FEMINASIANS FEMINASIANS

In Episode 5, we discuss what it means to navigate mental health, mental illness, and stigma as Asian Americans. We talk about how the immigrant experience affects mental health across different generations and share some of the trials and tribulations of dealing with mental health in Asian American households with immigrant parents. We also discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic intersects with these issues and how our different quarantine environments have impacted our mental health and self-care strategies. Finally, we share some self-care tips and messages of optimism as we move through these trying times together. Also, it's May—happy Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month to all our AAPI listeners out there!

----------------------------------------

CHECK THESE OUT:

Hiding my mental illness from my Asian family almost killed me

The Worries of 'Log Kya Kahenge?' on Mental Health

Why Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders Don’t go to Therapy

----------------------------------------

Follow us on IG!

➫ Jessica M. @thejessicama

➫ Ahana G. @ahanagaurav

➫ Sachi S. @_sxchi

➫ Nina R. @ninareddy

➫ Teresa T. @teresatran._

In Episode 4, we explore Asian American beauty standards and  representation in the media. In this episode, we unpack the effects of uneven representation and representation scarcity, especially as they relate to our conceptions of normalcy, centering whiteness, devaluing the “foreign” and queerness. We also unpack the effects of representation on beauty by discussing colorism, colonialist and imperialist roots, the internalization of Eurocentric beauty standards, as well as familial pressure.

------------------------------------------

CHECK THESE OUT:

Why Do Asian-Americans Remain Largely Unseen in Film and Television?

Asian American Women Share Struggles With Beauty Standards

American vs. Asian Beauty Standards

Asian-Americans Need More Movies, Even Mediocre Ones

------------------------------------------

Follow us on IG!

➫ Jessica M. @thejessicama

➫ Ahana G. @ahanagaurav

➫ Sachi S. @_sxchi

➫ Nina R. @ninareddy

➫ Teresa T. @teresatran._

In Episode 3, we explore domestic and global politics as they pertain to Asian Americans, including some of the most recent developments surrounding the U.S. 2020 presidential election, the 2020 Census, international relations in the time of COVID-19, and Asian American activism. Hot topics in this episode include Andrew Yang and Asian American representation in U.S. politics, anti-Chinese political rhetoric on both sides of the aisle in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the functions of respectability politics and honorary whiteness for Asian Americans in the U.S.

------------------------------------------

CHECK THESE OUT:

An Anti-China Message Didn’t Work for Democrats in 2018 — and It Won’t Work for Biden Now

Andrew Yang is Wrong: Respectability Politics Won’t Save Asian Americans from Racist Violence

Asian Americans Advancing Justice

Aggressive testing and pop songs: how Vietnam contained the coronavirus

------------------------------------------

Follow us on IG!

➫ Jessica M. @thejessicama

➫ Ahana G. @ahanagaurav

➫ Sachi S. @_sxchi

➫ Nina R. @ninareddy

➫ Teresa T. @teresatran._

In Episode 2, we explore the politics and culture of food and what it means to Asian Americans through a critical feminist, antiracist, and anti-imperialist lens. We discuss the effects of COVID-19 on the Asian American restaurant industry, the long history of racist and xenophobic representations of Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese food, the Netflix show Ugly Delicious starring David Chang, the regional differences in different cuisines that disrupts this idea of a monolithic Asian American community, how race, class, and colonialism intersect to affect how certain cuisines are redefined, our personal experiences and family histories of growing up eating Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese food, the complicated nature of authenticity, the cultural appropriation of food, and our favorite restaurants in Georgia. 

------------------------------------------

CHECK THESE OUT:

Netflix’s Ugly Delicious: S1 EP7: “Fried Rice”

Netflix’s Ugly Delicious: S2 EP2: “Don’t Call It Curry” 

Netflix’s Street Food: Asia: S1 EP7: “Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam”

MSG and “Chinese restaurant syndrome”

The Problem with “Curry”

Vietnamese Cuisine

------------------------------------------

Follow us on IG!

➫ Jessica M. @thejessicama

➫ Ahana G. @ahanagaurav

➫ Sachi S. @_sxchi

➫ Nina R. @ninareddy

➫ Teresa T. @teresatran._

In Episode 1, we talk about all things COVID-19 as it pertains to and affects Asian Americans. We discuss the effects of self-isolation and social distancing on Asian immigrants and Asian American youth, the rise of hate crimes against East Asians and those who are perceived as East Asians due to the racist misconception of COVID-19 being known as the "Chinese Virus", the anti-blackness in Asian American activist youth, time and productivity in relation to the "model minority" myth, and our optimism for the future. 

------------------------------------------

CHECK THESE OUT:

Opinion | Coronavirus reveals how quickly "model minority" Asians become the "yellow peril"

ASIAN AMERICAN FEMINIST ANTIBODIES ASIAN AMERICAN FEMINIST ANTIBODIES

Northeast Indians getting harassed for carrying the virus just because of “mongoloid facial features

Advice for depressed creatives and artists during COVID-19 

How Asian Americans can stop contributing to anti-blackness

Podcast episode for Asians about staying productive during this time 

------------------------------------------

Follow us on IG!

➫ Jessica M. @thejessicama

➫ Ahana G. @ahanagaurav

➫ Sachi S. @_sxchi

➫ Nina R. @ninareddy

➫ Teresa T. @teresatran._