Logo Gives Asian-American Lesbians a Voice with Gimme Sugar

by Guest Contributor Joanna Eng

I kind of hate reality shows, and especially ones that are about a group of people who like to party. (Well, okay, I’ll admit that I did follow the first season of A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila.) But here’s one that I have reason to be excited about: Gimme Sugar on Logo.

From the GO Magazine article:

“Most happily, perhaps, is the strong presence of Asian lesbians on the show. Three lesbians on Gimme Sugar are certifiably Asian American. There is swaggering, deep Davonee from Laos; on-top-of-the-bar-making-out-with-whoever Taiwanese Bathilda; and alternately kickass and nurturing lesbian leader Charlene, who was born in the Philippines and settled in California as an infant. They are some of the first Asian lesbians portrayed on television.”

Davonee says, “It’s really hard because we’re Asian, you know—we’re not supposed to be gay! So I think [the show] is just gonna help a lot of Asian girls and families to come out and be comfortable.”

Bathilda adds, “And we’re three very different Asian lesbians—some Asian out there in Milwaukee can totally relate!”

A reality show about the party scene in L.A. isn’t exactly going to change the world; and it’s limited to the Logo audience, so it might not get much mainstream attention. But, c’mon, Margaret Cho and Tila Tequila can’t hold it down for all queer Asian American women forever! Since The L Word can’t seem to acknowledge that there are Asian Americans in California, and even add one token character to their cast, this is big news. I’m just impressed that out of only five main characters on Gimme Sugar, three of them (60 percent, people!) are Asian American.

What do you think? Are you going to watch?

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Comments

Kendra wrote:

Depends. I probably won’t get this channel in my new residence.

Was the show supposed to highlight the Asian American cast versus the other women? Why couldn’t all of the women have been Asian American or just of a greater mixture in general?

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 12:35 pm ¶
kahlilG wrote:

hell yeah i’m going to watch. i actually love to watch those shows about people partying.and finally it’s about a group of people barely represented in the media. i’ll be there for the premiere lol.

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 1:45 pm ¶
sylvie wrote:

if i had cable, i’d at least check out the first episode. this looks like it has far more potential to provide a realistic (no offense to ms. tequila and her shameless suitors) of asian american lesbians. i don’t even know any asian american lesbians; the last one i saw in the media was jenny shimizu and it was mainly about her romantic dalliance with angelina jolie.

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 4:42 pm ¶
Minotaar wrote:

Are they actually getting represented in a fair light? Cynicism begs me to think the producer/director had something a lot less noble in mind. Something involving males 18-35. If they are getting represented well, this is great.

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 4:49 pm ¶
Jay wrote:

I would be suspect if this show were on, say, MTV but Logo doesn’t really target 18-35 straight (white) males.

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 5:14 pm ¶
NancyP wrote:

No. I don’t have cable. It might feature on a Netflix queue eventually. But there are a lot of things ahead of it.

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 5:32 pm ¶
magda wrote:

I live in NYC and I know several Asian American dykes, but maybe it’s the crowd I hang with. One of my friends has confided in me that she feels very invisible as an Asian queer. (This actually was while we were discussing the complete lack of Asian American presence on the L Word.) It is unfortunate that there don’t seem to be any other queer racial minorities represented, but at least this seems like a step in the right direction. I hope it’s better than the other horribly written original LOGO shows. Of course, how can you go wrong with a bunch of twenty year old partiers getting drunk and the drama that results? I bet it will be awesome.

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 6:34 pm ¶
chi wrote:

yep, i’ll definitely be tuned into the first epsiode. though after reading through GO’s article, i’m not too keen on Davonee, or the “blackest Asian” as she calls herself, and the way she attributes racial stereotypes to the other two A/PIA women (one is the “white Asian you’ll ever meet”, the other a “mixture of everything…rainbow Asian”). perhaps i’m reading too much into it, but was all that necessary?

nonetheless, i’m happy to see more LGBT of color portrayed, albeit in a less mainstream channel.

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 6:43 pm ¶
CScarlet wrote:

My (Asian American) ex and I used to talk about the L Word all the time! We tallied once that there were 3 Asian characters plus random extras- Marcus the sperm donor’s crazy girlfriend, an adopted baby, and Bette’s father’s nurse. WTF? You’re telling me there are no Asian lesbians in LA? BS!!!

This show sounds awesome- but I’m not impressed with LOGO’s track record in regards to race, so I’m skeptical. The Big Gay Sketch Show has a segment called Tranny 911 that is horrifically racist, not to mention transphobic.

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 8:42 pm ¶
CScarlet wrote:

You can watch the first episode on AfterEllen!:

http://www.afterellen.com/blog/sarahwarn/video-gimme-sugar-1

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 8:44 pm ¶
Hokayshenao wrote:

From a male’s point I can really appreciate the Asian women that are bi. My first look at “A shot at love 2″ seemed like an Asian- American woman was more submissive to the queer women on the show. Is percentage still respectful in love?

Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 9:16 pm ¶
Joanna wrote:

Has anyone seen it yet? I’ll have to check out the link (Thanks, CScarlet!), since I was too busy last night to watch.

@chi: Yeah, I was definitely a bit skeptical after reading those quotes from Devonee. I’ll reserve judgment though.

@Hokayshenao: Can you clarify what you are asking? I don’t know what you mean by “percentage.”

@magda: Yes, the invisibility factor is huge for queer Asian American women, I can attest to that! I’m in NYC. Does anyone have experience with this in another city? What about LA or San Fran?

Posted 10 Jun 2008 at 10:57 am ¶
Brigitte wrote:

I had to struggle to make it through the half hour episode. What a collection of irritating personalities.

Posted 11 Jun 2008 at 7:31 pm ¶
Jeff Lew wrote:

“It’s really hard because we’re Asian, you know—we’re not supposed to be gay! So I think [the show] is just gonna help a lot of Asian girls and families to come out and be comfortable.”

Nah, it’s okay to be gay and Asian. It’s just not okay to be gay, Asian, and dating another Asian!

Posted 12 Jun 2008 at 5:03 pm ¶
bathilda wrote:

I’d like to clarify that we weren’t a random group of girls casted for the show. We all were friends prior to the show concept being put together and we were approached by the producers. So therefore, we couldn’t pick and choose how many asians or how diverse the cast was. We were casted because we are all friends and we are so different that someone out there can relate to one of us. Kind of like The Hills meets Friends..in a sense.

And yes I know “exclusitivity” isn’t a word okay. Cut me some slack, English IS my second language! And dont take things we say so seriously, we make up words all day and all night long.

I say you guys should keep watching, it gets better.

Posted 13 Jun 2008 at 11:37 am ¶
CScarlet wrote:

Thanks for the comment, Bathilda! I’m going to keep watching!

I think the show reminded me of what would happen if you took any random sample group of young lesbians and then videotaped and edited so that the “juicy” stuff was forefront.

Posted 13 Jun 2008 at 12:55 pm ¶
Joanna wrote:

Hey Bathilda, I’m glad you found us and thanks for commenting!

I watched it, and it wasn’t bad! There wasn’t much they could cover in such a short episode, so I could see being sucked in to the show.

@ Jeff Lew: Wow, good point. The most invisible of the invisible.

Posted 13 Jun 2008 at 3:27 pm ¶
Simonette david wrote:

Being from NY, a fellow Asian and bisexual who has been in the scene for the last 9 years I realize that the lesbian scene does not include too many Asian females. It seems more segregated amongst nationalities. But it is truly refreshing to see 3 talented and articulate Asian Lesbians exhibiting roles that other Asians can emulate and understand. Thanks!!!!

Posted 07 Aug 2008 at 11:05 am ¶
Bi-Native American wrote:

The series has come to a rap & it was a refreshing change (somewhat) to alot tof other reality programs. I’m a Native woman living in NYC and part of the queer comunity for many years now here but I gotta say though it’s hard as hell to find Asian lesbians & bi.’s. in NY.

Our various Asian communities are very visible & established here but I think there’s a chapter that should be taken directly from L.A.’s sapphic handbook that should be applied to NYC.

I too come from a marginalized minority group that is stilll very unecepting of gays- especially women. Point being :

#1) L Word…. get it together

#2) Hopefully this show will help other queer Asian women to come out in droves…. now that would be fierce!

#3) We can’t deny our differences, we’re trully more color blind than the straights but hopefully the idea of ALL gay women being represented -as diverse as the Creator made us: treehuggers, thugged-outs, whitewashes, ESL ’s and the whole 9- equally.

Yakoke. Che pisa la cho!

Posted 11 Aug 2008 at 8:40 pm ¶
elizabeth wrote:

I love watching your show I hope you have another season ! I’m a stright girl from Kansas city missouri, but this show kept my intrest. All you girls are hot! I wish I could party with all you crazy wild girls!

Posted 17 Nov 2008 at 11:17 pm ¶