In Celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Month
Graphic is an array of three pictures of fat Asian American and Pacific Islanders in outdoor settings: on the left, a young Asian femme carrying an umbrella; in the middle, a young Asian masc at a soccer match; on the right, a young Pacific Island femme outside a cabin.
By Tegan Lecheler and Marcy Cruz
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. To our Asian and Pacific Islander community members, we honor you and past generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have made positive contributions to American history, laying the groundwork for future generations to continue their important work.
For our non-Asian and Pacific Islander community members, here are a few things you can do and/or read to support those who are:
Recognize that the term “Asian American and Pacific Islander” includes over 50 countries and 100+ languages. Though the term “AAPI” is only four letters, it encompases a wide variety of cultures, languages, dialects, belief systems, and traditions. From Samoan people to Cambodian folks, there are a vast array of cultures represented during the month of May and it’s important to recognize just how diverse these ethnic groups are.
Since 2020, anti-Asian hate and racism have significantly increased across the United States, reaching all time highs in 2020, 2021, and 2022. If you are not an Asian person, you play a role in combating the violence this community has faced. Hold your friends and family accountable for any biased rhetoric they might use and encourage your inner circle to support Asian led organizations and mutual aid efforts. A list of memorial funds and organizations to support can be found here.
Educate yourself on the ways that Asian and Pacific Islander land is still being colonized. The land of Hawaii is a Pacific Islander state that should be a sovereign nation state. Though the United States Congress has acknowledged that the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii was an illegal act, they have yet to give the land back to native Hawaiians. Read more about the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement here.
Read stories by Asian and Pacific Islander authors. For a list of books you might consider reading and/or listening to, check out this link.
Stop using ‘tiki culture’ as a costume. While American culture has recently taken a moment to interrogate the racism inherent in certain team mascots, logos, statues, and costumes, that reckoning… “certainly hasn’t included voices of Pacific Islanders, whose gods have been rendered into cocktail mugs and medallions and ancient design motifs turned into kitschy fabric for muumuus and cabana sets” (John Birdsall, 2019). Read more about why non-Pacific Islander people have to stop using tiki here.
Follow and support Asian and Pacific Islander creators! There are endless amounts of Asian and Pacific Islander people creating content on social media! Here is a list of 8 plus size Asian and Pacific Islander creators to follow, and here is a list of fat Asian creators who will take your instagram feed to the next level. It’s so important to know the history, know and honor the present, and educate yourself so you can be a part of the change, not just this month but all year round.
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center has a virtual care package on their website here, which they describe as ”cultural nutrients for times like this”. This amazing online curation of poems, films, meditations and other cultural works of arts are a great way to get started in your journey to educating yourself and honoring AAPI culture. They state on their website:
“At SmithsonianAPA, we think deeply about how to best show up during challenging periods. We always find the answer in our community.
Care Package is a collection of creative offerings by artists, writers, and scholars who we have collaborated with in recent years. Here, you will find a range of approaches to addressing uncertainty, anxiety, and grief through vision, reflection, and healing. Most have been exhibited in past programs, but have never been made widely accessible until now.
While this body of work may not hold the solutions for everything, we hope that it helps you find some calm amidst the chaos.”
Stay tuned to our social media (@naafaofficial) this month to see spotlights on AAPI activists and creators, as well as webinars this month and features of those AAPI folks in fat lib whose work we support and who you should be supporting. And it doesn’t stop there. Let’s show up all year long to continue to honor AAPI voices because as the SmithsonianAPA eloquently stated, we must always find the answer in our community.
Pic is of Tegan Lecheler, a young white womxn with long, sandy blonde hair and green eyes smiling softly into the camera.
Tegan Lecheler is an organizer and policy nerd from Minneapolis, MN. Her work primarily centers around fat and anti-poverty organizing.
Pic is of Marcy Cruz, a young Black/Latina womxn with short brown hair with layers of blue and pink on the left side wearing drop earrings and a light gray top underneath a dark gray jacket
Marcy Cruz is an award-winning writer/author, educator and activist with 20 years of experience in the plus size fashion industry. She is also signed to State Management as an extended-sizes (4X+) fit model and is the content creator of the blog Fearlessly Just Me.