#aapi representation

[tangramkey]

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month !!!!!!!

[gonetoforks]

I havent formally introduced her yet but, fun fact; my version of jennika as big mama's assistant is bi (like canon) and fa'afafine!

A samoan queer identity which she represents by being a trans woman. (though note they are not always the same) She/Her prns.

Being a queer samoan, I wanted to give her something meaningful to me, and since her character in rise was almost named "frida" i wanted to give the name more justification than just "she's a female painter."

Frida Khalo was famous for her flower motifs in her self portraits to represent fertility, but fa'afafine are often compared to flowers because of how they are considered special. They give the world variety, and flowers appear over and over again in logos and iconography for fa'afafine communities like SOFIAS & the pride flag.

She works under "Fr1da" as a codename (for big mama) and pen name (as a painter) because she's in the process of growing into her identity, like a flower.

Sheena also works at a local flower shop when she’s not fighting part-time in the Battle Nexus.

Happy Pride month and late AAPI heritage month!!

[mannyblacque]

AAPI representation in 90's rock

Kim Thayil - Soundgarden

Chi Cheng and Chino Moreno - Deftones

Mike Inez - Alice In Chains

James Iha - Smashing Pumpkins

[thefandomentals]

After originally crowdfunding in 2020 and winning a Silver ENnie for Best Setting, Jiangshi: Blood In The Banquet Hall hits Backerkit for a second printing on July 23rd. The collaborative tabletop roleplaying game explores the Asian diasporic experience through horror and storytelling. The campaign will also include a new setting book featuring guest writers like @danielhkwan and @byconniechang .

[gisellelivesunderabook]

Happy Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month!! Here are some AAPI book 📚 recs!! :3

[the-greatest-fool]

Oh fuck, it’s almost June. Okay, here’s a quick and dirty Asian American literature sweep I recommend for AAPI month. Note this is not meant to cover all of AAPI—obviously, because they’re different ethnic groups and it barely even makes sense to combine the categories to begin with—but instead blast out some of the most famous works that, IMO, should already be household names outside of AsAm lit/studies. I also, just based off my own interests, included works that look at the interplay between race and gender and sexuality.

I included “trending” writers, but I also wanted to redirect some attention to work and writings that have been in this field for literally decades. This is off the top of my head and written on my phone, plus I doubt anyone will read this. I may return to this in the future.

Essayists & Memoirs:

Eric Liu, Notes of a Native Speaker

Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior

Alexander Chee, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

Cathy Park Hong, Minor Feelings

Jia Tolentino, Trick Mirror

Jay Caspian Kang, The Loneliest Americans

Hua Hsu, Stay True

Playwrights:

David Henry Hwang: Chinglish, Yellow Face, M. Butterfly

Novelists/Authors:

Louis Chu, Eat a Bowl of Tea

Amy Tan, Joy Luck Club

Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer

Charles Yu, Interior Chinatown

Elaine Hsieh Chou, Disorientation

Ling Ma, Severance

RF Kuang, Yellow Face

Poets:

Theresa Hak Kyung Chu

Arthur Sze

Justin Chin

Timothy Liu

Cathy Park Huang

Ocean Vuong

Other:

David L. Eng, Racial Castration

[rockislandadultreads]

May is Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

Check out these fiction picks as we celebrate Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May!

Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

After thirty-six years of a dutiful but unhappy arranged marriage, recently divorced Suresh and Lata Raman find themselves starting new paths in life. Suresh is trying to navigate the world of online dating, while Lata is enjoying her newfound independence. Meanwhile, their children, Priya and Nikesh, embark upon their own relationships, but hide the truth of what they really entail. Over the course of three weeks, the family uncovers one another's secrets, confront the limits of love and loyalty, and explore life's second chances. 

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena's a literary darling while June is literally nobody. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I. Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. 

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

History is told by the conquerors. Across the Western world, museums display the spoils of war, of conquest, of colonialism: priceless pieces of art looted from other countries, kept even now. Will Chen plans to steal them back. His crew has every heist archetype imaginable and each member has their own complicated relationship with China and the identity they've cultivated as Chinese Americans. If they succeed, they earn fifty million dollars and a chance to make history. But if they fail, they will lose everything they've dreamed for themselves, as well as the chance to take back what colonialism has stolen.

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

Mia, an irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old, has an explanation for everything - which is why she isn't initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don't return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia's brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak. 

[mochibuni]

It's AAPI Month!

I'm Cali/mochi, a Korean America adoptee, likely adopted due to South Korea's one child policy in the 80s. I have a complex relationship with my heritage as I identify with my American ethnicity, but always perceived by others as Korean. That said, I'm enjoying learning about Korean culture and finding inspiration in it.

Happily married to a 2nd generation Chinese whose family came as refugees from Vietnam.

[bloomingtrans]

if you don’t know what i’m talking about i’m sorry and i will take all the egg tarts in your stead

reblog for mooncakes 🥮

[renthebatnerd]

saw this on Pinterest- don’t know who wrote it but I want to share it.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🦇 We shouldn't wait until May every year to delve into the beauty of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voices. In May, I shared a list of the NEWEST AAPI books out this year. To keep promoting AAPI authors, characters, and stories, here are a few Young Adult AAPI books you can add to your TBR for the remainder of the year!

🏮 The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han 🏮 My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong 🏮 Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi 🏮 When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert 🏮 To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han 🏮 I Will Find You Again by Sarah Lyu 🏮 Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi 🏮 American Panda by Gloria Chao 🏮 When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon 🏮 Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman 🏮 Our Wayward Fate by Gloria Chao 🏮 Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao 🏮 Want by Cindy Pon 🏮 The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf 🏮 A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata 🏮 Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon 🏮 Everyone Wants to Know by Kelly Loy Gilbert 🏮 A Pho Love Story by Loan Le 🏮 The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad 🏮 Prepped by Bethany Mangle 🏮 The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn 🏮 Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi 🏮 Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park 🏮 This is Not a Personal Statement by Tracy Badua 🏮 The Cartographers by Amy Zhang 🏮 The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim 🏮 This Place is Still Beautiful by Xixi Tian 🏮 Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido 🏮 I'm Not Here to Make Friends by Andrew Yang 🏮 The Queens of New York by E. L. Shen 🏮 Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying 🏮 These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi 🏮 Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim 🏮 The Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karim 🏮 A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

[barbielore]

In the United States, May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, commonly abbreviated to AAPI Month.

I know that in the past I have done a brief history of Asian representation in the Barbie line but I can't find the post in my history anymore and to be honest, it probably wasn't a very good or detailed wrap-up as I did it quite early in the blog's history - in fact, the reason I'm so sure I did a post like that even though I can't find it now is because I remember getting some feedback that the post left out a lot of stuff that I really should have talked about.

This year as a celebration of AAPI Month, Mattel have released a new doll in the Inspiring Women line: Kristi Yamaguchi.

Celebrating Yamaguchi as the first Asian-American woman to win Olympic gold in figure-skating, this doll is depicted wearing a replica of Yamaguchi's Olympic skating outfit. Notably she is not depicted with her gold medal.

But more than being a figure skater, Yamaguchi is also a children's book author. Did you know that? Because I didn't.

Mattel have not always been at the forefront of diversity especially when it comes to representations of AAPI women. There have been some improvements - Mattel have gone from the only Asian doll in the line being an unfortunately named Dolls of the World doll, to including some Asian-American or Pacific Islander friends of Barbie such as Kira and Miko, to having Barbies depicted as AAPI in the regular Fashionistas and careers line.

However, there have still been problems, such as the Tokyo Olympics Barbie series that contained no Barbies of Asian appearance.

And the last AAPI doll that I am aware of that was released in the Inspiring Women line was Anna May Wong - for AAPI month last year.

I do wonder if Mattel could be showing more dedication towards diversity by showcasing Inspiring Women of AAPI backgrounds at times of the year other than the leadup to May, as well as emphasizing more inclusion in the doll line year round.

[sailorscout]

Hey!! Me and @summerongrand are hosting a AAPI fan driven event over on @celebratinglucychen! Would love to see people’s contributions 🙂‍↕️

[whenweallvote]

Happy birthday to former Representative Colleen Hanabusa! 🎉

Rep. Hanabusa is the first woman to serve as president of the Hawaiian State Senate, and the first Asian American American woman to preside over a state legislative chamber in the United States.

She represented Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for four terms (2011-2015 and 2016-2019), focusing on education, healthcare, finance and civil service reforms throughout her career.

[mannyblacque]

Songwriter and playwright Robert Lopez (Filipino descent), the youngest person to reach EGOT status (at age 39).

He is also the only person to have won all four awards more than once, having won two Oscars, three Tonys, three Grammys, and four Emmys.

[gisellelivesunderabook]

Some books 📚 for AAPI Heritage Month!!

(I made this last year but forgot to post it :3)