June 2021 Cultural Work Roundup

/// June 2021 ///

Happy Pride Month! Recent months have not been easy for most– as we look towards Pride Month, how can we take care of ourselves and re-energize in the face of racism and transphobia in order to better fight for liberation? Below is a list of BIPOC makers, radical thinkers, and doers who can guide and ground us, featuring recommendations by Cultural Work Volunteer Alisa Chen at alisa.chen@apano.org and APANO's Arts & Media Project (AMP) members.

WATCH

• I Put the Bi in Bitter– Created by Marin Lepore, a gay woman of color, "I Put the Bi in Bitter" is a cute and lighthearted comedy that follows a bisexual teenager and her lesbian BFF as they navigate high school, deal with friendship and crushes, and survive all the other awkward moments and shenanigans that come from being young.
• Lingua Franca– written and directed by Isabel Sandoval, a trans Filipina filmmaker, the plot follows an undocumented Filipina trans woman who works as a caregiver for Olga, an elderly Russian woman in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach. In 2019, Sandoval made history with Lingua Franca as the first transgender woman of color to compete at the Venice Film Festival.

PRACTICE

• Trans & Queer Youth Resilience, Affirmation, and Allyship from the perspective of AAPI Rainbow Parents– Please join APANO community members, in a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) only space, for the next gathering of our Resilience Series: Trans & Queer Youth Resilience, Affirmation, and Allyship from the perspective of Asian Rainbow Parents. By age four, most children have a stable sense of their gender identity. We will discuss the differences between gender identity/expression and sexual orientation, develop a basic foundation for understanding transgender and gender diverse identities, and listen to two Asian American parents’ stories of their journey towards understanding, acceptance, and active allyship for their LGBTQ2SIA+ youth. We will make space for all community members to discuss how to be better allies in co-creating a community where all transgender and gender diverse children, youth, and adults can be affirmed and supported and loved. This event will feature community speakers Charmaine Hussain and LoAn Nguyen and will be held on June 9th at 5pm; sign up here!
• Come Thru Market– The next market is June 7th 12-4pm at Redd on Salmon. Come Thru Market is an incubator market centering Black and Indigenous Farmers and Makers. A project of the Raceme Farm Collective, the market supports BIPOC growers in taking their small business dreams to the farmers market environment.
• Critical Resistance On-Going Monthly Mail Project– On June 21st and the third Monday of each month Critical Resistance gathers virtually as a mail crew and volunteer team to host an open letter writing night to connect with folks looking to get involved with CRPDX. They receive about 300 letters a month and offer political education, resource information, books and articles. Sign up here to get involved!

LISTEN

• How Do Queer Pacifika People Get Treated Within my Culture?– From Deep Pacific for #PRIDE2020 this episode centers on LGBTQIA+ Pacific Islanders, their representation, how they are treated, how they live with queerness, and how they feel their cultures could change for the better to become more inclusive.
• Queer Muslim Resistance– a podcast from OPIRG Kingston centering queer Muslim dreaming for collective liberation. The podcast asks: what is abolition? What is queer Indigenous sovereignty? Why are these central to our fights for justice? They answer these questions and more with a variety of queer Muslim guests, and guests with an investment in anti-oppression, on the podcast and our Instagram page @queermuslimresistance.
• Queering Desi– In each episode, a guest chats with long-time community activist and writer, Priya Arora, about their journey and what it means to be true to who you are. To help us share our stories in our own words, and take the burden of representation off each individual, this podcast aims to be a breeding ground for discussion and a platform for being loud and proud, no matter who you are!

READ

• 17 Books By Queer Asian American Writers– Curated by Andrea Oh, a Korean American writer from the Midwest, for Electric Lit. Andrea writes that “with the existence of queer Asian American Narratives, we are visible. These books represent the space each voice had to forge within their own cultural histories and normative society. They say we’re here, we’re with you.”
• “I’m Building Counter Narratives”: LGBTQ+ Asian Americans on How They’re Processing Racism During Coronavirus– In them.us from Kyle Casey Chu, a San Francisco born and raised writer whose work explores queer identities, racial justice, and desire. This article to help us re-energize as we hear queer and trans Asian-Americans experiences processing and healing from racism and hate crimes.

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If you have questions about the Cultural Work Roundup, please contact Cultural Work Volunteer, Alisa Chen, at alisa.chen@apano.org or Cultural Work Coordinator Roshani Thakore at roshani@apano.org



This programming message brought to you by APANO Community United Fund, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.