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| Your Asian Wasn't Quiet
From here.
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| The Joy F*** ClubOk, so this might be another plug for an event. Ok, yes it is another plug for an event.
I'm helping to facilitate a discussion about queer Asians and the Porn Industry. How does the porn industry (and the media in general) paint gay Asian
male sexuality, and how does it manifest in our sexual relationships?
Do we always find ourselves performing our race and ethnicity? Aren’t
we more than just submissive geisha bois?
Imagine Sex and the City, except instead of white elitist womyn, it's queer people of color. Pretty hot.
So if you or a friend is in the NYC area tomorrow (and if you or your friend is queer and Asian age 18-26), you (and your friend) should come.
There's also going to be a naughty prize (that I still need to buy. Ugh!). I was thinking about purchasing massage oil, a queer Asian erotica book, or just get a giant dildo. What do you think?
Here's the info:
Date: Thursday, May 8th
Time: 8:00-9:30 pm
Location: APICHA (Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS) Building Lower Level Floor; 400 Broadway [Entrance on 70 Walker Street, across the street from Citibank]; New York, NY 10013
Google Map:
What are your thoughts on the subject?
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| Need a space to talk?Recently, I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer with Downetime --- which is the young adult group of the Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY).
It's been a rewarding experience so far. I don't think I give enough credit to the spaces in my life that have allowed me to be completely who I am, unabashedly and uncompromisingly. I tend to alter my presentation depending on the group that I'm with.
It's a gut reaction. It's a survival instinct.
Right now, I feel as if I have plenty of gay in my life (holla!), and the spaces that I live, work, and play in are, for the most part, gay-friendly. Not to say that there aint homophobia goin down, but for now, it's all good. I gotta admit though, at this time, I haven't been feeling particularly accepted into spaces for POC. I know this aint nothin new, and opens up a volume of analysis, but I don't want to get into that here. Lately, I've been exhausted with legitimizing API experiences, and having to bring that analysis to the table. And, you know what, I've been tired of it. It's not the role of the oppressed to teach the oppressor, as Audre Lorde stated somewhere --- I'm too lazy to look it up now.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that a gay Asian space is exactly what I need right now. A place where I don't have to prove that my experiences merit talking about.
For me, that is a world of good.
If any gay Asians 18-26 in the NYC area want to come, it's this Thursday, April 10. Go here for details.
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| Activist, Organizer, or Spectator?I have a lot of commitments this month.
I'm facilitating a discussion at Downetime, GAPIMNY's young adult group (which is this Thursday -- fellow gaysians should come), keynoting at the NYC Asian American Student Conference, presenting at the University of Georgia with Julia, facilitating a workshop at the New School's InterSEXtions Conference, and writing a blog entry for APAP (before they kick me off their blog team).
Why? Why do I do this to myself?
I'm honored, nay FLATTERED, to be asked to share my experiences and to reflect on my learnings. I don't at all consider myself to be a brilliant progressive thinker, nor the best community organizer/advocate. In my opinion, many of my friends and colleagues are operating on a way more advanced level than me. I do think I have a lot of heart and my own perspective to bring to the table. And perhaps because of my age, my views are more accessible to my peers and other young people.
But regardless of my less-than-stellar credentials, it doesn't change the fact that I've been asked to share my thoughts and experiences with others. And I guess the reason why I'm writing here is to give shape and structure to a lot of my thinking that will be the foundation for these events. (And maybe because I want some validation from you folks in the blogosphere that my thinking makes sense!)
So, a theme that runs through all of my commitments this month is this broad idea of activism. I've been wrapping my brain around this idea -- specifically how it relates to young people - queer and/or API. In my experience, the word activism has become increasingly demonized. No longer is this attitude coming from members of the conservative right and by mainstream media, but also from a strong number of young people, regardless of where they are along the political spectrum -- and even more disturbingly, from a substantial number of other young APIs - queer and non-queer.
What's the deal?
Is activism considered too radical? Or worse, have young people become less politically and socially conscious? Has privilege across lines of race, class, gender, sexuality made us complacent? Or has the definition of activism changed in our generation?
I'm not sure what the answer is.
I do think APIs must redefine and reclaim this idea of activism so that we can move forward as a community. Now how the fuck do we do that? I think it starts with examining what it means to be API in this nation today. And I think there are some hard lessons to learn along that path. Traditionally, APIs in America have been defined by racist structures and institutions. The most common example is mainstream media. (Do I even need to explain that?)
I also think that APIs in America have been defined by our educational institutions. The long, rich history of the API experience in America has been effectively silenced in the classroom (or are fighting for survival, as seen by the near-gutting of UPenn's Asian American Studies Program). And THAT is fucked up. To silence this experience is to rob APIs of their own history --- a history that is rooted in struggle and in solidarity with other communities of color. It is THIS history that has led me to self-actualization and has inspired me to become an activist.
To me, activism is redefining and reclaiming our experiences as APIs. To me, it is about exercising one's voice in a society that does not recognize you. And yes, it is sometimes about staging protests, hunger strikes, and demonstrations. But it is also about voting, signing petitions, volunteering for grassroots organizations, talking about issues with friends and family, and so much more. Truth is, we need all of these forms of activism to build a movement for change. And we need to redefine and reclaim our experiences so that this movement is inclusive of APIs.
Thoughts?
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| LiveBlogging the Superbowlwe won the superbowl!
will i go to central park? will i? will I? WILL I?
Thanks for reading, folks!
p.s. have i become a football fan? sadly, no.
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Lifetime
