unModeling Minorities: Recent Episodes
unModeling Minorities
Welcome to unModeling Minorities, a podcast dedicated to amplifying the stories and experiences of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. We're here to break the “model minority” myth and normalize conversations about race.
unModeling Minorities was created by two Asian American women. These are the conversations we’re having, or wish we were having. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/unmodeling-minorities/support
It’s our Season 1 finale! For this episode, we invite this season’s guests to submit questions and interview us. Join us as we reflect over the last 16 episodes.
Note: unModeling Minorities will be on a summer hiatus and return in the fall.
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This week we speak with Van, who came here with his family as a refugee from Vietnam when he was 13 years old. America, he says, is his home and he has been a long-time activist in the fight for his--and others’--right to be in this country as a “real” American. Van shares with us his perspective on how Asian American activism has changed over the past few decades and what needs to happen in order for us to continue the fight in a constructive way.
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This week we invite our friend Fabian on to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion in his profession, which sits at the intersection of music and advertising. Born and raised in Detroit, Fabian’s identity is multifaceted -- he is an Arab American whose family is from Iraq, where 97% of the country is Muslim. His family is Chaldean, a Catholic ethno-religious minority, and although he would be classified as White by the American government, he’s never truly felt comfortable checking that box. He’s also a fervent music lover who now runs his own music production business. Fabian discusses his journey toward becoming a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion and how he’s putting in the work to correct his own biases and uncover often hidden or undervalued talent to create better, richer, more innovative work.
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Being of Asian descent and living in a predominantly White country, our race has always been top of mind ever since we were little. So we were surprised to learn that race was rarely a consideration for our friend Liz, a White woman, until much later in life. Armed with the awareness of her race and its associated privileges, Liz shares how she’s actively exposing herself to new ways of thinking and living in a multicultural and multiethnic world. She is embracing the vulnerability and mistakes that are inevitable when educating oneself. In doing so, she discusses the ways she’s trying to use her privilege to better empathize and support others as she works to be a better ally.
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June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, a time dedicated to celebrating the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning community. It’s a month of parades, parties, and, frankly, PDA. But it wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows. This week, we’re joined by Gino, who self-identifies as a gay, Filipino-American man. He reminds us that Pride started as a riot in the pursuit of equal justice and equal opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community. We discuss Gino’s experiences as a gay Asian man and his on-going journey toward uncovering his most authentic self, from coming-out to his family in his early 20s, to now navigating the dynamics of dating in New York City, all driven by a fervent passion to simply be seen.
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This week we have a conversation with one of our closest and dearest friends Nasim. Nasim is Persian American and her family immigrated from Iran during the Iranian Revolution. We discuss how, despite being White, her ethnicity and culture can and has been perceived as Other in the United States. It is in this ambiguity that Nasim works to forge an identity for herself, while also grappling with the realization that her identity isn’t wholly her own to decide.
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Although COVID-19 restrictions have begun lifting in many places, we are still struggling with how to move about in a world where our race is a target. At the moment, we mostly stay home, we rarely travel alone, and we carry pepper gel. This week we discuss how the anti-Asian violence has impacted our lives and the decisions we make in order to stay “safe.”
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This week we invite Becky to share her experience as an immigrant to the US after her family moved here from Fuzhou, China when she was 12. Becky is director of Lango NYC, a language immersion school based in Brooklyn, NY, where she infuses music, art, and play when teaching her students, many of whom come from non-Mandarin speaking households. Becky speaks about being perceived as different in a new country, and how that struggle forged the person she is today.
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the U.S. and for this episode we invite our friend Thomas to share his own experiences. Together, we unpack our journey toward prioritizing mental health and learning to advocate for our feelings. This is a deeply personal topic and we try our best to speak about our own experiences and not on behalf of anyone else. We also understand mental health and illness can be triggering topics so please take that into consideration before listening. We’ve also provided resources below for anyone who may need them. National Suicide Prevention Hotline: Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Crisis Text Line: Text “HELLO” to 741741 Disaster Distress Helpline: Call or text 1-800-985-5990
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“Virtue signaling” is a term that is relatively new to us, but the actions that define it feel all too familiar. In this week’s episode, we discuss what we learned about virtue signaling, how it made us reflect on our own actions and behaviors, and how we hope to hold ourselves and others accountable in a way that is productive and, most of all, compassionate.
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Souriyno and his brothers own Lucky Lotus, a Southeast Asian Eatery in Des Moines, Iowa. Being a minority business owner has its unique challenges and responsibilities, and Souriyno discusses how that’s shaped the company’s values and the importance of paying it forward with organizations like Iowa Asian Alliance. Listeners may hear Tofu, Souriyno’s adorable puppy, make a brief appearance in the episode. Note: Souriyno mentions that a few times in the past, he adjusted spice levels of Lucky Lotus dishes in response to complaints about the intense spiciness of the food. This occurred when the restaurant first opened and Lucky Lotus now stays true to its spice levels.
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Growing up, we didn’t often see our faces reflected in the stories and media we consumed, which impacted how we viewed Asians—and by extension, ourselves—in America. In this week’s episode, we discuss why representation in media is critical in shaping one’s identity, our excitement about the rise in Asian representation in today’s media, and our ideas for how to keep the momentum going.
We were also thrilled to witness a breakthrough moment for Asians and Asian Americans at the Academy Awards this past Sunday, April 25th. Chloé Zhao won best picture and best director for her film “Nomadland,” and Yuh-jung Youn won best supporting actress for “Minari.” Riz Ahmed and Steven Yeun were the first men of Pakistani and East Asian descent, respectively, nominated for best actor.
We cite research from two different sources: The 2019 US Census Bureau and Hollywood Diversity Report 2020: A Tale of Two Hollywoods, published by UCLA’s College of Social Sciences.
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We all have privilege, some more than others. But in that disparity, we realize privilege has a profound impact on our experiences. In today’s episode, we invite our husbands to join a discussion about privilege: what it means to have privilege, how privilege influences our engagement and perception of the world, and why it’s important to “give away” some of our privilege.
We reference a valuable resource in the conversation: “Leading Your Org on a Journey of Allyship” by Vernā Myers. Vernā is the VP of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix and you can check out the LinkedIn Learning course here.
*In this episode, we discuss the acronym Vernā Myers teaches, which is “ALLY,” not "LLY" as mentioned in our conversation.
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We grew up feeling like we had to choose between two identities—Asian or American. In this episode, we discuss what it means to straddle two cultures, the challenges we faced in reconciling the two, and how this duality has shaped our identity today.
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Microaggressions can be subtle, which make them difficult to correct and talk about. In this episode, we discuss what microaggressions are and why they can be harmful. We share our experiences, as well as our ideas for dealing with them.
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Conversations about race are important to our cultural discourse but can be so difficult to navigate. In this episode, we discuss why we think talking about race is so hard, our own struggles with these conversations, and why these conversations are important.
We want to give a shout out to Hollaback’s Bystander Intervention training to stop anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment. Register for the one-hour long, interactive training here: https://www.ihollaback.org/bystanderintervention.
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The “model minority” myth silences Asian American and Pacific Islanders. In this episode, we talk about what "model minority" means to us and how it’s impacted our view of the world. We’d love to hear what you think!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unmodeling-minorities/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/unmodeling-minorities/support
Welcome to unModeling Minorities, a podcast dedicated to amplifying the stories and experiences of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. We’re breaking the model and normalizing conversations about race. Founded by two Asian American women, these are the conversations we’re having, or wish we were having, and we hope you will join us!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unmodeling-minorities/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/unmodeling-minorities/support