Page Skimming - Articles of Interest
by Racialicious special correspondent Latoya Peterson
Hello.
My name is Latoya, and I am addicted to magazines.
While I am down from my addiction high of $75 a month on various glossies, I still tend to read far more magazines each month than I do books. Many of the periodicals I grab are imports - a brand new fashion mag from Japan, a graffiti magazine from Belgium, design tips from across the pond, an art magazine from the Bay Area that somehow made it to DC.
I would estimate I have about fifteen regular publications that I subscribe to or purchase, plus another five to ten that I randomly pick up off the newsstand. While I enjoy reading magazines, they tend to be a POC wasteland. With the exceptions of specialty publications like Essence or East West, there is not a lot of minority representation. So with that in mind, I present to you a quick list of things I enjoyed last month in hopes to turn people on to some new reading, and to highlight mentions of minorities in mainstream media.
East West Magazine
December/January Issue
www.eastwestmagazine.com
Comics Get Cultural: How Archie Comics and Other Well-Known Series are Diversifying to Better Mirror Today’s Reading Public (p. 31)
An interesting article about how the Archie comics have illustrated their first Asian character - Raj Patel. The piece features an section on Desi characters in the comic world, the character design for Raj, and criticism of character design and intent.
A Question of Identity: LGBT Asians Face Social and Cultural Isolation (p. 37)
This article primarily focuses on the issues LGBT Asians face when coming out. The article is told primarily through the perspectives of Asians who have immigrated to America, but it also contains many references to stateside support groups and online groups meant to show support around the globe.
Pink Magazine
November/December
www.pinkmagazine.com
Sex Change for the Better: Are We Treated Differently At Work Because We’re Women?
Fascinating article. While this doesn’t deal with race, it does deal with a minority group that is rarely heard from in the mainstream media. The article synopsis reads as follows:
PINK gets the truth from the only people who could possibly know for sure – those who have been both man and woman. Meet Donna Rose, a former jock who could bench press 300 pounds, who sometimes feels invisible as a woman. And Jillian Weiss, a lawyer who now gets more leeway from judges but more scrutiny from men at work.
The only quibble I had with the article is that there were no Female-to-Male transsexuals interviewed. I would have loved to hear that perspective as well, but the article still plays well.
Essence Magazine
December 2007
www.essence.com
How We Worship (p. 239)
I enjoy reading Essence, but their writing can be very Christian centric. While I am sure that the majority of their readers are Christian, I always wonder about representations those of us who do not identify with Christianity. In this month’s issue, I was pleasantly surprised to see a photo essay on worship - with a Muslimah leading the article. Other profiles included a Christian Cultural Center attendee, a Baptist, a Hebrew Israelite, members of Spiritmuv (the Prayer Circle of Light), and a Buddhist.
Just Between Us Girls (p. 189)
This is the infamous article where Sanaa Lathan, Gabrielle Union, and Nia Long spoke out against the nastiness on black gossip sites. Gabrielle Union notes, “I can’t point the finger at the White media. They don’t care about us…so when you hear crap about us, it is coming from our own community, which hurts.”
Concrete Loop, Stereohyped, and Sandra Rose all posted responses.
Glamour Magazine
November 2007
www.glamour.com
Hero of the Month (p. 74)
This month’s Hero is the formidable Olivia Wang. Wang started The Habeas Project, based around a revision in California law that allows domestic violence survivors incarcerated for murdering their abusers to request a new trial (if they met certain state mandated circumstances.)
The Utne Reader
Dec. ‘07/Jan. ‘08 Issue
http://www.utne.com/reader.aspx
It appears I have misplaced this month’s issue which means no page numbers. However, the Utne has a ton of informative articles (as usual) but there are a few of particular interest. One on conversation and how it is becoming lost in a wave of arguments, another deals with anger and how it manifests itself in daily life, and yet another dealing with the decline of prison newspapers. (Luckily, the last one is online.)
Words. Beats. Life : The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture
Volume 3, Issue 1
http://www.wblinc.org/
A new mag I spotted while looking for a book at Busboys and Poets, Words.Beats.Life in of immediate interest. Both scholarly journal and magazine, it features a mix of articles meant for academia, articles for general consumption, and some small articles for children and young adults. There is also a directory of hip-hop related organizations to help people get involved.
Immigrants in Europe and the Transculturation of an African-American Genre (p. 47)
Fascinating to see the same issues we discuss in hip-hop culture being discussed abroad. A section from the article:
Hip-Hop in Europe has recently become a concern to European policy makers in the wake of the 2005 Paris, France riots. The youth involved in the rioting and vandalism were identified as immigrant youth influenced by rap music. The public at large seemed to feel that hip-hop influenced these actions. However, upon closer inspection, one has to wonder if hip-hop was the root of the problem that led to the riots, or whether hip-hop, like the riots themselves, is simply a symptom of problems of race in modern society.
Constant Elevation: The Rise of Bay Area Hip-Hop Activism (p.56)
Jeff Chang penned this excellent overview of hip-hop activism and provides an explanation, history, mention of major players, recommendations and discussion questions.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Katie wrote:
Is that a blonde Devon Aoki (or lookalike) on the cover of East West?
Posted 06 Dec 2007 at 9:36 am ¶
dnA wrote:
Busboys and Poets! How I Miss DC!
Except really, the fact that I can get a Corona here at Midnite is pretty crucial.
Posted 06 Dec 2007 at 9:49 am ¶
Mickey wrote:
I’m a fellow magazine addict too! It’s nice to know I’m not alone.
Half Price Books only feeds my addiction. I probably subscribe to about 10 magazines a year and maybe pick up another 3-4 each month.
My mailman hates me.
I agree with you that more magazines need women of color. I would love to see a Black version of Glamour or Cosmo. At 25, I can’t identify with Essence. I only read for the celebrity interviews
Posted 06 Dec 2007 at 3:04 pm ¶
Erika wrote:
I looked around the East West magazine website, and I was starting to wonder what they meant when they said that they’re an Asian-American magazine…were they referring to hapas (half Asian)? Of course, they have to be represented too, but ALL the models/people who are featured on there are hapa, and that makes me feel sort of left out as an Asian-American person who’s not hapa (both my parents are of Japanese descent).
Posted 06 Dec 2007 at 4:46 pm ¶
al wrote:
erika, what are you basing your statement about east west on? i was looking at the site and it seemed like most of the people on it weren’t identified as half-something other than asian, and the few whose ethnicity was discussed were not.
Posted 06 Dec 2007 at 6:48 pm ¶
Bianca Reagan wrote:
The new Archie character is named “Raj Patel”? That makes me giggle. I know there must be thousands of Raj Patels out there, because it’s an accurately Indian name. It just seems so typically Indian. Like if there were a comic series like Archie in India, and there was a new character of white American descent called Johnny Appleseed, or a black American character called Jamal Jenkins. Though I guess it fits with characters like “Archie Andrews” and “Jughead Jones”.
Posted 06 Dec 2007 at 7:15 pm ¶
Tami wrote:
Aaah, it feels good to be among my people–the magazine junkies. If I don’t have my Bitch, Utne Reader, Mother Jones, Nation, Vanity Fair, Yoga Journal and Q (When I can afford it.), I get the shakes. Of course, after I read my subscriptions and favorites, I am also lured by anything else glossy on the newsstand that I haven’t read yet. Is there some sort of program for this?
Posted 06 Dec 2007 at 7:17 pm ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
Katie - No, that’s not Devon. I forget the name of the model, but I’ll look it up for you when I get home.
dnA - You damn right you miss Busboys! Though I feel you about the midnight social hour. Out here in the ‘burbs. everything closes around 10.
Mickey -
Your mailman hates you? Man…my mom used to sit and count my magazines like they were cash. “Five dollars, ten dollars, twenty…acting like you don’t know why you’re broke!” What are you reading? Cosign on the Essence, it not geared toward me. I love Clutch, but it is online only right now and everything else seems to bite it within a year.
Erika & Al - East West tends to focus on Asian American women here, with features that explore what is going on overseas. I did not notice that many hapa women. When I post the next mag round up that features Asian American Magazines, I’ll talk about that. At any rate, the question is a good one, so I sent it off to Anita Malik, the editor in chief of East West. Not sure when she will get around to responding to me though! I noticed more of a hapa/white focus in another magazine…more on that later…
Bianca - Yes, they named him Raj Patel for exactly the reasons you mentioned. They debated other names, but decided that they wanted him to be Johnny India to Archie USA.
Tami -
Hey, fellow yogini! I heart Yoga Journal. What is Q, never heard of it.
I do think there needs to be a media intervention program, or at the very least, a support group. Then we could swap
Posted 07 Dec 2007 at 11:15 am ¶
lala wrote:
EastWest features women of Asian and also middle eastern descent. I don’t think all their models are hapa.
KoreAm has a story this month about Asian American mags, including EastWest, Hyphen, and Theme.
I love hearing about new magazines.
Posted 07 Dec 2007 at 5:02 pm ¶
gatamala wrote:
I thought Raj Patel was a little too “easy”..
This:
or a black American character called Jamal Jenkins.
made me laugh
Posted 07 Dec 2007 at 5:09 pm ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
Katie - The cover is professional model Rila Fukushima.
Lala - KoreAm? Never seen a copy, though I have heard about it. I own the Yell-oh Girls anthology. What’s Theme?
Gatamala -
You don’t remember Jamal Jenkins from Ghostwriter? Now I got the theme song stuck in my head.
For the uninitiated:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwriter_(TV_series)
Posted 07 Dec 2007 at 5:42 pm ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
Working link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwriter_%28TV_series%29
Posted 07 Dec 2007 at 5:47 pm ¶
Bennett Gordon wrote:
The other Utne Reader articles are online too!
Here’s the one on conversation:
http://www.utne.com//2007-11-01/Politics/The-Great-Divide.aspx
And here’s the one on Anger:
http://www.utne.com/2007-11-01/All-the-Rage.aspx
Posted 08 Dec 2007 at 12:49 pm ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
Erika/Al, here is the response from Anita:
I am surprised with the mostly hapa or ALL hapa comment to be honest. We cover Asian American lifestyle and include everyone but certainly not just those of mixed descent. Our current homepage features stories for example on Ang Lee, Manon Dave, and more…all not hapa.
There is a mix and that is what makes us unique, we are inclusive not exclusive. Carrie Ann Inaba is hapa, but her Japanese and Chinese roots are compelling, her time in Japan as a pop star is compelling, etc. Previous covers have included Ming Na, Lucy Liu and more… Our Wasabi Woman, not hapa. I, myself, am full Indian American. The list goes on and on so that is why the comment surprised me.
Many of the My East West stories are from hapa women, but again not all are and some aren’t even Asian at all, but they each have a unique East/West perspective, and that is the nature of that particular department.
The point: it doesn’t matter. We don’t look at content production from a hapa or not hapa perspective nor do we try to balance it. We do what makes most sense, what makes a story that needs to be told, such as Asian Americans and hepatitis b, or diabetes or depression, and so it varies. We are inclusive. We are truly pan Asian American and proud that we celebrate each individual’s unique Asian cultural experience no matter how you breakdown his or her ethnic makeup. We can each learn from another and underneath it all the East/West cultural experiences are often quite similar.
Anita Malik
Editor-in-Chief
http://www.eastwestmagazine.com
****
Also, thanks a lot Bennett! I appreciate the effort!
Posted 10 Dec 2007 at 3:05 pm ¶