Posts tagged itasa

Wow what a weekend. 

It has been a few days since I came back from the 2012 Midwest ITASA Conference out at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and I am still recovering from all the good vibes!

When I was doing my undergrad, I’m sad to say that I never participated in any student conferences. I was always too busy working or rehearsing for some production. But attending student conferences as a speaker made me realize all the goodness that I had missed out on. So before we get too far into the post, let’s just say, major props to the ITASA board & the organizers of the midwest conference for putting together an inspiring and engaging weekend. Being an organizer myself, I know how hard it can be to pull off a large-scale event like this, so I am super proud of you guys.

On Saturday, I led a workshop about Thick Dumpling Skin and how portrayals of Asian Americans in mass media can affect the way we view ourselves physically. Similar to the workshop that I did for the East Coast ITASA Conference at Georgia Tech, I talked about my own unhealthy quest to be thin, my theories about how I got to that point of  (hint: mass media portrayals ahem, partially), and then I showed some clips that demonstrated specific Asian stereotypes that we see over and over again.  

By raising awareness around these stereotypes, my hope is that we’ll be concious of their purpose rather than simply consuming them and conforming to them without realizing it. 

Conference attendees at my workshop!

I also had the privilege of getting to know some of my fellow speakers on a more personal level. Their passion for what they do was apparent and admirable. Check them out and support their work!

Samuel Wang, founder of Akufuncture, Evan Huang, cofounder of BaoHaus NY, HoChie Tsai, founder of TaiwaneseAmerican.org, Kevin Lien, YouTube artist, Eddie & Jason Lee (& Eric Lu), founders of JubileeProject, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Writer/Activist, and Stephanie Wu & Christine Wei, Exec Board of Mochi Magazine.

Lastly, the closing banquet. Holy mockerel. Can I just say that the Chinee yo-yo is no joke, especially when Revolution is in charge. I almost had to remind myself to breathe. 

All in all, a great weekend spent with the next generation of Asian American leaders. It was an honor to have been invited.

For more info about the conference and ITASA in case you missed it, go here.

- Lisa

Do you want Thick Dumpling Skin at your event? Contact us!

Next weekend, April 6th - 8th, I’ll be in Michigan, Ann Arbor, representing TDS at the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Student Association (ITASA) midwest conference!

Similar to the workshop that I did for the ITASA east coast conference in Atlanta, I’ll be talking about body image issues within our community and how the portayal of Asian Americans in mass media can construe the way we view ourselves physically. This will go down on Saturday, at 10:30 am in the Undergraduate Science Building.  

Not only am I stoked about visiting UMich for the first time, I am also excited about meeting my fellow presenters. In particular, I am looking forward to meeting the faces behind The Jubilee Project (Videos for a Good Cause) and finally, meeting Stephanie and Christine from Mochi Magazine. (Empowering Asian American Teenage Girls)! As some of you know, I was the former publisher of Hyphen magazine and remember when Mochi Magazine first came out. I imagine we’ll have a lot to talk about.

For more information on how to register (or if you just want to stalk me), go here. 

Seen any positive or negative depictions of Asian Americans on TV, magazines, or elsewhere lately? Send me some links. They might make it into my workshop. Oh, and let me know if there are any special spots to check out! I’m itching to explore.

- Lisa

Do you want Thick Dumpling Skin at your event? Contact us!

The title is sort of a bad one, because I didn’t make it to Atlanta in time to enjoy most of the conference (was busy kicking off the AAPI employee group at my work). Nevertheless, I arrived in Atlanta at 6 am on Saturday and had a great 48+ hours in HOTtlanta. Sorry Atlanta, I just had to.  

As the cofounder of Thick Dumpling Skin, I led a workshop on Asian American portrayals in mass media and the effects on body image. I talked a bit about my work at Hyphen magazine, and then dived into this messy topic. 

It’s impossible to talk about ourselves physically without acknowledging the intentional disregard for Asian American bodies in mass media. So I first showed a bunch of clips from the amazing Claire Light’s post on Hyphen magazine that talks about just that. Putting on your critical thinking cap, what does that tell you about ourselves?

I then showed clips from The School of Rock, M. Butterfly, and this banned image put out by Tiger Beer (rightfully so) that demonstrate how stereotypes can really foster certain expectations that we have for ourselves, physically. 

After the workshop, a few students and I chatted up about “Tiger Mom” and career choices. I also met the owners, Jospeh and Matthew Hsiao, behind two of the Flying Biscuit restaurants in Atlanta! 

The night ended with a spirited Chinese banquet style dinner. The food was amazing.

I really enjoyed my time in Atlanta. Much love to ITASA and all the organizers. I always feel so proud of the students that I meet who are out there hustling fellow students and setting an example for their peers. Now those are leaders in the making. Can’t wait to see what they will do in the future.

If there’s something that you’re interested in, get involved! Every opportunity is an opportunity to learn new things.

- Lisa