BTS: The Magazine – Part 1

Hi all! We are very excited to announce another new column here at Generasian called “BTS: The Magazine.” Throughout the semester we will be taking you behind the scenes on all the work involved in the completion of our bi-annual publication (including sneak peeks!). I hope you guys enjoy and if you would like to take a look at our previous issues, check them out here.

Today was the first Generasian Crash Course, presented by Jolene Hsu of NYU A/P/A Bridge. Read on to peek behind the scenes of Generasian!

Jolene educated club members on their Big 8 social identities first in order to get everyone thinking about their most salient identities. She then provided a history primer on how Asian / Pacific Islander Americans had been mistreated and misunderstood by the larger American society in the past, as well as drawing from current examples to show how it still continues today. We learned widely used terminology relevant to the Asian / Pacific Islander American experience, including Yellow Peril, the Model Minority Myth, Islamophobia, and the Bamboo Ceiling.

Most importantly, we discussed how diversity in Asian/ Pacific Islander

American experiences and socioeconomic background may not be perceived due to the larger society’s tendency to view us as a singular group of people. Such tendencies actually drive the Model Minority Myth, in turn pitting Asian Americans against the other minorities of the United States.

Hope you enjoyed this Behind the Scenes post! Check back for more soon!