Almost Asian, Almost American

“Almost Asian, Almost American” is a photo and video essay project that allows Asian-American women to define their own beauty and identity. The project showcases photographs and video interviews women who gives their perspective

I grew up feeling like an outsider, personally and professionally. I never fit into the conventional definition of beauty in Asian or American culture. This gnawing feeling of never fitting in followed me into my adulthood when I became an entertainment portrait and advertising photographer. Not only was it rare for me to see accurate representation of Asian-Americans in media growing up, it was also rare for me to see Asian-Americans in top creative leadership positions. As someone who is behind the camera, I have a responsibility. This led me to start “Almost Asian, Almost American,” a personal photo and video essay project that I hope will empower other Asian-American women to define their own beauty and identity on their terms. I want to photograph and video interview Asian-American women from ages 18-45 that represent a full and diverse spectrum of Asian identity and share perspectives from different cities in the United States. The subjects will include any self-identifying women, femmes, gender nonconforming, queer, and transgender individuals of Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian, and mixed race Asian descent. The video interviews of each woman is key in highlighting the different experiences of growing up as an Asian-American. A woman who grew up in a progressive coastal city would have a different story from a woman who grew up in a conservative midwest town. My ultimate goal is to create a long lasting social impact and generate a cultural shift in understanding who we are as the new generation of Asian-American women to fellow Asians and to non-Asians. Growing up, the story I heard the most in the media was the immigrant story. As a child of immigrant parents, I deeply appreciated that perspective but as an American-born kid, I also had a hard time relating. This project is aimed towards other women who grew up like me. I want them to feel empowered about how they look and how they feel. I want other Asian-American women and young girls to not feel alone and I want them to feel proud of themselves when they see someone similar to them being represented visually in the photography.