When it comes to feminism, the first thing you picture is not an Asian woman. Long has the stereotype of submissive, obedient, petite Asian women begging to serve you and please you for a “five dolla sucky sucky” reigned. But as our generations surpass one another, the anger and vocality of Asian and Pacific Islander women grows and strengthens. We stand together today in the shadows of great leaders such as Yuri Kochiyama and Grace Lee Boggs, contributing our own stories of pain, identity, and oppression.
As an Asian American woman, it is important for me and all others to remember that all oppression is connected. We are fighting the same fight when it comes to abuse, employment discrimination, unfair wages, low quality education, and lost opportunities. Just by living each day, we survive and succeed in the face of street harassment and demeaning disrespect. We receive, with open arms, the Madonna/whore dichotomy when we express our love for our bodies and sexual expression. We receive, with open arms, the Dragon Lady/Chinadoll dichotomy when our personality traits get split into separate and equally damaging pigeonholes. If we are introverted, shy, quiet, we are branded as Geisha, a distorted misappropriation of the term. Delicate toys made for play crafted out of ceramic. Otherwise, if we choose to be loud, choose to stand up, we are dismissed as the crazy, controlling dragon lady of yore.
Anna May Wong did great things in our history to give power to APIA women, but she also created this new role that we have been pushed to fill. Growing up, I lost my identity in a white suburban neighborhood that bred housewives and misogynists. And now, as an awakened Asian woman, I see every single day the amount of oppression we must deal with. We all have a heavy load on our shoulders, but with the boom of Asian American entertainment that has occurred in the past five years, these stereotypes will hopefully snuff out and die. With Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter also came wave after wave of pent up frustration from the APIA community that manifested itself in spoken word, poetry, comedy, dance, films, and music.
We have Filipina women like Rocky Rivera breaking boundaries on everything including fashion, music, lyrics, and what it means to be an Asian American musician.
We have Michelle Myers and Catzie Vilayphonh (Yellow Rage) tearing up Def Poetry with such powerful anger that directly attacks the “Asian fetish” that pollutes desire and love.
We have Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai performing spoken word pieces that inspire countless people.
They are the women that I look up to in my generation when I think of feminism. These are the people that I always hold up when others ask me if feminism exists in the Asian American world. All oppression is connected, but so are the solutions. To solve one problem is to build the foundation for the answer to another.
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Juliet Shen is a 19 year old student currently studying Sociology, Chinese, and Political Science at SUNY Albany in New York. After growing up in Arizona, she has pursued her passions as an APIA and higher education activist, advocating for social and educational equality. She is also the founder of Fascinasians, a blog focusing on the current events, politics, issues, and figures of the APIA community. She remains involved with the East Coast Asian American Student Union, the Asian Pacific Student Coalition, OCA, New York Students Rising, Save Our SUNY, and the White House Asian Initiative. You can check out her blog atwww.fascinasians.tumblr.com and her most passionate cause,www.nystudentsrising.org and www.saveoursuny.org.
*Pictures left to right: Juliet Shen, Rocky Rivera, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai
