Comments on: The Gaysian Equation

By: Jen Hoo-ah!

Jen Hoo-ah! — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 03:16:12 +0000

Hi Linda–thanks for that powerful article. I have a story I’d like to share with you.

By: Laura Nguyen

Laura Nguyen — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:01:43 +0000

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.

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:04:49 +0000

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?).

By: Andy Marra

Andy Marra — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:23:31 +0000

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.

By: Kerry

Kerry — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:30:52 +0000

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

By: ChloeHF

ChloeHF — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:01:48 +0000

Laura, just curious if you’ve seen the movie Saving Face. Sweet gaysian/lesbian flick.

By: Cuc Vu

Cuc Vu — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:12:28 +0000

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.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:08:13 +0000

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!

By: Ben Finzel

Ben Finzel — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:17:28 +0000

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!