South Asian Archives - Wear Your Voice

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is Not a Radical Win for Representation

Guest WriterMay 17, 2018

"Crazy Rich Asians" promotes the ongoing systematic erasure and oppression of Singapore minorities on a global screen. By Sangeetha Thanapal After the trail...

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21st Century Colonization: Becky Came For Our Bindis and Our Chai

Guest WriterMar 28, 2018

I live in Boulder too, and no, cafés aren’t going to sell very good chai. You know who might? A Desi friend, if she had one. By Nami Thompson On Bollywood s...

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Non-Black People of Color Are Salty About Black Panther’s Success

Guest WriterMar 12, 2018

Instead of viewing Black Panther’s success as an opportunity to complain about something that is lacking in our communities, non-Black people of color should ap...

Pop CultureRace 0

Dear Non-Black Asian-Americans: We Need to Stop Appropriating AAVE

Lisa Hofmann-KurodaJan 13, 2018

Dear non-Black Asian-Americans (and other non-Black folks), we have a real issue with appropriating AAVE, and it needs to stop. AAVE stands for African America...

CultureRace 0

Why Making Space for South Asian Culture is a Civil Rights Issue

Guest WriterJan 7, 2018

As hate crimes against South Asians continue to rise, we need to dispel stereotypes and wear our voices. By Rachna Shah On Sept. 4, 1907, a mob of around 4...

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No Thank You, Apu — Don’t Come Again.

Sezin KoehlerNov 27, 2017

No matter how “beloved” Apu may be, it’s time for him to go. While I appreciate The Simpsons’ place as iconic in the canons of American pop culture, I have nev...

Pop CultureRace 0

South Asian Spaces Need To Be Inclusive Of Kashmiris Without Tokenization

Guest WriterNov 12, 2017

Carving out space for Kashmiris to exist authentically has been difficult. Even in the safest and most welcoming of spaces, I have found myself cornered by a co...

Social Justice 0

“Stranger Things 2” is a Working Example of Allyship

Sezin KoehlerNov 2, 2017

In spite of this being a terrifying monster story and a cautionary tale about messing with the very fabric of our time and space, Stranger Things 2 was far more...

Pop Culture 0

The Problem with Priyanka Chopra and South Asian Anti-Blackness

Guest WriterOct 15, 2017

If South Asians only respond to racism when it is directed at them, rather than when it is wielded against people more vulnerable than them, they will forever b...

Pop Culture 0

The Unavoidable Whiteness of the New ‘Twin Peaks’

Sezin KoehlerSep 10, 2017

I could no longer ignore a glaring fact about Lynch’s new Twin Peaks: It is fueled by troubling cultural appropriation. I’ve been a serious and passionate Twin...

Pop Culture 0

Learn About The Anti-Patriarchy Demon Who Killed Bad Husbands

Sarah KhanAug 2, 2017

If I am to live through an afterlife it should be as a churel demon, so I can seek vengeance on behalf of mistreated women across the globe. By Sarah Khan L...

Identities 0

Black and Brown Sisters Are Doing Visual Media For Themselves

Sezin KoehlerJun 17, 2017

The future is color. When the dominant visual media paradigm is one of hegemonic whiteness, there are a limited number of choices for women of color....

IdentitiesRace 0

Hasan Minhaj’s “Homecoming King” and the Audacity of Equality

Sezin KoehlerJun 3, 2017

Hasan Minhaj's eloquence and ability to reflect on micro and macro levels is so inspiring. I feel transformed for the better after spending an hour and change w...

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Silicon Valley And South Asian Communities Keep Protecting Misogynists. Why?

Sezin KoehlerMay 16, 2017

After a South Asian tech CEO abused his wife and daughter, he only got a slap on the wrist. She faces ostracism. This has to change. (Content warning: discussi...

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Desi-Founded, Women-Run Luminoustudios is Fighting the Film Industry’s Patriarchy Problem

Sezin KoehlerMay 14, 2017

"At Luminoustudios, we’re very passionate about shattering the glass ceiling and giving more opportunity to women in the film industry." Meet Reema Dutt, one-h...

Pop Culture 0

This White Woman’s “Protest Saris” Are Peak Appropriation

Sezin KoehlerMay 10, 2017

When brown women wear saris, salwar kameez or hijab, they are told to "go home." But when a white woman does it, she's celebrated. That's appropriation. https:...

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Good South Asian Girls Don’t Have Tattoos (And That’s Why I’m Covered in Them)

Sezin KoehlerMar 29, 2017

My tattoos are a living ribbon connecting me to a sisterhood of “bad” or non-conforming South Asian girls who negotiate the same slippery slopes of multi-cultur...

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Stop shooting perceived Muslims like Srinivas Kuchibhotla

Stop Shooting Brown People — Whether They’re Muslims or Not

Sezin KoehlerMar 7, 2017

The fact that President Trump refuses to condemn these hate crimes across the board in a timely manner only emboldens those who have their own crimes in the wor...

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Hindus, It’s Time to Stand Up For Your Muslim Brothers and Sisters

Guest WriterFeb 9, 2017

There is a long history of tension between Hindus and Muslims. After President Trump's executive order, it's time to set that aside and support Muslims. by San...

Identities 0

It's Columbus' fault Indians are called East Indian.

The Complicated and Sometimes Racist History of Referring to South Asians as “East Indian”

Sezin KoehlerJan 18, 2017

"East Indian" is a remnant of archaic geopolitical Eurocentric positioning and shouldn’t be used at all in a modern context, unless you are talking about people...

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Where are all the South Asians in Dystopian Films and TV?

Sezin KoehlerDec 2, 2016

No South Asians survived into the future world of The 100. A few months ago, a Facebook friend recommended the dystopian show The 100 because of a supposed ...

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Bollywood’s Amitabh Bachchan: Admit it, You’re a Feminist

Sezin KoehlerOct 19, 2016

Amitabh Bachchan. In conjunction with the release of his new courtroom drama Pink, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan recently released a powerful video b...

Feminism 0

“Good Girls Marry Doctors” Anthology Unveils South Asian Women’s Fraught Lives

Sezin KoehlerOct 14, 2016

Growing up South Asian American without any representation in film, television or even mainstream books, you become an expert at seeing yourself in the stor...

FeminismRace 0

Mindy Kaling’s Brother Slut-Shamed Her to Distract From His Bizarre Race Experiment

Sezin KoehlerOct 12, 2016

Left: Mindy Kaling. Right: Her brother, Vijay Chokal-Ingam. Mindy Kaling is not just one of the most successful South Asians in show business at the moment,...

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