asian(ish)

Don't know the difference between 'Cultural Appropriation' and 'Cultural Appreciation'? No need to worry, we're going to give you the run-down on why there is a significant difference between the two concepts in this episode! We're giving you examples of how cultural appropriation occurs in various facets of the entertainment industry, fashion industry and even in the spaces we occupy ourselves on the internet and on social media. Who decides the boundary between appropriation and appreciation? Why haven't we seen a decline in appropriation? Where does the fault lie when it comes to appropriation? How come some forms of cultural appropriation go virtually undetected in comparison to other mainstream examples? It's a fast-changing world and we're not putting up with cultural appropriation anymore! Come and join us! If you want to carry on the conversation, don't forget to use #asianish and tag our socials to share your thoughts on twitter and more!

It's no secret that I am a sucker for a good (albeit trashy) reality show. I will watch The Real Housewives (of Beverly Hills, Miami, and New Jersey) without hesitation, I started watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians in 2009, and I'm eagerly anticipating the latest season of Selling Sunset. However, the main problem with all of these reality shows is that they are glaringly white. We are rarely offered people of colour on these shows. Where there is a small amount that can be named, we have shows like Shahs of Sunset, Family Karma, and Bollywood Wives. What is the purpose behind the reality television show? Why is it important to have a form of representation in this genre? Whose lives should we be following? Where should these shows be taking place? We'll be serving up the reali-tea in today's episode! Come and join us! If you want to carry on the conversation, don't forget to use #asianish and tag our socials to share your thoughts on twitter and more!

today i am joined by isabella yasmin kajiwara to discuss the "diversity child" and the problems that arise with it. i had spent so much of my life occupying white spaces that it was easy to think that I had been the start, or rather a hopeful promise, that diversity would begin to flourish in these spaces. when you're a teenager it's hard to think of anyone or any institution using your skin colour to their own advantage. when they ask you to smile for the camera, you're not taught to question it, you just hold your head up over a book and do it. i learned, as time went by, what it means to be a diversity child. i was one of them. at my own diverse undergraduate university, i was treated as one, and i know others who have been treated as one. i'm tired of listening to lies about boosting diversity by including and showing off a few people of colour. come and join us! if you want to carry on the conversation, don't forget to use #asianish and tag our socials to share your thoughts on twitter and more!

the hills have eyes as do the aunties. i have faced criticism from them for doing or saying things that are seen as untraditional or deviant. why is there a backlash from older womxn in our respective communities when we choose to do things that aren't considered the norm? another aspect is when those girl-on-girl crimes happen between womxn who are in the same generation as us. there are even jabs at those who behave like that in the diaspora on tiktok and instagram. we are dissecting the selective feminism and internalised misogyny in the asian(ish) community and the ways we must respond and challenge this. come and join us! if you want to carry on the conversation, don't forget to use #asianish and tag our socials to share your thoughts on twitter and more!

we've been seeing quite a bit of change in terms of representation in hollywood and western media and to see ourselves on screen is great - but just seeing ourselves on screen is not enough. there must be a drive for genuine change that is not merely tokenistic. we should never have to be the quasi-racist sidekick characters, nor should we be the exoticised person from the "orient". if we're going to be seen, we're going to do it on our terms, and we'll be exploring how this has been achieved in hollywood and in western media. what have we seen in the past? what are we currently seeing on our screens? what do we want to see in the future? if you want to continue the conversation, don't forget to tag us in the post and use #asianish!

this show is a space for us to understand and discuss our identities outside of the rigid binaries of just being "asian", "british", or any deterministic category. when we give our views on racial inequalities and beyond, that's a good thing because we should be the ones to tell our own experiences, but we have more to give than our trauma. there is so much more to us than the bad parts of our lives. we are not here to offer you trauma porn just so you can feel "woke". being asian(ish) is not a monolithic experience. there is so much happiness and beauty in the different communities and diasporas, so why are we only asked to share our words and raise our voices when bad things occur? we need to unpack this narrative in the media and today clera rodrigues will be joining us to do this! if you want to carry on the conversation, don't forget to use #asianish and tag our socials to share your thoughts on twitter and more!