Feminist, Pinay, coffee lover, boba aficionado and pop culture enthusiast. Current graduate student in Peace and Conflict Studies. Dwelling in the rainy city of Portland, Oregon but always California dreaming. You can also read more of her articles at browngirldecolonized.com
When I was 21 years old, I was in between jobs and struggling to finish my bachelor’s degree. I didn’t have much direction on what I wanted to do in life and seemed to be taking classes and working jobs merely to pass time. All I knew was that I felt behind in life. Around […]
This week’s Persephone Pioneer is comedian, writer, and co-founder of the Dis/orient/ed Comedy tour, the first all Asian American female standup comedy tour, Jenny Yang.
When I was in the third grade, our school hosted a Famous Pioneer Day. I’m guessing on the name; I actually don’t remember the name of that costume-themed day, but nonetheless it was a day to recognize the early American (white) pioneers. I was extremely motivated in dressing up because of the costume contest. I’m […]
This past year and a half I’ve allowed myself to be vulnerable, which, if you know me, it has been quite a difficult task. I’ve been successful in building an impenetrable wall all these years making it a laborious endeavor to puncture through. As I began to tear down that wall, a lot of goodness […]
I had the pleasure of chatting with performance artist from the Philippines, Eisa Jocson, who is a featured artist at this year’s Time-Based Art Festival presented by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. As a Filipina myself and as person who is aspiring for a career in researching gender and sexuality (in the academe or […]
This week’s Persephone Pioneer is multimedia artist and activist Lynn Casper. Lynn is a multimedia artist, strategist, and activist. Her two active projects consist of feminist playing cards and a music podcast show, Homoground. I’m fascinated by her work on so many different levels, but above all, I am inspired by her willingness to share parts of […]
[Original publication date: Dec. 19, 2013] I’ve been a teaching assistant for about a year and a half now, and a mentor through the women’s studies major a year prior to that. I have interacted with several students ranging from different backgrounds, cultures, experiences and opinions. But none have been quite as special as my […]
I am all too familiar with the sense of competition that can arise among Asian women. One of my favorite Filipina studies/feminist theorists, Dr. Allyson Goce Tintiangco-Cubales, describes this competition between Asian women (Filipinas specifically within her writing) as the “Mall of Downness,” a belief that Asian women have an inherent sense of competition against […]
This week’s Persephone Pioneer is writer, blogger, and the world’s only female Chamorro comedian, Mona Concepcion!
Paige Weldon is a Los Angeles-based comedian and co-founder of the comedy website, The Higgs Weldon. I came across her work after recently following her on Twitter. I would describe her comedy as insightful, witty, awkward, and smart. Just the way I like it!
This week for Persephone Pioneers, we feature TEDx speaker, journalist, blogger, and soon-to-be author, Rachel Hills.
Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin and Kelly Colburn make up the dynamic duo ensemble, 2 Girls 1 Asian, a new web series about two girls living in New York city, experiencing your typical 20-something situations, and of course, being half Asian and white.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I attended a training for the Domestic Violence Safe Dialogue program here in Oregon. The program takes on a restorative justice model, by creating a space where surrogate victims and offenders of domestic violence can speak to each other about their experiences. The facilitated dialogue allows for victims […]
I’ve been spending a lot of alone time lately, partly by choice and partly involuntarily. I suppose I can blame it on the recent chaos that’s occurred in my life, or maybe to the summertime sadness I’ve developed, a la Lana Del Rey (also, damn you Lana). But as I slowly try to get myself […]
To begin, I am the girl who always has a boyfriend. I know you’re making assumptions right now and I’m here to tell you that yes, they are all true. I am needy, possessive, selfish, and in constant need of my significant other’s attention. I am your textbook case study of a girl who always […]