I was reading this MercuryNews.com article about how online dating working for some Asian Californians and that they had to start their own matchmaking service to get things going, my first thought was to say, Hey, whatever works for you. But the lady that started the Asian matchmaking services says this little soundbite that kind of bothers me:
“Most Asian men feel they couldn’t handle Caucasian women,” she says. “In most Asian families, the man is in charge. Here it’s equal.”
Seriously? She must be of the “older generation” since I’ve never felt this way. I’ve never had an inferiority complex with Caucasian women; who hasn’t grow up in a nuclear family in our generation? Granted, I’m a rarity, given that I’m in an Asian Male/White Female (AMWF) relationship and tying the knot next month. But this Ma didn’t realize that there are niche markets for dating and it’s growing strong, even here in the South where the Asian population couldn’t dare compare with the west coast.
Take for example, AZNLover.com — a website created in 2004 with the tag line of: “Asian males – and the women who love them.” I’ve been browsing the site since Jeff Yang’s article in the San Francisco Chronicle, and they truly contradict what Ma thinks of the dating scene for Asian men with non-Asian females. Here in North Carolina, the likelihood of bumping into AMWF interracial couples are slim; if the Asian male is a recent immigrant? Even less; yet, at the last NAAAP meeting I attended, I met two other mixed couples breaking those odds. In one meeting. How crazy is that? I should have bought a lotto ticket that night.
Here’s what I’m getting at — in the United States, even the rural areas — we are starting to see more of the AMXF couples — interracial couples with Asian males. And that makes me happy to know that I won’t have to deal with the entire “most Asian men feel they couldn’t handle white women” mindset for too long. Hate to break it to Ma, but if a guy has an inferiority complex with dating women and not treating them equal, the Asian thing is the least of his concerns.
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Growing up I’ve always look for Asian American musicians and performers, simply because they were Asian American. So I would look at people like David Tao, Jin, or others andwhen that wasn’t enough, I would try to find little local performers.
It’s especially fun and rewarding for me to see these little grassroots movements and performances, like the Far*East Movement, Epik High, and Kollaboration, expand into something this big and wonderful. Two shows in May/June…
First, FM and Epik High along with Kero One, Myk are holding four shows across America – in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle, over two weekends in May. Far*East Movement is out to promote their album Animal, and its subsequent single “Girls on the Dancefloor” which is on fire out here in Los Angeles, recently reaching the number 1 spot on Power 106′s Top 7 at 7 with DJ Felli Fel. Korean Hip Hop sensation Epik High is pushing their newly released album “Map the Soul”, a stellar celebration of independent and international hip hop.
Get your tickets for any of the four shows here.
Second, KollaborationNY was recently announced and they just released their rendition of Ne-Yo’s “Closer” which I absolutely LOVE! I personally have never heard of any of the performers save Magnetic North, who did a video with WongFu for their song Drift Away a couple of years a back. Still, that video has me both excited (for new and upcoming talent; especially G*LEE) and sad (in that I can’t attend). The show is on June 27th at NYU Skirball Center and I fully anticipate it to grow in terms of performers and production before then. If it is anything close to the Kollaboration held here in LA earlier this year, it will definitely be worth checking out.
Watch the “Closer” video:
Shopping With GASP!
The HOT DOCS International Documentary Film Festival is currently in full swing in Toronto from now till May 10th. I’ve always loved watching documentaries because of the diversity of perspective and opinions on topic ranging from trivial to the provocative and controversial. This year, they shine a spotlight on documentaries made from South Korean documentary filmmakers in a programme called Made In South Korea, so check those out if you get a chance.
This is the last of 3 part. Click here for Part 1 and Part 2.
THE SOUNDS OF INSECTS: RECORD OF A MUMMY
Dir: Peter Liechti – Germany
A man is found starved to death along with his detailed journal of his last days leading up to it in THE SOUND OF INSECTS: RECORD OF A MUMMY. It’s a really dark and chilling look into the motivation of self-starvation. While it was interesting, because of the nature-only imagery it was tedious to sit through excerpts of the daily account of the man’s journal.
THE RED CHAPEL – Dir: Mads Brugger – Denmark
In a bold attempt to expose the North Korea in its perpetuating lies, Mads Burgger, a Danish journalist under the guise of a manager of a Danish-Korean comedy duo in THE RED CHAPEL. What’s more interesting is one of the actors of the Danish-Korean comedy duo, Jacob Hossell is a spastic and is clearly physically handicapped – whom, out of his control becomes a sort of spectacle propaganda for North Korea.
LAUGHOLOGY – Dir: Albert Nerenberg – Canada
In the seriousness of world crisis, director Albert Nerenberg attempts to find his laugh in LAUGHOLOGY. It’s an amusing look into a human reaction that comes very naturally, and it’s interesting to note that no one really has attempted to breakdown laughter’s motivation or its reason. There are laugh clubs, laugh gurus and laugh doctors around the world helping people rediscover laughter in their lives. The documentary is a hoot to watch.
THE KOREAN WEDDING CHEST – Dir: Ulrike Ottinger – Germany
A look into the rituals and traditions of old and new wedding ceremonies in South Korea in KOREAN WEDDING CHEST. The chest itself contains many symbolic elements the groom prepares to present to the family of the bride. The fly-on-the-wall structure works very well to capture the grandeur of both traditional and modern ceremonies while not over explaining its meaning in the gesture.
CHILDREN OF GOD – Dir: Yi Seung-Jun – Nepal, South Korea
The ritual of releasing the dead into heaven are business as usual for the impoverished children who live along the Bagmati River in Nepal in CHILDREN OF GOD. While family mourn the loss of their loved ones, the kids harvest the offerings of money, gold, clothing and jewels to the gods. Their seemingly amoral acts are countered by stories of whom they’re benefiting from. And somehow, Nepalese hiphop freestyle still seems to make its way to their free time.
And now a word about the Made In South Korea programme.
- Comedian Joe Wong Debuts Nationally on Letterman – He looks and sounds like William Hung. So are we laughing with him, or are we laughing at him?
- Betty Brown: “Really, Just Change Your Name” – “… calling Betty Brown racist for this is ridiculous and a cheap shot. It looks to me like she’s making an honest attempt to try to educate herself on what’s a tricky topic.” – Kai, from the comments
- What Yao Ming Not Dunking Tells Us About Asian Culture – “…he isn’t aggressive enough. He passes too often. He doesn’t demand the ball when the game is on the line. He doesn’t dominate a game the way Shaq does. And … this explanation is that it’s usually followed up with, he isn’t aggressive enough because he’s Chinese.”
- 8Asians Interviews Bai Ling on “Crank: High Voltage” (And Some Other Stuff) – “Bai ling may not be a role model but she has guts. I can’t see why as a community we can’t appreciate her for her drive and individuality.” – Katherine, from the comments
- White Canadian Male Asks: “Why do most bad drivers seem to be Asian?” – “I deliberately drive badly just because it pisses off white Canadians, and I’ve persuaded many of my Asian friends to do the same.” – Confuse-us, from the comments
The question of Asians in executive row is the topic of an upcoming panel discussion, titled “Where are the Asian CEOs?” in Santa Clara, California. On May 20th, the Asia Society Northern California (ASNC), Ascend Bay Area and Corporate Executive Initiative, with event partners AAMA (Asian American MultiTechnology Association), CAAEN (Corporate Asian American Employee Network) and TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) are sponsoring the panel at the TiE Conference Center.
The panelists include Vish Mishra, Partner at Clearstone Ventures and President TiE Silicon Valley; Brian Schipper, Senior Vice President/HR, Cisco Systems; Chris Min, Vice President/Finance, Intel; and Susan Wang Wade, Board Member, Nektar, Altera and Avanex.
The meeting will cover topics including: why have only a handful of Asians have reached the highest corporate levels; the reasons behind their under representation on corporate boards and senior executive levels; what executive skills are required in large, complex organizations; and what companies are doing to develop and retain their best employees, including Asian employees.
In addition, a new study by Buck Gee, Project Director of the Corporate Executive Initiative and former Cisco Vice-President, will be released at the panel discussion. This study of large Bay Area companies found that Asian Americans continue to be substantially underrepresented at the highest levels of corporate management. While discussing this panel in a recent article, Asianweek also reported these statistics on Asian representation at the executive level:
2008 corporate reports have found that while Asians represented over 23% of the Bay Area population, they comprise only 5.5% of the Board members and 9.3% of the executive officers in the 25 largest companies with headquarters in the Bay Area. Furthermore, fourteen of these companies had no Asian board members and eight had no Asian corporate officers. Even in Silicon Valley, where Asians are over 30% of the population, Asians were only 9.7% of the corporate officer population. Top Bay Area companies Chevron, McKesson, the Gap and Symantec reported no Asians as board members or corporate officers in 2008.
This panel discussion is timely, given that 8Asians covered the topic of the perceived glass ceiling for Asians less than two months ago. Unfortunately, the number of Asian executives at my company hasn’t improved since I wrote that post in March.
The meeting is open to the public, with a 6pm Registration, followed by the panel discussion and reception. The ticket price for Asia Society/Ascend/event partner members is $10; Non-members $15; Students/Seniors $5. To register you can call: 415 421 8706.
Artwork credit: The Son of Man by René Magritte
Congratulations to Tara K. Inouye-Hill, who was randomly selected as the winner of our Asian American Arts Stimulus Package! Thanks for all the great entries!
Here is Tara’s winning entry:
For 1 to choose which of these 3 prolific & outstanding Asian Pacific American arts production events I would want to see the most would be akin to a sugar-crazed child being asked to choose one piece of candy in a candy store! I have been voluntarily supporting ALL 3 organizations for many, many years & want to see all 3 events, plus I am a female, a minority, a widow, over 50 & am part of that large group of working Americans unable to find a decent full-time job in their respective professions – how many more discriminatory groups do I need to belong to so I capture your sympathies? Therefore … choose me!
I wish we had more free tickets to giveaway, but please check out the event websites as there are (generally) lower priced tickets such as previews, matinees, and “Pay What You Can” performances.
Thanks again to Visual Communications, Lodestone Theatre Ensemble, and East West Players for offering up free tickets for this giveaway.
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