“You lose too much hair. Eat more sesame seeds so your hair will be darker and healthier.” My mom would say this to me whenever she finds my hair all over the floor. “I won’t have darker hair just by eating black sesame seeds. Does eating red beans make my hair red?” …. As the…
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Panethnicity (n.): the grouping together of different ethnicities that are similar based on geographical origin, language, religion, etc. APIDA stands for Asian Pacific Islander Desi American. This umbrella term incorporates various ethnicities from East Asians and South Asians to Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders, making it a pan-ethnic classification. Examples of panethnicity include Asian American…
DetailsEvery time I go to visit my hometown, I have to hear, “You have gotten darker.” When I laugh and ask, “Why does the fairness of my skin matter?” I am being “rude” by not agreeing with the elders. Every time I go to visit my relatives, I am asked, “What is your height?” When…
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In the early 2010s, APIDA representation in the media was‒frankly‒non-existent. It was nearly impossible to see somebody of APIDA descent in a major Hollywood film or in other forms of mass media. This lack of representation made many in the APIDA community accustomed to a mainstream culture dominated by whites that implied their narratives didn’t…
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Dear Hollywood, Why are Asian Americans not good enough for our own narratives? Why do you cast us aside? Or when you do finally give us a piece of the spotlight, why do you put us in a box? Mickey Rooney. Scarlett Johansson. Tilda Swinton. Emma Stone. Benedict Cumberbatch. Katherine Hepburn. The cast of The…
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