#AAPI Heritage Month

[universallydestinytaco]

(source for the trans-flavored Union Jack flag 1)

(source for the redesigned Hawaiian flag 2)

(credit to FontSpace and Font Meme for the fonts)

Happy (early) Pride Month + AAPIH Month! Instead of wasting your money on Harry Potter merch or Disney's performative Rainbow Capitalism collection, go support these various LGBTQIAA+ charities and organizations the UK, Hawaii AND around the world!

Aikāne 'Ohana

Black Trans Alliance

Gendered Intelligence

Hawai'i Health & Harm Reduction Center

TransActual

Gregory House (no, not that one you might be thinking of, you dork!)

Papa Ola Lōkahi

MindOut

Gallop

Hawaii LGBT Legacy Foundation

Not A Phase

Human Dignity Trust

Stonewall UK

TGEU

Kaleidoscope UK

The LGBT Foundation

ATK

Mermaids

Switchboard

Asia Pacific Transgender Network

Outright International

AHWAA

AIDS Committee of Toronto

ALQUAWS

Pride Foundation Australia

Trans Mutual Aid Manchester

IGLA

UNYA

Protect Scouse Dolls

The Linq Foundation

Rainbow Fund

Trans Aid Cymru

This Fundraiser for South Sudan refugees! (Honorable Mention, not quite an organization but still a super-worthy cause, also follow @soniakats and spread this users' posts like wildfire!)

LAST MINUTE EDITIONS FROM THE UK BECAUSE I HAD TO FIX A LINK! (Special thank to @revcleo)

Gender Identity Research & Education Society

CLINIQ

Queercare

Transgender NI

I highly encourage y'all to add more LGBTQ+ charities outside of mainland USA, you may add USA charities but please stick to one

Special thanks to these awesome users: @the-ubiquitous-umbrella and @ghostboyravenight for inspiring my improvements to the predecessor to this post.

Also a firm reminder:

ABSOLUTELY NONE OF YOU WILL HARASS EITHER MAIA KEALOHA FROM THE LILO AND STITCH REMAKE OR THE KIDS CAST IN THE HBO HARRY POTTER SERIES, FOR ALL WE KNOW THEY MAY HAVE HAD NO SAY ON THE MATTER. LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE OR STITCH WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND MAUL YOU.

[jackienautism]

drawing a character of aapi heritage every day in may

days 1 + 2: emily davis from until dawn + kaitlyn ka from the quarry

[911onabcbts]

Celebrating the importance of representation with @AnirudhPish this AAPI Heritage Month.

- 9-1-1 Socials.

[quotidianish]

ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY DAYS HAPPY TIMES SOLIDARITY FOREVER!!!!! If u wanna see middle aged trans AAPI characters with messy situationships u should totally follow me and check out my ocs. WHO I PUT IN FANCY CONSTUMES 4 THIS MONTH!!!

Closeups under cut cus I’m super proud of this. Happy aapi month my guys

[zellaroonie]

Happy Asian American Pacific Islander Month ❤️

Growing up I always had peers comment on how my food smelled, or how my mom referred to me, or how I did certain things due to my filipino upbringing and heritage. While her role is small, Candy really helped the young asian american me feel not so alone. Representation in media is so important, and I am grateful to have had characters like Candy show that there are other asian kids (mainly girls) like me who are nerdy, have a small trio, and be a leader in the face of danger. Happy AAPI month to all my fellow Asian Americans <3 Don’t be afraid to embrace your culture in a country that urges you to shut down that part of yourself.

[snw-faatuatua]

Haere Rā

•

•

•

Happy May 4th!!! To celebrate I decided to revamp this beloved piece, I think it doubles for Star Wars and AAPI month hehe ;)

Revisiting this has been a fun challenge and redraws really help me get back into art— aimed to make their expressions and posing more natural. Also tweaked their outfits a bit.

Types of lei:

Omega: Lei Kui

Wrecker: Lei Haku

Crosshair: Lei Wili

Hunter: Ula Fala

Tech: Lei Hilo

Echo: Lei Wili

Which one do you like better?? New or old 👀

[dailydccomics]

"It's an honor to draw all 6 of this year's AAPI Heritage Month covers for @/DCOfficial, and to make it feel extra special I connected them into a giant celebration of some of the DCU's Asian characters." -Cliff Chiang on formerly Twitter

[lizard-reads-the-world]

🏝️Pacific Islander Books🌺

Okay, here it is! In "Asian and Pacific Islander" the second group often gets overshadowed, so here it is... a Pacific-only book list. This is of course by no means comprehensive. I tried to cover as many areas as I could find literature for. I've marked queer and disability rep based on book blurbs, but I have not read most of these (yet!). Feel free to comment if you know more!

Novels

Leaves of the Banyan Tree by Albert Wendt classic novel, Samoa The Adventures of Vela by Albert Wendt mythology epic, Samoa Scarlet Lies (series) by Lani Young romance, humor, Samoa (🏳️‍🌈 side character) Mata Oti: Eyes of Death by Lani Young zombie thriller, Samoa Telesā (series) by Lani Young YA paranormal romance, Samoa Scar of the Bamboo Leaf by Sieni A.M. YA contemporary, Samoa ♿ Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel literary novel, Samoa They Who Do Not Grieve by Sia Figiel literary novel, Samoa Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier Pacific fantasy, Guam author Turtle Under Ice by Juleah del Rosario YA contemporary, Filipina-CHamoru-American A Mansion on the Moon: A Guam Love Story by C Sablan Gault historical romance, generational, CHamoru (Guam) Lei and the Fire Goddess (series) by Malia Maunakea MG mythology adventure, Kānaka Maoli (Hawai'i)

House of Many Gods by Kiana Davenport generational novel, Hawai'i Song of the Exile by Kiana Davenport historical novel, Hawai'i The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera classic children's novel, Māori All That We Know by Shilo Kino contemporary, Māori ♿ The Pōrangi Boy by Shilo Kino YA contemporary, Māori How to Loiter in a Turf War by Coco Solid contemporary semi-autobiographical, multiple Pacific characters 🏳️‍🌈 The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach fantasy mystery, Māori 🏳️‍🌈 Kāwai: For Such a Time as This (series) by Monty Soutar pre-colonial epic, Māori Auē by Becky Manawatu contemporary novel, Māori Dawn Raid by Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith MG historical 1970s, Samoan-Aotearoa Falling into Rarohenga by Steph Matuku YA fantasy, Māori The Imaginary Lives of James Pōneke by Tina Makereti novel, historical, Māori 🏳️‍🌈

The Bone Tree by Airana Ngarewa novel, Māori Dirt Poor Islanders by Winnie Dunn novel, Tongan-Australian The Shark That Ate the Sun by John Puhiatau Pule literary novel, Niue [read here] Breadfruit (series) by Célestine Hitiura Vaite novel, humor, Tahiti Island of Shattered Dreams by Chantal T. Spitz historical novel, Tahiti Kalyana by Rajni Mala Khelawan novel, Fiji, Indian diaspora Maiba: A Novel of Papua New Guinea by Russell Soaba classic novel

Short Stories

This Is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila short stories, Hawai'i Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau'ofa short stories, Tonga The Unpainted Mask by Steven Edmund Winduo short stories, Papua New Guinea

Poetry

‘Āina Hānau / Birth Land by Brandy Nālani McDougall poetry, Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Hawai'i) Ocean Mother by Arielle Taitano Lowe poetry, CHamoru (Guam) from unincorporated territory (series) by Craig Santos Perez poetry, CHamoru (Guam) Coconut Milk by Dan Taulapapa McMullin poetry, Samoa 🏳️‍🌈 Rangikura by Tayi Tibble poetry, Māori Goddess Muscle by Karlo Mila poetry, Tongan-Aotearoa Civilized Girl by Jully Makini poetry, Solomon Islands [read title poem here]

Nonfiction

Polynesian Panthers: Pacific Protest and Affirmative Action in Aotearoa New Zealand 1971 - 1981 edited by Dr Melani Anae, Leilani Tamu, Lautofa Luli Hine Toa by Ngahuia Te Awekotuku memoir, Māori activist 🏳️‍🌈 Mau Moko: The World of Maori Tattoo by Ngahuia Te Awekotuku From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii by Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask Desert Warrior by M.B. Dallocchio memoir, CHamoru (Mariana Islands)🏳️‍🌈 No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies by Julian Aguon memoir, climate essays, CHamoru Don't Ever Whisper by Giff Johnson biography of Darlene Keju, Marshall Islands anti-nuclear activist [author not Pasifika] Samoan Queer Lives by Dan Taulapapa McMullin 🏳️‍🌈 Pasifika Heroes series by David Riley and Michel Mulipola illustrated legends/biographies, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands

Anthologies

Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Literatures anthology, climate focus (🏳️‍🌈several contributors) Vā: Stories by women of the Moana anthology, Pacific women Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia, anthology Sista, Stanap Strong! anthology, Vanuatu Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia anthology, Kiribati, Palau, CHamoru, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, more An Ocean of Wonder: The Fantastic in the Pacific spec-fic anthology Hiwa: Contemporary Māori Short Stories edited by Paula Morris

Footnotes below:

Many of these will be indie/small press titles. I've tried to ensure they are available somewhere, even if it's just Kindle. A few (the Papua and Solomon Islands ones) you may need to inter-library loan.

Some authors have more books than listed, so please look into their full bibliography. Witi Ihimaera and Albert Wendt especially are pillars of Pacific literature and have many publications.

There are more Māori authors than listed here! But I wanted to keep a balanced list.

I have left out children's picture books of which there are many, though some may be locally published.

I included Sia Figiel for her contributions to Samoan literature despite her recent... troubles.

I am not PI, I just make lists. Feel free to correct any mistakes I've made or add more to the comments!

[iron-sparrow]

AANHPI Heritage Month ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. Asian American ‧ Native Hawaiian ‧ Pacific Islander

May has been recognized as Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month since 1991, when it started as a single week of observance in the United States. Over time, the name has undergone changes to be more inclusive, while also shining a light on the very obvious flaws of lumping so many different cultural and ethnic groups under a single umbrella.

I decided to write some posts in 2024 commemorating AANHPI Heritage Month, and I like to think it was well-received and also somewhat insightful. I enjoyed the experience, on a very personal level, and promised myself to do something similar this year.

To be honest with you, friends and mutuals, my heart hurts with anger as I write this. My celebratory spirit still eludes me, buried under the ongoing stress of simply existing as I am.

On January 20, 2025, the fascists in power signed Executive Order 14148, titled "Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders." AANHPI Heritage Month and other observance months were axed, no longer recognized by the federal government; the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI), established in 1999, was dissolved.

I am filled with pain and rage. I am determined also to turn that pain and rage into action and advocacy ⸺ I hope you will do the same, both online and off. Because as long as we exist, all of us must demand to be recognized.

Let us have a productive and enlightening month.

[casscainmainly]

For the start of AANHPI heritage month, I just wanted to express my love for Cassandra Cain! I first found Cass through Batfam fanfics, and though I loved her since she was an Asian girl, I didn't really connect to her in fanon portrayals. It was only when I started reading Batgirl (2000) that I fell in love with her. What stood out to me was how different she was from stereotypical portrayals of Asian girls. She was neither the meek, obedient, shy nerd, or the overly cool, streaked-hair, closed off rebel. Cass was warm and cool, guilty and joyous, friendly and hard to read; she was a three-dimensional character who at every turn proved herself as a protagonist and a hero. I always knew representation was important, but it was different to feel it.

And she embodies so many alternative Asian experiences, ones that speak to the Asian diaspora. Her distance from her heritage, the language barrier between her and her family, her struggle against White patriarchal expectations; these are things I rarely saw from my childhood Asian protagonists, who felt so comfortable in their heritage in a way I didn't. Seeing Cass' discomfort, seeing her struggle and still come out with people who loved her, was indescribably uplifting. This girl who looks like me is a hero. This girl who looks like me is so loved.

I think often about Sarah Kuhn's intro to Shadow of the Batgirl:

I've always thought of myself as a sidekick. [...]Cassandra Cain was one of the first Asian girl heroes I saw who actually got to be the hero. She wasn't a sidekick, she wasn't cannon fodder, she wasn't there to teach anyone a Very Important Lesson about racism. [...] Thank you for showing me I can be a hero. I hope you know that you're one, too.

It makes me sad sometimes when I think about how much earlier I could have loved her, if people had given her the attention and nuance she deserved. But my sadness is dwarfed by the happiness I feel when I remember the amount of devoted fans on here, who love and respect her and shout her name from the rooftops. Cass nation means the world to me. I never realised an Asian character could even have this many passionate fans, especially in an industry like comics. But she does. I see it on here everyday.

I love her because I owe her a debt. She helped me see myself in stories I never thought I could be in, and my love for her is really a very small compensation for all that she's given me. I love Cassandra Cain, I love Cass nation, and I love all my AANHPI comic fans. To any of you reading this long ramble, know you are just as necessary as Cass is to the world - and just as loved.

[werewolfaday]

day 140; ko-fi request that i had so much fun with i made a whole character out of it. names for her welcome!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Good afternoon, my beloved bookish bats! May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month), which encompasses East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. To celebrate, here are 144 books that celebrate the cultures and identities within this beautiful community.

What was the last book by an AAPI author you read?

Please note that I'm one insignificant human making these guides with my free time, and I'm bound to make mistakes. Feel free to correct me if necessary. Thank you for your understanding.

[primamchorus]

Tinikling

A dance from the Philippines pre-Spanish colonization. The name originates from the word 'tikling' that is in reference to any number of rail species. This dance has its origins in the Visayas, having originated in Palo, Leyte.

The dance imitates the movement of the tikling birds, who nimbly move over the terrain, or over bamboo traps set by primarily rice farmers. In this, the dancers that perform the tinikling move skillfully between two -- sometimes four -- bamboo poles tapped and slid to a beat. They perform barefooted, and must move with the increasing tempo of the bamboo.

[redsugarx]

Year of the Snake Display @ Fremont Main Library

im late as hell but made a quick trip back home to set this display case up last week at Fremont Main Library in Fremont, CA (same place that the previous event was held) for AAPI Heritage Month!

[saliosis]

a big bag with one cookie in it

(bonus)

[kirbyfigure]

lin lie / iron fist ☆