In June of 2010, Lynn Chen started a food blog, The Actor’s Diet, after years of battling eating disorders. At the beginning of 2011, she stumbled upon an interview on NPR with Lisa Lee, in which Lisa discussed the story she wrote for Hyphen magazine about her past struggles with food and body image. Lisa found herself doing extreme dieting to cut weight and found herself losing control when the pounds started coming back.
What made Lynn perk up her ears was that Lisa talked about how being Asian specifically played into her obsession over being skinny. After listening to and reading Lee’s story, Lynn immediately knew they had to connect.
Thick Dumpling Skin was formed by their collaboration but seeks to become a space for Asian Americans to share and discuss their unhealthy quests, past and present, for the “perfect” body. The site includes a growing resource list and will soon feature user-submitted stories. They’re also collecting questions for future discussions and FAQs.
I love Thick Dumpling Skin’s tagline — “It’s what’s on the inside that counts” — and their call to action: “Together, we’ll grow some thicker skins, and learn to love them as well.” I know that the Lynn and Lisa’s honesty and bravery in sharing their stories will be an empowering example for others in our community.
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Disgusted
- Sad
- Angry
