Author: diamondyao

Falooda Collective’s quest to uncover South Asian queer history in Montreal

Social Justice

The Falooda Collective (founded in 2021 with six members) aims to document the queer South Asian presence in Montreal. Their first project was a memorial documentary about Saleem Kidwai, who passed away in 2021. The collective pieced together Kidwai’s life by interviewing people who knew him during his time in Montreal. Kidwai struggled with exploring his queerness in public spaces, but his friends encouraged him to make connections and attend local queer parties. Tragically, during one such event at Truxx Bar, a gay bar downtown, armed police barged in and arrested Kidwai, along with 145 others, on charges of “being in a bawdy house.” Fearing how his family back home would perceive him, Kidwai eventually decided to return to India before appearing in court, leaving his PhD unfinished. Despite homosexuality still being criminalized in India at the time, Kidwai and many Indian queer people were able to live full queer lives. After retiring from teaching history in India, Kidwai co-edited Same Sex Love in India: Readings in Indian Literature, a queer history of South Asia, which was cited in hearings that led to the decriminalization of homosexuality in India in 2018. The Falooda Collective’s documentary had a profound positive impact on young South Asian queer people.

This article is published in Xtra Magazine.

What It’s Like to Raise Biracial Asian Kids in Quebec

Asian Communities, Diaspora

We discussed racism, pressures to assimilate, and connections to culture with two Asian parents and an Asian biracial adult. Emby Park shares her experiences growing up in Quebec after immigrating from South Korea at the age of three. Emby reflects on the cultural complexity of raising a Korean-Tunisian child in Quebec. She talks about Johakim’s strong connection to his father’s Tunisian Muslim culture and his lack of connection to his Korean side of the family. Hong Kong dad Richmond Lam speaks about the pressures his and his partner’s respective families experience in multicultural parenthood. Both want to pass on their heritage to their child, Céleste Tian Quenneville-Lam, but have concerns about how assimilation and racism might affect Céleste’s upbringing. Bri Kang, a Korean-Greek adult, suggests that biracial children should have opportunities to connect with their cultures outside of the family.

This article is published in The Rover.

Photo diary of a Ukrainian refugee fleeing war

Social Justice

With her girlfriend and cat in tow, Viktoriia Kovalenko escaped Kharkiv last year, embarking on a harrowing odyssey brightened by kindnesses from strangers. On February 24, 2022 at 5:00AM EET, Viktoriia was awoken by the sounds of shelling. Viktoriia recounts the harrowing experience of escaping Ukraine. Food scarcity, ceaseless shelling, and illness were just some of the trials depicted in her photo diary. After fleeing to Bucharest and struggling to receive medical attention from local healthcare professionals, Viktoriia was able to move to Canada Temporarily via the “Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel” program. After an adjustment period Viktoriia was able to settle in and now she works does photography for local queer events and weddings.

This article was adapted by Diamond Yao from an interview between Diamond and Viktoriia. This article was published in Xtra Magazine.

Data shows huge increase in trans hate crimes across Scotland in past decade

Social Justice

According to the seat of the Scottish Government, Holyrood, hate crimes against trans people has increased by 68 percent from 2020-2021 to 2021-2022. Green Party Equalities spokesperson Maggie Chapman told Herald Scotland, “This awful rise must also not be viewed out of context. It has been fueled by a cynical campaign of vicious lies and smears spread about our trans siblings. Much of it has been whipped up and encouraged by powerful voices, such as those with significant public platforms and those in the U.K. government who want to distract from their own failings.” After previously being tabled in 2016 by the Scottish National Party, the Gender Recognition Reform bill was passed in Holyrood at the end of last December with backing from all parties except the Conservatives. Under the new legislation, trans people no longer need to pass a psychological examination and diagnosis for gender dysphoria before obtaining a gender recognition certificate (GRC) to have their gender legally recognized.

This article is published in Xtra Magazine.

The passing of transphobic laws increased internet searches for ‘suicide’ and ‘depression,’ study finds

Social Justice

As more anti-trans bills are being passed, the rate of internet searches for “suicide” and “depression” increased by 13-17%. It was found that when anti-trans bills were defeated, these search terms significantly decreased. Research by Dr. George Cunningham and his team found that areas with higher density LGBTQ2S+ populations had a strong correlation between anti-trans bills being passed and internet searches for “suicide”. In 2021, the Trevor Project reported receiving nearly 4,000 crisis contacts from trans and non-binary youth in Texas related to stress and suicidal thoughts due to anti-trans legislation. A study published in January 2023 found that trans and non-binary youths who receive gender-affirming hormone therapy are happier after the treatment. Nearly two-thirds of the participants with severe depression reported mild or moderate depression at the end of the study.

This article is published in Xtra Magazine.

Texas lawmakers want to criminalize drag shows

Social Justice

As LGBTQ2S+ members face increasing pressure in the southern USA, Texas lawmakers have pre-filed a bill that would classify any business that hosts drag shows as a “sexually oriented business” through amending an existing statute about such businesses. Venues with this classification are liable to misdemeanour charges on par with vehicle burglary if anyone under 18 enters the premises, are obligated to charge entrance fees of at least USD $5 per patron and are forbidden from having sex offenders owning or operating the establishment. Under the new bill, the state attorney general will also have the ability to sue any venue that hosts drag performances in violation of the bill—which could lead to its potential closure. Advocates have pointed out that this bill effectively bans trans people from performing in any capacity and in effect bans all drag by making it impossible to host anywhere. This comes on the heels of other Texas bills that would criminalize gender-affirming care for minors.

This article is published in Xtra Magazine.

442: The Woman at the Heart of Two Chinese American Food Empires

Asian Communities, Diaspora

Cecilia Chiang (1920-2020) was spent more than four decades shaping the Chinese American food landscape at a time when immigrant Asian female entrepreneurs were extremely rare and built a multimillion-dollar restaurant empire. Her youth spent with Shanghainese family in Wuxi, Chiang found herself on the run in 1937 owing to the Second Sino-Japanese War. Meeting and marrying her husband Chiang Liang during this time, they would settle in Shanghai after the war and had a son and daughter. During the Chinese Communist Revolution, the family would resettle in Tokyo, which was where Chiang opened Forbidden City, a 250-seat Chinese restaurant, her first hospitality experience. In 1959, she would found herself saddled with a restaurant lease in San Francisco, which would house The Mandarin in 1961. Bringing Beijing cuisine to America, and after initial hurdles, the restaurant would soon come to host dignitaries and celebrities like Mae West and John Lennon. The success of Mandarin would lead to Chiang’s permanent move to San Francisco, separation from her husband, who remained in Japan, and restaurant moving to a larger location in 1967. Chiang opened a second Mandarin in 1975. Chiang died at her San Francisco home at the age of 100 in 2020.

This article is published in JoySauce.

‘Blonde’ Was ‘Very Vile’ & ‘Lacked Empathy’ Toward Marilyn Monroe, Trauma Experts Say

Social Justice

Trigger warning: This article contains references to sexual violence.
Two weeks ago, Blonde, the newest biopic on Marilyn Monroe, was released on Netflix. A fictionalize take on Marilyn Monroe’s life, it has faced criticism over its insensitive portrayal of multiple sexual assaults, forced abortion, and lack of empathy for the real person. Further, the one-dimensional character of Monroe, focusing on her victimhood to the exclusion of her own thoughts and emotions was a sticking point. The fetishization of female pain, sensationalizing sexual violence, anti-abortion themes, and objectification of Monroe have also been criticized as being harmful to survivors of sexual violence, potentially having negative impact on young audience members, and being misogynistic.

This article is published in stylecaster.

442: Bow Down to the Queen—of Chinese Food

Asian Communities, Diaspora

Today, Chinese restaurants are inescapable in the American culinary landscape. But it was not so when Sylvia Cheng (1915-2022), better known as Madame Wu, began her business. After moving to the USA during the Second World War, Cheng was disappointed with the quality of Cantonese food in the USA. After moving to Los Angeles with her husband King Yan Wu, she opened the 50-seat Madame Wu’s Garden in 1959. The restaurant would prove to be gathering point of many celebrities, from Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco, to Mae West, Cary Grant, plus Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow. Madame Wu ran every part of the restaurant like a boss and eventually moved to a 300-seat location in 1968. She died on Sept. 19, at the age of 106.

This article is published in JoySauce.

Asian massage therapists targeted by ‘classist and racist’ crackdown in Newmarket

Asian Communities, Diaspora

In Newmarket, Asian-owned massage parlours and therapists are finding themselves targeted by surveillance and police harassment. Last year, Newmarket passed a bylaw that required all massage businesses to obtain a new type of license, and as of June, this bylaw requires them to prove all massage therapist employees are registered massage therapists (RMT). Between these requirements and police action, six businesses have closed down and every application submitted by an Asian-owned massage parlour has been rejected or labeled incomplete, with no explanation. Resistance against the bylaw has been growing, with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) saying the bylaw runs afoul of the Charter. Opponents of the bylaw point to false and disparaging claims of human trafficking, and association with sex work, as motivations behind the bylaw.

This article is published in ricochet.