May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month! Given the recent intense spate of conversations about Orientalism, whitewashing, and white saviorism in pop culture, I thought it would be useful to collect the storifies, articles, and other media discussions I’ve done related to these issues. I’m rather proud of these works, and I’m delighted several of these pieces were written/produced with my friend and Raks Geek founder/producer Dawn Xiana Moon (I highly suggest reading her recent essay from Uncanny Magazine, “A Work of Art is a Refuge and Resistance” which explores what it’s like to be a “Third Culture” kid and the importance of art and SF/F). I hope you’ll find them useful.
Also later this month, I’ll have a blog post listing some works by AAPI creators that I’ve particularly enjoyed and would recommend reading!
ESSAYS/INTERVIEWS
“I Don’t See Color” from Invisible: An Anthology of Representation in SF/F (edited by Jim C. Hines), February 2014
“Award-winning writers explore Filipino representation in science fiction and fantasy,” with Alyssa Wong, interview by Charles Tan, CNN Philippines, September 2016
“Orientalism, Whitewashing, and the Failure of Imagination in Doctor Strange,” co-written with Dawn Xiana Moon, The Learned Fangirl, November 2016
“Hold the #MartialArtsMayo: A Review of Iron Fist” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), an audio review mini series co-hosted with Dawn Xiana Moon, The Learned Fangirl, March-April 2017
“Two Asian American Women Discuss the Ghost in the Shell Movie” co-written with Dawn Xiana Moon, The Learned Fangirl, April 2017
STORIFY
“Iron Fist: On False Choices, Whitedudesplaining, and Expecting Gratitude for Doing Diversity (badly)” March 6, 2017
“Asians Who Do Martial Arts Aren’t Always a Stereotype So Hold the #MartialArtsMayo Please” March 6, 2017
“Fun Fact: The Origins of Iron Fist Were Always Problematic” March 8, 2017
“Criticisms of Marvel’s Iron Fist Aren’t Just Because He’s a White Man Billionaire, FFS” March 13, 2017
“Asian Characters Who Do Martial Arts and Aren’t Stereotypes Do Exist” March 13, 2017
“Danny Rand Didn’t Need to be White to Subvert Asian Martial Arts Stereotypes” March 13, 2017
“Being a Fish Out of Water Isn’t Just About Race” March 14, 2017
“Mulan is More Than Just ‘Girly Martial Arts'” March 21, 2017
VIDEOS
“We Are More Than Sidekicks,” presentation, UIC Comics, Culture, and Society symposium, April 20, 2017
“More Than a Sidekick: Expanding Visibility for Asian American Creators and Characters in Comics,” panel, C2E2, April 21, 2017, with Gene Ha, Draven Katayama, Mark Martell, Mary Anne Mohanraj, and Natalia Roxas