Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Asian Americans and Therapy

Many thanks to Ms. Betty Liu for recently taking an interest in writing in her blog about Asian Americans and therapy.  She writes about her own experiences in hopes of raising awareness for others.  May you enjoy her blog.

http://bettymingliu.com/2013/12/why-asian-americans-need-therapy/


Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Asian Americans Advancing Justice

The Advancing Justice Conference is the first and only national conference that focuses on civil rights & social justice in the API communities.  Conference speakers and participants come together from across the United States.  If you are in the Southern California area this weekend, you may enjoy the three days of programming.  Check out the conference program at:  http://conference.advancingjustice.org/2013/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/AdvancingJusticeConferenceProgram2013.pdf.

To register, http://conference.advancingjustice.org/2013/.

Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Within-Group Differences

Not all Asian Americans are the same.

There's the matter of...

immigration/refugee status
generations in the host country
specific ethnic group
socioeconomic status

...the list goes on.

This is why it is important to collect disaggregated data.

http://news.yahoo.com/asian-groups-white-house-seek-124150117.html

When the U.S. Census comes around, be sure to be counted.  This is how funding is oftentimes determined with tax dollars.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Linsanity (Part II)


Yesterday marked the release of the documentary, "Linsanity."  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2359427/

Last night, the 9:30pm showing of Linsanity sold out in the Monterey Park, CA AMC theatre so another showing was released at 9:45pm, which also sold out.  Why the draw?

Perhaps it's because Linsanity was a thrilling moment for sports fans who enjoy watching underdogs get their time to shine.  Perhaps it's because religious folks love watching when others are proud to offer their accomplishments as signs of their faith.  Or, perhaps it's because Asian Americans appreciate having a role model who challenges stereotypes.

During a Q&A session, Producer Christopher Chen (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1484535/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr2) relayed that he had originally taken notice of Jeremy Lin since he was a high school basketball player in Palo Alto, CA.  He and his crew follow Jeremy through the journey that takes him to Harvard and then the NBA.  Perhaps most admirable is that he and his colleagues dismissed a tempting offer to sell their footage when "Linsanity" made a social media frenzy in February 2012.  Instead, they continued with their passion project in order to tell Jeremy's story as originally intended.

May you have an opportunity to see this film during its limited release in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Is Miss America "American" Enough?

For the first time, an Indian American was crowned Miss America.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/showbiz/miss-america-racist-reactions/index.html

Social media immediately praised and criticized her, creating a backlash.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/miss-america-2014-win-racist_n_3935800.html

Ms. Davuluri, a future doctor, chose to rise above the negative sentiments.

http://www.eonline.com/news/459339/miss-america-nina-davuluri-responds-to-racist-backlash-takes-a-dip-in-atlantic-ocean

Is the United States ready to accept the new face of Miss America?

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Anthology of Asian Pacific Islander American Women's Experiences with Mental Illness

Anthology of Asian Pacific Islander American Women's Experiences with Mental Illness

Our untold stories will be told.

A CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Deadline September 30, 2013

PLEASE WIDELY DISTRIBUTE

What are Asian and Pacific Islander women's experiences with mental illness and mental health?

How do Asian and Pacific Islander women's multiple identities intersect, shape and influence unique experiences of mental illness?

How can we seek a deeper connection with our Asian and Pacific Islander American communities around issues and experiences of mental illness?

What does the journey to mental health look like for Asian and Pacific Islander American women experiencing mental illness?

Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) women experience mental illness at higher levels than that of the general population, yet such experiences have been marginalized and have largely gone untold.  These experiences, ranging from experiences of depression and anxiety, to suicidal ideation and attempts, are complex and nuanced, fitting into and not into expressions of Western medical models.  While numbers and quantitative studies have sought to capture the experiences of APIA women and mental illness, the narratives underlying such studies need to be voiced.  These experiences have also been undeservedly shrouded in shame and embodied in cultural taboos.

This anthology ("No Greater Agony") seeks to give voice to those untold stories and to begin the long process of addressing shame and reflecting health and healing.  It engages the power of story in bringing our disparate communities together and in solidarity of APIA women who have experienced pain and long sought wellness.  The nature of this project is deeply personal, grounded in the lived experiences of these women, offering space for the (re)telling and (re)claiming of diagnoses, illness and recovery.

Submissions will be kept confidentially and can be offered anonymously or under a pseudonym.

I welcome personal essays and reflections, critical essays, letters, interviews, poems, printable images and other reflections of mental illness and mental health. I encourage contributors to dig deep and find and share their authentic, courageous voice.  The anthology will be self-published, with a hard or electronic copy given for free to authors whose pieces have been chosen for the anthology.  In addition to self-publishing, other venues for publishing will be explored.

Submit pieces to:  dakilangpilipina@gmail.com

Up to 3 single-spaced pages for written work.  Please also include a brief bio of yourself.

Deadline:  September 30, 2013

Please contact me with any questions or concerns, or if you would like to contribute a longer piece.

About the editor, Aileen Alfonso Duldulao:

I am a second-generation Pilipina American social worker and writer. I have been l living with mental illness for over 15 years and have received diagnoses ranging from major depressive disorder, to PTSD, to bipolar disorder.  I have extensive experience with institutions that treat mental illness, and with the shame and stigma that often accompanies the seeking of treatment and understanding of my illnesses.  I believe that the voices of Asian Pacific Islander American women are critical to the discourse of mental illness and are essential to the pursuit of well-being in our communities.  We have invaluable stories that deserve to be told, to be heard, to be acted on, to be nurtured, and to be cherished.

Aileen can also be found blogging here: http://nogreateragony.blogspot.com/

What kind of Asian are you?

Feel like a something humorous?

Enjoy!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/24/what-kind-of-asian-are-you-video_n_3334200.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

Monday, July 22, 2013

Racism in the media

Freedom of speech allows people to take liberties with mocking Asian Americans.  Would the examples below be tolerated for other racial groups?

Here are examples of everyday folks with their tweets:  http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/post/54791337536/idiots-use-plane-crash-in-san-francisco-to-mock-asians

What is the role of the media in modern-day racism?  http://criticalspontaneity.com/2013/07/07/asiana-crash-the-role-of-media-in-modern-day-racism/

Sometimes there is a fine line between distasteful and blatant racism.  Check out this Chicago Sun Times headliner:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/08/chicago-sun-times-san-francisco-headline_n_3562177.html

Racism towards Asians among the media is not limited to this latest incident of the Asiana crash.  The so called “progressive” radio talk show host, Stephanie Miller and her sidekick, Jim Ward, made fun of Asians when they mimicked Kim Jong Il's accent:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJiLdatYhwY

Everyone is encouraged to speak out against such behaviors.  Call in to radio stations.  Write op-eds.  Comment on tweets, etc.  Any other suggestions for how to deal with such behaviors?
 

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Parenting Styles and Shame vs. Guilt

The Asian American Psychological Association listserv occassionally discusses the differences between shame vs. guilt.  One tends to be considered a more Eastern concept while the other is more often associated with the Western world.

Novelist Kim Wong Keltner, author of Tiger Babies Strike Back, talks about the impact of growing up with shame as a primary parenting tool. 

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/05/14/tiger-babies-bite-back/

While it may not be productive to conclude whether one style of parenting is "good" or "bad," it may be more useful to look at parenting styles as how effective they are in producing the kinds of results that one is hoping for.  What does the literature say about "tiger" parenting?

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/05/_tiger_mom_study_shows_the_parenting_method_doesn_t_work.single.html

Take a look for yourself. 

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Lela Lee's "Angry Little Asian Girl" describes an Asian American females' bicultural conflicts.  Margaret Cho offers a voice to the mother that enforces traditional Asian values. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4wzB04BExo

In the first episode, the protagonist expresses frustration at others comments differentiating her as the forever foreigner ("For an oriental girl, you speak English very well.") or an objectified sexual object ("I get nervous around exotic women.")  This web series offers a humorous way of seeing how one Asian American channels her experiences as someone negotiating two worlds. 

Friday, May 31, 2013

API Population Report Release


May marks Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month as well as Mental Health Awareness Month.  It is only appropriate then that the API Population Report, authored by Dr. C. Rocco Cheng on behalf of
55 community members, be released earlier this month.  The report highlights mental health disparities and promising practices, as defined by the Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community within California.

The Asian Pacific Islander Strategic Planning Workgroup (API SPW) of the California Reducing Disparities Project is grateful to Assemblymember Paul Fong's (see photo above) office for having the API Legislative Caucus co-sponsor a legislative briefing on May 21st, 2013 in Sacramento, CA.  (see photo of the panel below)



During this time, Assemblymember Ed Chau, Assemblymember Adam Gray, (see photo below) and Senator Jim Beall remarked how this important publication could help to inform the direction of how to reduce mental health disparities among Asian Pacific Islanders in the years to come.


The report can be accessed by following the link below.

http://crdp.pacificclinics.org/resources/crdp/document/crdp-api-population-report-our-own-words.  Please feel free to offer your valuable feedback.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

100 Mothers & Daughters Project

In the Asian culture, it's typically not common to share stories of one's families.  However, two organizations recently joined forces to chronicle some "Chicken Soup for the Soul"-style responses to question/answer survey.  
During the month of Mother's Day 2013, NATWA II and TaiwaneseAmerican.org released the product of the co-collaborative 100 Mothers & Daughters project (curated by project coordinator Emmy Pierce in 2012). Mother's Day 2013, which coincides with the start of Taiwanese American Heritage Week and the middle of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, stories of Taiwanese American mothers and daughters are shared.
Please note that the posts were originally shared last year through the NATWA II project site thanks to Emmy Pierce's hard work: http://natwamothersanddaughters.tumblr.com/ . 

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Student activism educates prestigious university members: "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."

Duke University is one of the United State's top universities.  Earlier this Spring, Kappa Sigma held an event called "International Relations. A celebration of all cultures and the diversity of Duke."  Some deemed the event to be a racist rager.  What do you think of images associated with the event? 

https://www.google.com/search?q=duke+university+kappa+sigma&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7DNUS_en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=R3V_Ua6ZFMnjigKYiIH4Dg&ved=0CG8QsAQ&biw=1280&bih=723

Unfortunately, Duke Greek student organizations are not new to hosting racist events. 

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/duke-racist-rager-141248540.html

Even more unfortunately is that Duke University's administration did nothing to condemn the matter.  This is essentially a message that the university condones or tolerates such behaviors:  "At the moment, we're not aware of any overt violations," Larry Moneta, Duke's vice president for student affairs, told NBC News. "Acting boorish and foolish is not in and of itself a violation."

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/06/16871238-duke-students-rally-against-anti-asian-frat-party

Fortunately, Kappa Sigma's parent organization took the matter seriously. 

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/07/duke-university-fraternity-suspended-over-asian-themed-racist-rager/

"In a message to Kappa Sigma members nationwide, Christian Nascimento, the fraternity's "worthy grand master," wrote Thursday:


The Kappa Sigma Fraternity is a diverse group of men, with members from all walks of life. We celebrate this diversity, as it is one of the things that makes our Order so strong. The actions taken in association with the event in question are inconsistent with our values. I personally condemn that type of behavior."

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/07/16889249-national-fraternity-suspends-duke-chapter-behind-anti-asian-racist-rager-party?lite

It seems that student activism has turned this into a learning opportunity.  “No longer can the social norms of this university be determined by a small group of people,” senior Ting-Ting Zhou, president of the Asian Students Association, said at the protest. “The dominant definition of ‘fun’ has poisoned this community for the past few years, and we must re-establish fairness and equality on this campus.”


http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/02/07/duke-student-protestors-demand-apology-action

Others not affiliated with Duke have taken notice of this event as well:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/duke-kappa-sigma-party_n_2630598.html
http://blog.angryasianman.com/2013/02/you-were-not-invited-to-kappa-sigmas.html

What do you think?  What might be genuine ways of truly celebrating all the cultures and diversity of Duke? 

Monday, March 18, 2013

Forever Foreigner Story inspired by The Race Card Project

The following interaction is reprinted with permission from a mentor.  My colleague was compelled to share his true-life interaction after the following post was shared on a mutual listserv http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/npr.php?id=173816975.  The following occurred when shopping in Spokane, up from Pullman, WA:

Person on the street:  Where are you from?
Me:  Los Angeles.
POTS:  No, I mean, where are you really from?
Me:  I'm really from Los Angeles.
POTS:  No, I mean, where are your parents from?
Me:  My father is from Long Beach, CA, and my mother is from Salt Lake City, UT.
POTS:  No, I mean, where were their parents from?
Me:  They immigrated here from Japan.
POTS:  Oh, then you are from Japan.

-JM


Do you have your own story to share?

Monday, January 14, 2013

Offensive Google App: Make Me Asian

Feeling bored?  What smartphone apps do you have to entertain yourself? 

http://www.npr.org/2013/01/12/169201593/make-me-asian-app-sparks-online-backlash

Such games perpetuate offensive Asian stereotypes. 

Some may find it acceptable to mock Asian Americans, but what if we were to have an app that were to "Make Me Black" (or fill in any other racial category)? 

What can be done to send a strong message to those responsible?  Be a part of the thousands of advocates to let Google and GooglePlay know if you feel such past times are not acceptable.  Change.org created an online petition:  http://www.change.org/petitions/google-remove-the-racist-make-me-asian-make-me-indian-apps-from-googleplay

Let your voice be heard.