Gran Torino and Hmong Gangs in the Midwest

by Guest Contributor Joanna Eng

In Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood plays a bitter old man who’s basically the only white person left in a run-down neighborhood somewhere in the Midwest. He (reluctantly, at first) gets to know his Hmong neighbors, and ends up getting intricately involved in their lives, as they deal with issues caused by […]

¶ Posted December 22, 2008 § Outside the Binary, asian, asian-american, culture, diversity, ethnicity, film, hollywood, identity, media, movies, race, race relations, racism, stereotypes, violence ‡ Comments (61)

Aspiring to whiteness

by Guest Contributor Tanglad, originally published at Tanglad
As we celebrated the eve of November 4th, I was struck by a comment from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. He pointed out with pride the role of the Latino vote in Obama’s election. I wish I could say that about my fellow Filipinos.
And yes, I know, the […]

¶ Posted December 10, 2008 § Outside the Binary, The Things We Do to Each Other, colonization/colonialism, identity, race, race relations, racism, stereotypes ‡ Comments (53)

“Why are you trying to be black when you’re red?”

by Guest Contributor Jessica Yee

The whole “acting black” label isn’t an unheard one in really any community these days, but I’ve always thought it was an interesting one to hear in my own community, from my own people.
Let me give it to you straight and say I already know how much we have in common; […]

¶ Posted September 16, 2008 § Outside the Binary, american indian/native american/first nations, identity, indigenous peoples, race, stereotypes ‡ Comments (29)