is a lack of Asian / Asian American representation in design and other forms of mediaGender pay gap across female intersectionality (race, SEO, etc)Racial and political tension in 2019Lack of education and awareness on non-white feminist figuresLack of education on gentrification across major cities in AmericaThere is little representation on the Asian American experience in America
Problem 1 → There is a lack of representation of the Asian American experience in America
Dao, Alana. “How Asian Americans Use Kitchen Gardens To Reclaim Their Heritage.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 23 Aug. 2019, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/asian-american-kitchen-gardens_l_5d541892e4b05fa9df083eb5.
This article by Alana Dao discusses a small facet of the Asian American experience that I relate too. There are small nuances in the Asian American experience, and one that I am personally familiar with is the avid home gardening in the Asian community. The article discusses how Asian Americans use gardening as a way of “regaining control over one’s diet, preserving one’s culture and growing food that reflects it.”
The reason I was drawn to this article is because I have connections to gardening as well. My parents have always been avid gardeners, as have their friends and other members of the Asian American community. It is interesting to see that other Asian groups (Chinese, Vietnamese, etc) also use gardening as a way to stay connected to their roots and cuisine.
Makalintal, Bettina. “Hollywood Doesn't Fully Represent Asian Americans Yet.” Vice, 23 July 2019, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7xggba/hollywood-doesnt-fully-represent-asian-americans-yet.
This Vice article discusses the different facets of the Asian American experience. It discusses the rise in representation in the media with movies like Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, To All The Boy’s I’ve Loved Before, and a few others. But there is still a ways to go as there have been many instances where Asian roles have gone to white actors and actresses.
The article also discusses how there is a lack of South and Southeast Asian representation in the media, despite the fact that “South and Southeast Asians made up over 20 percent more of the entire Asian population than East Asians.” I think this statistic will be in important to research since East Asian representation while sparse, is still much more prominent that South and Southeast Asian representation.
Sterling, Anna Lucente. “Fighting Drug Addiction in Asian American Communities.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 23 Aug. 2019, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/drug-addiction-asian-americans_n_5d4d9a6de4b0fc06ace75829.
This article discusses the dark truth about drug and substance abuse in the Asian American community. There has been a long standing stereotype about Asians being model minorities that Asian have felt the need to live up to. The article discusses how mental health and substance abuse problems are rarely talked about or addressed in the Asian American community. This combined with the racism Asian Americans face, othering, and trying to live up to the model minority stigma push those with substance abuse problems in the dark.
This is not the most positive representation of Asian Americans for my research, but it is interesting to see how the pressures of being a model minority can effect the Asian American experience. It could be interesting to explore what else the media ignored about Asian Americans and other people of color for that matter.
Wong, Brittany. “The Radical Way Bruce Lee Redefined Asian American Masculinity.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 1 Aug. 2019, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bruce-lee-asian-masculinity_n_5d28cd63e4b02a5a5d5a67f6.
This article discusses actor Bruce Lee’s impact on redefining Asian American masculinity and the lack of positive representation of Asian American men in popular media. The articles discusses how before Lee, Asian men were often portrayed in one of two ways. One was “threatening masculine ‘yellow peril’” who fought to ‘kill the white man and take his women’” and the other was feminized and emasculated.
The author discusses Lee’s impact on flipping the script for Asian male representation in that he was fit, masculine, and a sex symbol. But he was still labeled as a perpetual foreigner despite being American. This source is important in diving into male Asian American representation. I wonder if there are any other figures lie Bruce Lee that are positive male figures in the Asian American community.
Yam, Kimberly. “Constance Wu Candidly Describes The Burden Children Of Immigrants Carry.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 5 Sept. 2019, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/constance-wu-burden-children-immigrants-carry_n_5d6efdcbe4b0cdfe0577424d.
This article by Kimberly Yam highlights well-known Asian-American actress Constance Wu. Wu describes her struggles growing up Asian-American. She describes her experiences in school where she was accused of plagiarism by several of her teachers except for one. She also describes how she felt that she had to protect her parents because of their accents despite the fact that they spoke English and both had good educations.
Similar to my other sources for this problem, it is something that I also relate too. Despite being born in America, I had to take extra classes and tests for my English since I grew up speaking Korean. Like Wu, I also feel the need to protect my parents since English is not their first language. I have shared this sentiment with a few other friends, but it is comforting to know that this sentiment is shared by others who are not in my social circle.
Problem 2 → There is a lack of education and representation of non-white female / feminist figures in the media
Cargle, Rachel Elizabeth, and Rachel Elizabeth Cargle. “When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels.” Harper's BAZAAR, 28 May 2019, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a22717725/what-is-toxic-white-feminism/.
The author in this article discusses her personal experience with white feminists and how they feel attacked when called out for their silence on non-white feminist issues. She describes how white feminists can become defensive The article also discusses some of the history of feminist and the racism that occurred during the suffragette movement in that “suffragettes dismissed the voices of black women, sending them to the backs of their marches.”
This information and bit of history is important in understanding why there is a lack of non-white feminist figures in the media. Many times, white feminists are praised above women of color for the accomplishments and ideas. It also defines the idea of white feminism which is important in addressing this problem.
“Celebrate Women's Suffrage, but Don't Whitewash the Movement's Racism.” American Civil Liberties Union, 20 Sept. 2019, https://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/celebrate-womens-suffrage-dont-whitewash-movements-racism.
This article is similar to Cargle’s Harper’s Bazaar article in that it discusses the history of feminism and the racist history behind it that few know about. The article discusses how when “suffragists gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, in July 1848, they advocated for the right of white women to vote.” Black women were not invited to the convention and there have been times when white feminists tried to dismantle the voices of black women like abolitionist Sojourner Truth during the movement.
Hill, Libby. “With Their White Feminist Bias, TV's Prestige Dramas Continue to Fail.” IndieWire, 11 July 2019, https://www.indiewire.com/2019/07/white-feminist-bias-handmaids-tale-big-little-lies-game-of-thrones-1202157104/.
This article discusses how popular TV still lacks intersectionality in telling powerful stories driven by women. Popular TV shows like Game of Thrones, Big Little Lies, and The Handmaid’s Tale have routinely missed the mark in representing nonwhite female characters. Each show has put its nonwhite female characters in the background as plot drivers for the main white female characters, showing a clear and disappointing discrepancy in writing for these shows. Most of these shows are run by white men as well, which adds to the problem of female representation.
I was drawn to this article because I watch all three of these shows, but I was surprised that I did not catch onto how white washed they were. These shows are extremely popular and decorated with awards, it is disappointing that women of color are put on the back burner for each of them.