How having queer folks in power at non-queer media organizations can shift coverage
In 2020, Viet Tran launched the magazine Sticky Rice, which focuses on Asian Canadian issues, in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic and a rising wave of anti-Asian racism. A psychiatrist by training, Tran is the editor-in-chief of this successful publication, and we sat down with him to discuss how being a gay Asian man…
Asian spa workers reflect on the Atlanta shootings, one year later
On the first anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings which left eight people dead, six of whom were Asian women and spa workers, massage work has been shoved in the spotlight. Despite the longstanding stigmatism of massage businesses due to their association with sex work, many spa workers don’t engage in sex work. Numerous spa…
Ruth Lor Malloy
Ruth Lor Malloy (née Lor), journalist, writer, activist (born 4 August 1932, in Brockville, ON). Malloy was a key figure in fighting against discrimination in Ontario in the 1950s (see Prejudice and Discrimination in Canada). She participated in the high profile Dresden restaurant sit-in of 1954. In 1973, she published the first English-language guidebook to…
LGBTQ+ Asians Look to Michigan Rave Scene for Acceptance and Found Family
The latest group driving the rave renaissance has been steadily full of Asian faces, including many queer Asians. These partygoers find community, joy and acceptance in the scene, which, for the queer Asian demographic, is a communal experience that harks back to collectivist cultures that highly value group gatherings. Many Asian ravers can be spotted…
Sprouting seeds of hope: How a garden united Montreal’s Chinese diaspora
Creating a community environment of sharing and increasing awareness of food security and urban sustainability are the aims of Green Chinatown Montreal (GCM). Founded in 2011 in Montreal’s Chinatown the GDM brought together multiple generations of Chinese-Canadians and helped them reconnect with nature and their agricultural roots. Today it finds itself in whatever space is…
Racism led to a rise in anti-Asian hate in the pandemic. What the community wants to see in Canada’s next leader
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many challenges and disruptions and among them was a spike in anti-Asian racism. Asian-Canadians seniors faced a surge of attacks and many Asian-Canadian businesses were the victim of vandalism. In this article we hear from members of the Chinese-Canadian community on their concerns regarding this issue, access to health-care,…
Vegetarianism Has Deep Spiritual Roots in Asian Cultures – Yet Many Asian Vegetarians Report Feeling Judged, Attacked, and Dismissed
Vegetarianism runs deep in many Asian cultures and adopting a vegetarian lifestyle is on the rise worldwide. Yet, alongside this rise there has also been a disturbing rise in racist and xenophobic behaviour among vegetarian communities. I talked to multiple Asians about their experiences relating to their vegetarian diets and challenges from their own communities…
De l’adoption à l’immigration, les défis de santé mentale dans la communauté asiatique
Pour beaucoup des asiatiques, il peut être difficile de discuter de santé mentale pour de multiples raisons. Mais à cause de racisme souffert pendant la pandémie, cet enjeu a été mis en lumière. L’adoption, l’immigration et l’adaptation à la société d’accueil sont tous des réalités qui affectée la santé mentale des asiatiques. Cet article a…
Sauver les femmes afghanes : une instrumentalisation occidentale
Face à la crise du logement qui sévit à Montréal, des citoyens redoublent d’efforts pour changer la donne et faire valoir leurs droits. Ici on voir ce qui se passe à Avec les états-unis ont déclaré le retrait complet des troupes américaines de l’Afghanistan pour le 31 août 2021, et que les talibans maintenant contrôlent le…
Dialogue avec la communauté sino-montréalaise
Dans le cadre de l’exposition Dialogue avec la communauté sino-montréalaise, j’ai écrit une série de textes qui abordent des thèmes majeurs qui touchent notre communauté – les nouveaux arrivants, l’art sino-montréalais, l’aménagement urbain du Quartier chinois, et la résistance de notre communauté contre l’adversité. J’ai consulté beaucoup de gens issus de la communauté qui ont…
The Revolutionary Anger of Asian Women
For Asian women in the diaspora, the denial of our anger exists at the toxic intersection of sexism and the model minority stereotype, enforced on two fronts by white Western culture and from within our own communities. The prohibition of our rage actively endangers us. But attempts to suppress our anger also reveal its power: it…
Plan A Presents: The Rebel Minority
My millionth sincere attempt to become “the worst minority ot all time”, The Rebel Minority is my monthly column. Published on the first Wednesday of every month, I perform countercultural analyses of various societal and lifestyle phenomena in a sometimes light, sometimes serious tone. The goal of this column is to break the veneer of…
Navigating Capitalist Mandates of Happiness and Collectivist Fears of Shame
Using some of my own experiences with university applications, I analyze North American and Asian cultural frameworks with regards to dealing with failure. I perform an intersectional societal analysis to explore how failure is dealt with in a capitalist society that relies on exploitation to function and compare it to a collectivist society that requires…
Raving Asians Make the Bass Drop: The New Rave Culture
As part of an investigation into the cultural phenomenon of raves within the Asian diaspora, I talked to Asians in the United States, Canada and Australia to learn about their experiences in the subculture and investigate the reasons behind their popularity. Young Asian ravers, experienced Asian ravers who have been in the scene for decades…