Last week, AfterEllen.com developed PSAs to rhetorically respond to their self-imposed question: “If you turn on the television and never see a lesbian, do we really exist?” This sparked a question about the importance of recognition and visibility for other minority groups if they are to exist and seem relevant in what makes up the American fabric.
If lesbians have minimal presence in mainstream media, then where do LGBT people of color fit into the equation? Growing up, I was surrounded with icons, images, and people who didn’t reflect me. Nights in front of the television left me unsatisfied. Despite the lack of Asian leads on network shows, the characters that are portrayed are laced with stereotypes, not to mention a lack of true representation within our vastly diverse ethnic group. More than 50-microsegments fall under the Asian-American label, as statistics lump the different Asian ethnicities — Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Taiwanese, Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Japanese, and others — together. Lucy Liu can’t be a representative for all of us, despite the numerous times when I wish I could fill her Jimmy Choo’s. The Lucy’s on television were all cast as the “China doll,” “lotus flower,” “seductress,” or “dragon lady.” Sadly, they never resonated with me.
For those of us who identify as LGBT Asians, we are left with the same resounding question – if you don’t see us, do we exist? If we live by the mantra, seeing is believing, then no … we don’t. Asian Americans have minimal visibility in the media, and even those outlets that have attempted to be a voice for LGBT Asians, have failed. In my research for this entry, I found the topic of LGBT Asian Americans is virtually untouched! The first magazine to address gay Asians, Noodle magazine, folded after two years and others’ attempts quickly followed suit. Today, there are virtually no magazines specifically targeting this subgroup.
This leads me to the conclusion that the LGBT Asian segment is untouchable — no role models on television, no media outlets, no community that is uniquely our own. How do we communicate with an audience that is, after all, invisible? We may not have the perfect answer, but there are some insights that might get us closer to a solution.
1. See the Need — There is a lack of visibility, recognition, and representation. Minimal research exists on the LGBT Asian population as a whole, let alone subgroups.
2. Inform and Educate Ourselves — There are immense differences within both the Asian American and LGBT community. Together, we need to see that generalizations and blanket statements will decrease our ability to touch this audience.
3. Shape the Power of Words — We need to craft our language to be culturally sensitive and conscious when practicing multicultural communications and marketing. The opportunity of touching this segment lies in knowing how to talk to us and reach us.
4. Get Out — Though media outlets are minimal, there are local organizations specific to the LGBT Asian community, such as Asian/Pacific Gays and Friends, Gay Asian Pacific Alliance, or The South Asian Lesbian & Gay Association NYC.
The Asian community is an economic and intellectual powerhouse in the United States. U.S. Asian communities are known for pulling together and paving the way for others to grow and have opportunities to succeed. This core Asian value is one that is shared by the LGBT community and is why I feel that working toward greater Asian LGBT visibility is possible. The benefits to the broader LGBT community are vast — not only does an influential segment visibly join the LGBT dialogue, but we also show the great diversity in people, cultures, beliefs, and religions that make up the LGBT fabric. It is up to us to ensure that the LGBT voice is as global and collaborative as possible, because when we do so, we are paving the way for the next generation of our LGBT sisters and brothers to experience greater acceptance, respect and compassion by the community at large.
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Good stuff Laura. It’s always fascinating (and instructive) to me to learn that for all the commonalities in our community, there are many differences, too. I look forward to learning more from you about the “gaysian equation” in your future posts. Welcome to the Out Front Blog!
As a fellow minority, I can definitely relate to most, if not all, of the issues you bring up; the lack of representation, stereotypes, and let’s not forget, cultural and language barriers among our “microsegments” as you put it. However, on the mainstream side, we have a little more to relate to, and I attribute this to our proximity to Mexico, central and Latin America. But, in lesbian world, we are barely beginning to make our mark. Straight actresses play the Latina lesbian time and time again most of the time, falling into a stereotype. Thanks for a great inaugural post; I look forward to what is to come. ¡Bienvenida!
Laura – It’s great to see a Vietnamese woman on the blogs! Visibility is so important. George Takei has given us LGBT Asian Americans some visibility, and that visibility apparently is celestial now that an asteroid bears his name.
Beyond the question of media representation of our lives as LGBT Asian Americans, I think there’s another question that is (in my opinion) more urgent: “If we’re not visible as LGBT Asian Americans in our own lives, do we exist?” I’m a Vietnamese lesbian and have been out to my family and friends for 17 years. Over that time, I have met and become friends with many LGBT Asian Americans – most of them Vietnamese – and I can count on one hand the number who are out to their family and friends and who participate in the LGBT community – Asian, mainstream, or otherwise. There’s a lot to say about representation and surely all forms of media – mainstream as well as gay – can make considerable improvements in capturing the true diversity of the LGBT community, but I’m not sure I can argue that point for very long when much of what I’ve seen among the LGBT Asian Americans that I have known is a resistance to being visible as LGBT people in their own lives.
Without getting into the complexities of coming out as LGBT in the Asian, Black, Latino and other “communities of color” (and there are many complexities, including violence, isolation and rejection), I would argue that we need to give visibility to our own lives while we look for visibility on the screen and in print. We need to give voice to our unique experiences and needs. Who will give testimony to our lives if we don’t?
I’d like to invite you and others who identify as LGBT people of color to participate in HRC’s Equality Forward campaign. A key part of the project is a survey at http://www.hrc.org/equalityforward. I hope you’ll fill it out and pass it along to your friends who are LGBT people from diverse backgrounds. We need to come together in a chorus that will be too loud to ignore. An outcome of this project will be a report released in Spring 2008 that will lift up the priorities and concerns of LGBT Asian Americans, African Americans and Latinos/Hispanics. Some may roll their eyes at the sound of a survey. But I would ask the skeptics: How often are you asked what’s important to you as an LGBT person of color? Now is the time to make our mark.
Would love to talk with you further off-line at cuc.vu@hrc.org.
Laura, just curious if you’ve seen the movie Saving Face. Sweet gaysian/lesbian flick.
Thank you for this entry. I’m currently occupied with the LGBT API community in Los Angeles through some Chinese churches in the state, which are gathering signatures to overturn a law passed that protects LGBT children in schools. Even within API communities, much less mainstream media, LGBT API people do not exist – it’s a white problem. How do we simultaneously gain visibility both within API communities and in mainstream media? Where do we focus our efforts?
For some research on LGBT API communities and individuals, please search the Task Force website. http://www.thetaskforce.org
Laura,
Thank you for taking the time to dedicate a blog post on an issue I personally wish more of us had conversations about. As the GLAAD Asian-Pacific Islander (API) Media Strategist, I am reminded every day of how important it is to acknowledge the need to increase images and stories of the API LGBT community. Stereotypes are still pervasive and they only serve to weaken the authenticity of our lives and experiences. But I would point out that progress has been made by the API LGBT community itself to not only increase, but also enrich our representation within the broader public conversation.
GLAAD recognizes that resources are necessary for us to chip away at stereotypes that are found not only in mainstream media but also in ethnic media as well. Earlier this year we released the first-ever Chinese Language GLAAD Media Reference Guide that provides information on ensuring fair and accurate LGBT coverage. Copies of the guide were distributed to editors and journalists representing the top three Chinese language newspapers in the United States reaching more than 750,000 readers.
It’s been a pleasure of mine to offer a multitude of API LGBT stories with media professionals for inclusion within the pages and clips of their newspaper, magazine, website, blog or television show. More often than not, they are hungry for these compelling stories. Outlets like The Boston Globe, Metroweekly, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Advocate, Northwest Asian Weekly, AsianWeek, Sampan, KoreAm Journal, MTV and The San Francisco Chronicle have all readily supplied readers and viewers alike with stories that inform, and ultimately deepen, understanding of who we are.
GLAAD regularly works with API LGBT organizations across the country to build their capacity for working with the media. We’re proud of our past work with groups like GAPIMNY, Q-WAVE, The Dari Project, Asian Equality, API Equality, GAPA, AQUA, Khush DC and MASALA. It has been a truly rewarding experience to partner with them on a variety of projects, whether conducting a spokesperson training to building a communications plans for an event or issue they’re organizing around.
So there is always room for improvement. But I would remind us all that we’ve made significant strides in the work for visibility. API LGBT stories can be found in the media and I imagine the existing work will only continue with an upward trend toward changing more hearts and minds.
For what it’s worth, Grace Park (of Korean Hertiage) played an Asian lesbian in the old CBC sitcom ‘Edgemont’. I thought they did a pretty good job of it.
As far as asian stereotypes go, I admire Sandra Oh’s work, especially in Grey’s Anatomy, where she is a strong, central Asian-American character who isn’t defined by her asianess (sp?).
Thank you everyone for your feedback on Monday’s blog. This issue of visibility for LGBT People of Color has always been a passionate topic for me. In our heteronormative existence, we lack visibility but not our voices. So many times we have seen minority subgroups live with indifference towards one another, but the steps we take must be in unison. We, as a diverse community, need to create a dialogue and share our experiences, struggles, and voices. Our first step is to make this a personal commitment, to acknowledge the need for change, and be a part of that change. It is so important to have organizations such as the HRC and GLAAD support our diverse community, including Asian-American Pacific Islander LGBTs. Thank you for all of your great work and continued support.
Hi Linda–thanks for that powerful article. I have a story I’d like to share with you.