Aside from being a supermodel, Kim keeps a fascinating and entertaining blog, I Like To Fork Myself, which she updates on a regular basis. Her blog defies the idea of models as empty-headed mannequins. I mean, her posts aren’t exactly scholarly material, but there are some gems hidden amongst her cryptic one-liner posts and her non-sensical poetic entries. Her posts are a mish-mash of photos of her and her friends engaging in various day-to-day things (dress up! watermelon cocktails!), semi-analytical reflections on pop culture and in this case, an angry letter to Koreans about the backlash she received after shooting a nude editorial set for i-D Magazine back in June.

In her post, she says:

seriously korean ppl
stop bullying me
…

i dont owe you anything
and you dont own me
…

i respect korean culture as much as possible
im proud to be korean

sometimes i can be ab noxious i know,
but nudity in fashion can’t be considered ab noxious

ok did i ever have a dirty scandal? no
did i ever slut around? no
is i-D porn? no

do you guys bitch when you see a Caucasian model nude?
a japanese girl nude? a black girl nude?

and when its korean girl nude, you guys get made angry
and i can be blonde, red, pink haired if i want. im not trying to be anything else
i have every right to do what i want. if a white girl colours her hair black, do u say “oh shes trying to be asian”?

its so silly to restrict korean girl has to be a certain way
this is superiority complex and complex is not….flattering

I kind of love her for this post.  I think it’s an important one. Kim pits the oppression she faces as a Korean woman against those of other women of colour, which is definitely problematic. Her comment on Japanese and black women not getting flack for nudity is especially troubling because it is precisely the hyper-sexualization and exoticism that these women face that don’t get them in as much trouble. It is “expected” of Japanese and black women to be nude and sexual, at our service and convenience. However, her points on the expectations of Korean women to fit a certain prototype is something many racialized women struggle with.

Unfortunately for those who participated in the backlash against her, as a model, Kim’s body is what is valued and put on display for the world. And that is the reality of the modeling world. What is comforting, though, is that Kim seems to have a pretty strong sense of her self and her needs. She is smart, quirky and kinda just does her own thing.

My favourite Daul Kim post is this one, where she manages to compare Japanese manga Akira to science-fiction thriller, Tetsuo, get angry about Japanese colonialism in Korea and remind us that “official” history classes and textbooks don’t tell us the whole truth. I also enjoyed her pictures-only commentary on girl-on-girl hate. Never mind that she counters this social problem with a photo of the Spice Girls, the immortal and misrepresentative symbol of feminism. Despite a lot of her eyebrow-raising content, I still really like her.

(Photo credit: I Like To Fork Myself.)

OMG! I can finally sleep now that I am certain Russell, the cute kid in Disney/Pixar’s Up, is in fact Asian. I mean, just look at the colour scripts for the film — Pixar was sensitive enough to have foreseen debates  around Russell’s background and provided us confused and lost Asians with these handy colour scripts. Because we all know that those 45 degree, upward lines in place of eyes are codes for “Asian.”

All those online debates about Russell’s ethnic background can end now. After these scripts, there cannot be any more debate. The verdict is clear: Russell is one of us.

(thanks to Jun’s post on 8asian’s tumblr)

The project examined “the influences which shape the lives of Chinese American youths in the U.S.” through an installation at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum that reconstructed “the apartment of the fictional Lee family, second-generation Chinese Americans presently living in New York City.” The project is also online as an interactive web installation.

By clicking on various objects (including a violin and the Sanrio character Badtz-Maru) inside the interactive apartment, we are “taught” about various supposed Chinese American values and traditions. These values include the importance of family, food and education. We also learn about the difficulties of assimilating into the “American Way of Life” while maintaining Chinese traditions.

Claudia Chow’s artistic statements says that this installation is a snapshot of “one single Chinese American family.” I think what is really going on here is that she tried not to generalize by tossing in a half-hearted disclaimer, in hopes that it will be enough to cover her ass. Too bad it doesn’t work that way. Too bad when artists of colour center their work around issues of race, we are forced to take into account issues of representation and expectations that other artists (by which I mean white artists) don’t have to worry their little hearts over. Banana isn’t just about the Lee family; anyone who looks like a possible “Lee” is implicated in this installation.

Also, who is the intended audience? What is Claudia Chow trying to accomplish? It sure doesn’t seem like the project was created with Chinese Americans in mind. For one, the entire web installation is in English. Second, surely Chinese Americans have no need for such a project when they are the subjects of their own lives. Banana seems more like a “multicultural” anthropological study, intended to aid non-Chinese Americans in better understanding “the Chinese American experience.” Damn, nothing more disappointing and infuriating when people of colour in positions of authority tokenize and pigeon-hole themselves, which in turn, does the same for everyone else who looks like them.

And come on, these types of voyeuristic cultural glimpses are so tired. Doesn’t, like, everyone have a Chinese friend nowadays (and a black friend… and a gay friend, too)? No one needs a project like this to know how Chinese American families operate! They are everywhere! If you are worthy enough and your Chinese friend is kind enough, maybe you will be invited over for a first-hand taste of Chinese American struggles in the land of the free.

It’s great that Izaki debunks the stereotype of East Asian women as submissive, quiet and frail. My initial reaction to the story was a slight surprise (omg, internalized racism at work! nooo!), which evolved into a rush of excitement at the idea of a Japanese woman not filling the stereotypical expectations of her. Then I stopped myself and asked, Why am I surprised? And do I really need to rely on mass media reports on outstanding East Asian women in order to feel that rush of excitement? Like, really? I generally get annoyed with stories like Izaki’s because they shouldn’t have been anything out of the ordinary. Yes, her older age as a boxer is an element of what makes the story, but the racial aspect makes it even more of an appealing one. Why are we still continuously surprised when someone of a certain identity does not fit into the mold that is expected of them?

Then it just made me annoyed and frustrated that the BBC mediated that heightened sense for me. I can point out so many fierce Asian women who are engaged in all sorts of interesting and stimulating things without the help of a media conglomerate standing between us. We are out there! We are strong, interesting and holdin’ it down! Just be more attentive!

After all that ranting analyzing, it is still great for Izaki to have received international exposure. Hopefully, more kick-ass Asian women who are involved in various fields will start to get more media attention.

Hmmm, I can make really ugly and unappealing faces. Does that make me media worthy? An East Asian woman who does stupid shit? Appealing and story-worthy, no? (No.)

I watched the actual clip of Jackie Chan speaking at the Boao Forum (the part English media outlets have been reporting on starts at 0:50) and as someone who speaks Mandarin, I was concerned about the difference between watching the original clip and reading online English translations.

I was initially exposed to the issue through an online English news source, which said that Jackie Chan stated, “I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not. I’m really confused now. If there is too much freedom, like the way Hong Kong is today, it is very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic. I’m beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled.”

When I first read his comment in English, I was pretty outraged. Then I watched the original clip and didn’t find myself nearly as upset. I suspect this has to do with the fact that when information is translated, it is often read as an individual and isolated quote, making it easier to sensationalize.

There are definitely problems with what he said, especially in light of his privilege as a movie star who probably moves about his surroundings freer than the average Chinese citizen. As well, Jackie Chan is internationally known and anything he says publicly, unfortunately, can and will be read as representative of the Chinese people. Oh, and let’s not forget Jackie Chan’s glorification of the United States as a place where people know how to dispose of their gum, as opposed to China, where people don’t, and therefore need to be “controlled” (see 1:30 into last link, which is in Mandarin).

This whole Jackie Chan situation makes me wonder how information gets consumed and digested by racialized second/third/fourth-generation people who may not speak the language. More specifically, I am thinking about information and knowledge that has been translated from its original language into English. There are lots of diasporic people who are trying to learn about their racialized histories and reclaim their families’ stories who can only do so through listening to stories, watching movies and reading in English. I wonder how much of the complexities are lost, as the histories and stories are translated into the supposed “universal” language.

Or am I giving Jackie Chan too much leeway and credit? Gah, probably.