#aapi community

[littlesistersti]

"You found a Vietnamese (female) character in Marvel comics"

"Their name is just Chinese gibberish."

All of their stories were something relating to the Vietnam Civil War but the old comics had that obvious Red Scare sentiments anyways

#marvel characters #marvel comics #marvel memes #Looking at Sha Shan and Xi’an Coy Manh #We don’t have sh consonant cluster and we don’t apostophe #I heard that one of the Vietnamese characters with Chinese gibberish name got corrected in later comics #Ah yes the power of retcon #You know I would probably accept it if maybe she’s half Viet and half Chinese but the sh sound doesn’t quite exist in Viet #Well it does but not like that and depends on the regional dialect #At this point I’d name both of them Xuân #xi’an coy manh #sha shan nguyen #aapi community #asian representation #vietnamese representation

[pr0ud0fmyroots]

Breaking Asian stereotypes is great. But we need to talk about the repercussions. In high school I deliberately became more loud & assertive because I was sick of being cast aside as just another ‘quiet, nerdy Asian’. And that got me a lot of hate. I was othered, even more so than before. So I was silent again because it was easier than having a target on my back. Easier than being seen as a threat. I’ll find my voice again one day, but later. Much later.

#filipino #philippines #Asian American #model minority myth #racial stereotyping #Asian stereotype #racism #aapi representation #aapi community #asian heritage #ethnic minorities

[thecostcobrandegirl]

Today, I took my tears and made a journal entry. It was the first time in a while I thought about my future.

More than anything I am grateful for my family.

#asian American #aapi community #love #family #journal #personal journey #greatful #i love them #mommy #my dad is cool #photography #art #personal

[chia-seed-smoothie]

just saw a couple posts either deliberately excluding brown people from the category of poc or forgetting about their existence so here i am. as a brown person, i am sick and tired of people forgetting that we exist. we experience racism and harassment too, and somehow, some people just don't seem to realize that or just decide to ignore that fact.

i've had people tell me that i'm not asian, that i'm not a person of color, i've even had people tell me that i'm white. i've been told (during the height of the anti-aapi hate movement) that my struggles as an asian american aren't as important, i've been told that my skin is "too light" to be brown skin, i've had people tell me my skin is "too dark" to be asian skin, i've had people tell me that only east asian people are asian, i've had people tell me i should stop "pretending to be a poc".

i've had white people tell me that i can't be struggling in school because "indians are good at that". i've watched people take my culture and treat it as some kind of cool trendy thing that can be used to make their photos look more interesting and cool. i've had people ask me if i "speak indian" or if i can make indian food or if i can tell them something in "indian".

i've had people tell me i look "so exotic" and tell me that my skin looks like mud and i've had people tell me that i should go back to where i came from and people tell me i don't belong here and i've been told that "my kind of people" are ruining america.

i've heard people justifying the british takeover of india by saying that indians were stupid and poor anyways, so the britishers were doing them a favor. i've heard people saying that indian food is so gross and weird and that anybody who enjoys it has bad taste.

i've had people tell me that brown people can't be queer, i've heard people say that brown people are innocent and shouldn't be sex positive, i've heard people say that i can't like people who aren't brown because it would be "contaminating their genes" or some shit like that.

i've heard people from my own community adopting these views because of how often they're thrown in our faces. i've had people in my community tell me i'm not indian enough, that since their skin is darker than mine they're somehow "browner" or their experiences are more valid. i've heard people shit on their own culture for no other reason than other people saying its weird.

i'm growing up in a world where i'm not even thinking about representation anymore, where, at this point, i just want people to realize that we exist and we aren't a whole bunch of religion obsessed, school loving, poor people in some random corner of the world. we are just as diverse and interesting and deserving of support as anybody else and i'm tired of people saying otherwise.

#vent #aapi community #asian american #mine

[volublelemur]

It's almost summer where I live!

So here's a note or a reminder not to call a swim suit a "Bikini".

Like calling a shirt "Hawaiian" it is racist but there is even more layers to this shit.

Some cracker fashion designer wanted his swim suit to be "da bomb" so he named it after an atoll that the USA nuked flat.

#summer #aapiheritagemonth #aapi history month #aapi community #swim suits #racism tw #colonialism tw

[serious-cutie]

Here Are Some Resources About Anti-Asian Violence

https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co

#tw racism #tw covid mention #racism #anti-asian violence #(in the carrd) #aapi #aapi community #stop aapi hate

[wibbwoby]

i cannot express my hatred for marvel and their ways of fucking up a perfectly beautiful character with so much cultural significance in every minute detail of her

how do they look at kamala, strip her of everything that made her relatable, unique, and an inspiration to young muslim and poc girls. and go, yep this will make a good comic. this will be fkn profitable.

#my insides are burning with everything i want to yell #fucking hell #her x-man suit looks so crap and removes all the cultural significance and how she literally represents those communities #she isnt afraid to look muslim #or share her pakistani background and culture #i want to cry #i knew this was coming when they killed her off DURING AAPI MONTH #kamala khan #ms marvel #ms marvel comics #newt talks #and screams

[faerileee]

🥪Luncheon Snack 🥪

#spam #sticker design #stickers #foodie #food #all art #idk ik a lot of people ive met think spam is disgusting #(probably bc i lived in a yt dominated city) #but its sooo so good and i think the packaging is so cute #And important to AAPI communities post wwii!!

[creepykuroneko]

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Here are some books I highly recommend written Asian authors.

1. Stories for punjabi widows ( sorry for not saying the full name of the book I don't want Tumblr to hide this post for " inappropriate material") by Balli Kaur Jaswal. This is not a collection of short stories. This is a novel set in London that focuses on law school drop out Nikki who is trying to pay the bills well finding her place in life. On a whim she takes up a teaching job at her local Sikh Community Center. Before she knows what's going on her students have hijacked the class and turned it into a writing workshop for their favorite scandalous subject. Full of love, humor, drama, trauma, and secrets, Nikki starts to understand the women in her community better and starts to ask the harder questions she's been ignoring her whole life. This book was a joy to read. Be forewarned there is both humor and heartbreak. Trigger warning: arranged marriages, child brides, bride burning, domestic violence, harassment, threat of violence, physical violence.

2) NOT your Sidekick by CB Lee. I love love love this book! A young adult novel set in the futuristic world. You have queer main characters, a comedic villain, loving and supportive parents, fear of not being good enough, confronting the model minority myth, having to compete with the gold star older sibling, this book hits on some really good issues. Jess is in high school and is the most average person in her family. Being the only person in her family who does not have super powers she's trying hard to not let anyone see how upset she is when she accepts the fact that she's never going to be a superhero. Determine to make her college application look good, she signs up for an internship. After signing a non-disclosure agreement she finds out she'll be interning for the local c-list super villain. Things aren't exactly as they seem though, the more research Jess starts to do, and the more she starts to think about it, she's convinced that the government is up to something and the superheroes are involved. Well I'll admit this is the type of story that you can immediately figure out how it's going to end from the first chapter that doesn't mean that it's not enjoyable. Trigger warning: racism

3. We hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal. This fantasy novel was a delightful fairytale rich in Arabic lore. Zafira is a hunter who is just trying to keep the people in her Village alive as they have no means to grow food or hunt on their own thanks to a curse that has taken over her country. Enter Nasir, the prince of death. An assassin who has to do his father's evil bidding. When Zafira meets a witch who sends her on a magical quest that should help restore magic to the land, the sultan sends his son after Zafira to intercept her quest. Alliances, foes, magic, mystery, the book keeps you guessing who's going to betray who up to the end. Trigger warning: violence, death.

4. Build your house around my body by Violet Kupersmith. Written by a mixed-race Vietnamese American author, this book is about loss, wanting to be accepted, wanting to belong, wanting to fit in and find community, as well as the emptiness left by colonization. The book takes place over about seventy years. It jumps around time periods and focuses on several different characters. Nothing is told in a linear fashion so I know some readers have been confused by this. Basically we learn about Vietnamese American Winnie who has moved to Vietnam and wants so badly to fit in and find her home amongst Vietnamese Nationals but she just doesn't fit in with Vietnamese society. We also follow the childhood of three best friends who grew up in Vietnam and learned about their eventual dirft apart as they enter adulthood. There is an orphan boy who is living under the tyranny of French Catholics and we hear about how he got to watch the French be chase out by the Japanese. Then those Vietnamese children who were under French rule became oppressed by Japanese colonisation. Missing women, people looking to sell Vietnamese women as brides for foreigners all over the world, a ghost, plantations, build your house around my body feels like one big Vietnamese ghost story. Trigger warning: child abuse, violence towards women, murder, death, exploitation of people.

5. In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami. Kenji is an unlicensed translator and tour guide for tourist in Tokyo. One day Kenji gets a American client who makes him very uneasy. Most of the book takes place in Kenji's mind as he contemplates what's going on in the world around him and whether or not his client is acting weird or is just being an obnoxious American. With a violent serial killer on the loose and many coincidences piling up Kenji's paranoia might be justified. Well there's not much plot to the book itself, I really suggest it because of all of its social commentary. Although published in the 90s, it deals with Timeless issues that are still culturally and universally relevant to this day. Issues like sexism, exploitation of sex workers, cultural identity, domestic violence, xenophobia, loneliness, poverty, consumerism, are just a handful of the subjects this book touches on. There is a moment in the book i like where the tourist tells Kenji that he is surprised to see the Japanese youth dress the exact same way that African-American youth dress in New York. Even Kenji has a moment of realization. In the beginning of the book he is quick to condemn teenage girls who become sex workers to pay the bills, saying that if they weren't out at night with adult men they would not get hurt but by the end of the book he gets mad at how everybody always blames the girls in these situations and never blames the adult men who attacked them. Trigger warning: gore, mutilation, Bloodshed, violence, body parts being sliced off, murder, this book is not for the faint of heart. If you seen the 1990s Japanese horror film the Audition, Ryu also wrote the Audition novel. In the Miso soup follows a similar style of it's a slow build-up to the scary scene.

6. Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar. If your fans of Neil gaiman's Stardust you'll like Star daughter. Sheetal is the daughter of a South Asian man and a literal star. Her mother came down from the heavens and fell in love with her father but when Sheetal was a child her mom returned to the heavens. As her 17th birthday draws near, Sheetal is unable to control her new powers, and ends up accidentally injuring her father. Wanting to correct her mistake, Sheetal and her best friend travel to the mysterious Night Market to try to find a cure. Instead they end up in the heavens where her mom resides and finds that her maternal side of the family are extorting her. In exchange for healing her father they want Sheetal to be their champion in a competition that will decide who gets to rule the heavens for the next millennia. Lies, family secrets, tragedy, love, Beautiful lore, and even more beautiful outfits, this fairy tale is a lovely young adult novel. Trigger warning: abuse, torture, mental health decline, blood

7. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. A mix of folklore, sci-fi, fantasy, and historical fiction, if you're a fan of Pacific Rim I recommend Iron Widow. This book is very fast-paced from the get-go there's a battle, death, and bloodshed from the very beginning. Wu Zetian is the main protagonist of the story. On a quest to avenge her dead sister, Wu Zetian isn't going to let anyone get in her way, not her family, not her best friend, not the government, not the patriarchy, not even the aliens invading the planet. Li Shimin is the sexy but scary inmate with a mysterious past, on death row for murdering his entire family, who finds himself unwillingly being partnered up with Wu Zetian. Gao Yizhi is the rich son of one of the wealthiest men in the country and he's not afraid to rub it in your face if you piss him off. In fact my favorite line from this book comes from Gao, " you can't kill me, I'm rich!". He's very self aware and also Wu's best friend who wants to help keep her alive. As the three characters who are completely different come to rely on one another they end up uncovering multiple conspiracies and forming a wonderful polyamorous Triad. Trigger warning: mentions of sexual assault, death, abusive family, torture, violence towards women

8. Arsenic and Adobo by  Mia P. Manansala follows the shameful life of Lila as she unwillingly returns to her small home town to live with her auntie after she is unable to get a job with her college degree and a bad breakup. Her tia Rosie runs a Filipino restaurant and is being harassed by the local food critic. Unfortunately for Lila the annoying food critic is also her ex-boyfriend. Things get worse when he dies at her aunt's restaurant and shenanigans ensue from there. Full of love, Millennial and Gen Z humor, lots of delicious food, and unapologetically Filipino this book is definitely not your grandma's murder mystery. Bonus points, there is some recipes at the end of the book. Trigger warning: death, murder, mentions of addiction.

9. The Bone People by Keri Hulme. Kerewin is a painter and indigenous Maori woman living in isolation in New Zealand. One day she finds a mute white child named Simon in her house. No one really knows much about Simon. He washed up on the beach one day after a shipwreck and doesn't talk. He is still able to communicate with other characters. He is both kind and loving but also prone to temper tantrums, violent outbursts, and stealing. Joe is a mixrace widower who takes on the responsibility of being a foster father for Simon but due to his alcoholism he abuses and beat Simon. As the three characters confront their own identity issues and trauma, they come to love one another and form a family together. This book is unsettling but at the same time heart-warming. Trigger warning: violence, alcoholism, child abuse.

10. The Vegetarian by Han Kang. Set in South Korea, this psychological drama takes place in 3 parts, all from the different points of view of Yeong-hye's relatives. Yeong-hye decides she is going to become a vegetarian one day. This decision does not come about in a quiet subtle way but rather radical in your face shock as her husband walks into the kitchen one day to find meat on the floor and in the trash can as she announces they will no longer have meat in their house. From her husband's point of view we find out that he is an unreliable narrator as it's clear he's pretty toxic, possibly even abusive towards his wife and constantly belittles her. In her brother-in-law's prospective he sees Yeong-hye as very attractive and wishes that his perfect Korean model wife was more like her sister. I won't give away any spoilers from the final part which is told from her sisters perspective but I will say it is sad. Ultimately the book is about conformity and how much Yeong-hye has had her life ripped away from her by her family, friends, and Society. Trigger warning abuse, toxic relationships, family abuse, attempted suicide, blood, medical abuse, mental health issues.

That's all for now. Have you read any of these books? Do you like any of them? Got any books to recommend for AAPI month?

#aapi #books #readers community #booklr #desi #Polynesian #korean #japanese #Filipino #Chinese

[toomuchsky]

every single casting choice in this movie was literally top tier good work team

#don't look at me #once again except for awkwafina but i simply have a vendetta against her for the crimes she’s committed at the aapi community as a whole #renfield

[insignae]

Portrait of Asian American Photographer and Activist, Corky Lee printed on 32″x24″ canvas

#Corky Lee #AAPI #aapi month #american photographer #Chinese American Activist #community organizer #photographer #journalist #injustices against asians #asian american culture #asian american history #portrait #illustration #adobe illustrator #procreate #digital illustration #digital painting

[rosepascal]

idk why it makes me so happy that Pedro seems so supportive of Asian American films and people in main stream hollywood

#i know that now theres a lot more asian stories being told #and asian actors coming over to american hollywood #but when i was growing up there really wasn’t a lot tbh #so idk im glad my favorite actor is also supporting the aapi community

[rinissse]

Dear white people, the pressure to be thin didn't come from my Asian culture. It was white people and their idea of an Asian body. It was white people who body shamed me for being a healthy weight, and it was also white people who body shamed me for being too thin at some points in my life that I had no control over. Who did I hear from that "Asians are naturally skinny"? Not my people.

Traditionally, thinness is not ideal in Hmong culture. I've always been skinny shamed for my body from my relatives. I surprisingly didn't receive many fat shaming comments from my relatives for being a normal weight. I received only one fat shaming comment on my thighs. Skinny shaming comments were more frequent though when my weight fluctuated lower. No one expressed a desire to be that thin.

Only white girls expressed that desire, either asking me how my body is so thin or insulting me by calling me an "anorexic bitch" while desiring to be that thin. When not as thin and at a normal healthy weight, I'd be called fat or "fat for an Asian". Who said those words? Not my people.

Who views fat Asians as more American? You. Who views fat Asians as less Asian? You again. Who spread the lie that Asians are naturally thin and don't need to watch what they eat because you equate thinness to health? You. Not my people.

#fuck your white narrative #asian american #hmong american #aapi #beauty standards #asian beauty standards #model minority myth #not your model minority #growing up asian #growing up in a white community #body shaming #skinny shaming #essay #me at a healthy weight vs me at a lower weight difference in body shaming

[artistsonthelam]

Published a new blog post! "Winter Garden". Includes a photo exhibition announcement. ^^

#education #asian #asian american #aapi #chinese #chinese american #culture #heritage #celebrate #woc #poc #chicago #library #libraries #community #art #artist #photographer #artists on tumblr #blog

[madeofbees]

Nearly fifty years of being gay has taught Fidelman that it is a mistake to let certain statements pass unchallenged.

—You Are Released, Full Throttle, Joe Hill

#solidarity #idk how to tag this #it makes me so happy #fills me with joy #righteousness #social justice #human rights #i always say this #by not saying anything you’re giving tacit approval #saying it’s okay to say things like that #and it’s not #joe hill #full throttle #you are released #lgbtq community #stop aapi hate