by Nicole Wong
Cross posted from Hyphen magazine

Actor/executive producer Julia Rhee performing "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy" (Photo Credit: Albert Law)

To the right of the concession stand in the historic Castro Theater, six or so varieties of vibrators, blue and sleek, are spread across one corner of the silent auction table, pulsing in the hands of casual perusers. On the other end of the table sits an autographed portrait of Helen Zia, activist and founding sister of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, a sponsor of the night’s show. In between, other items repose on their corresponding bidding sheets: abstract paintings of vaginas, one pink and florally in bloom, the other more sketched and glittery, a Yellow Peril Dildo, an acupressure massage session, a banana protective case, a handmade vagina “costume” whose wearer’s face is framed by two long felt lips -- like a pink hot dog bun -- pinched together on top and bottom.

Ten minutes before the show, a rumble of voices stirs overhead in the lobby, coming from the landing on the top floor, which the patient patrons in the popcorn line slowly discern as the cast's warm-up cheer. A wave of sound from above, the women’s voices grow louder and stronger until erupting into screams of laughter and whooping.

"cunt. cunt. Cunt. Cunt! Cunt! Cunt! CUNT! CUNT! CUNT!"



Photo Credit: Andre Nguyen

Presented by NAPAWF Bay Area and V-Day San Francisco on May 17, 2012, The Asian Pacific American Vagina Monologues (APAVM) showcased a talented cast of APA Bay Area women committed to ending violence of all forms against women everywhere. Performing Eve Ensler’s celebrated The Vagina Monologues on the Castro stage with an all-APA cast to an audience of nearly 1,000 people, it was an event truly rooted in community and advocacy, and raised over $23,000 for women's organizations.

The monologues span a range of experiences and perspectives relating to vaginas, in a delicate balance of humor and levity. Powerful performances about domestic violence and rape are offset beautifully by sweet and hilarious reenactments of sexual encounters. Abuse, violence, birth, bedroom pet names, and masturbation are discussed in provocative and heartbreaking ways. The all-APA cast was especially significant, considering that such subjects can be under-discussed or considered taboo in APA families.



Actor Jade Law performing "My Vagina Was My Village" (Photo Credit: Andre Nguyen)

“None of us even know the word for ‘vagina’ in our mothers’ language,” said Julia Rhee, the show’s executive producer, at the curtain call for the show. The show and its production are a testament to female empowerment, felt poignantly throughout the performers’ presentations, and their evident bonds of support. The APAVM show was also dedicated to raising awareness around female API-specific issues, such as human trafficking (API women compose the largest segment of persons trafficked into the US) and domestic violence (Immigrant API women are at higher risk domestic violence compared to the general U.S. population). [Source: NAPAWF]

For first-timers seeing The Vagina Monologues, the show is a revelation. For others more familiar, phrases like “duck lips” and “coochi-snorcher” are a welcome reminder to make time to cherish our lady parts -- and by extension, our womanhood and our entire beings.

***

I had a conversation with APAVM executive producer Julia Rhee after the show, to learn more about the production, cast, and the Asian American moan.

What was the process of preparing for the APA Vagina Monologues?

I was in a production of The Vagina Monologues back in 2008 when I had just moved to the Bay Area. I had never seen it before. My roommate was the director of the show (Gabrielle Padilla-Patacsil, who also directed the APAVM), and encouraged me to audition. I was always so afraid, always so scared, but that first time was incredible. The cast was mostly made up of people who’d heard about it or done it in college. I’ll never forget what it felt like. To be on stage, working alongside these women, intensely focused on something we don’t talk about enough. 

After this performance, I just kept thinking, wouldn’t it be amazing to do this for the APA community? At that time I was already connected to NAPAWF Bay Area, so I told the sisters, “wouldn’t it be great to do this show with an all-APA cast?” I guess the rest is history.

What was it like assembling the cast?

Most people came through friends of friends or word of mouth. We got a real range of folks -- some stepping on stage for the first or second time, some had done the show in college, and others who perform in spoken word, or do regular public speaking. One thing that was really so wonderful was that so many folks were coming from the community -- youth workers, students, educators, such a wide range of folks. It is so powerful, and the show is not about casting professional actors, but using the monologues to talk about the issues that are happening in the community.

What types of issues?

Labor violations, our own anecdotal experiences, trafficking -- the show really gets the conversation started. Our show was dedicated to ensuring that our women and girls have the resources and support they need to really work on these issues. That’s what the proceeds from the show supports. It is absolutely a part of the experience.

What were your cast rehearsals like?

For the first few meetings, it felt more like rehearsals, theater games -- but it evolved -- we dedicated time to really get to know one another, we talked about everything from eating disorders to family violence to sexual assault, depression, whatever it was -- we made the space to discuss. We all started to realize how much violence plays a role in our lives. We had folks in the cast really talk openly about what they experienced growing up, being in a relationship, having a mother in an abusive relationship, what it felt like to feel pathetic, ugly.

Why is it important to talk about vaginas?

We all come from vaginas -- I love the last monologue (performed by Lisa Lee, “I Was There In The Room”) about witnessing birth. We forget the power that is held within the vagina. How else could you describe misogyny? When really we should have complete reverence and respect for this powerful vessel that stretches and stretches, that really makes way for what is in the world. It was important to take the time to talk about things like: when's the last time our vaginas got some lovin'? Some maintenance? It was important to talk about how we have been affected by violence, and how our vaginas are affected by policies from Washington D.C. when the decision makers have no idea what menstrual cramping feels like.

Who did you feel was the intended audience for the performance?

This is the first time NAPAWF Bay Area had ever done it, so we didn’t know what to expect. Asian American women as a community are warrior women -- we’re often the matriarchs, the ones who get shit done, the ones who carry our country, and the ones keeping the families together. The driving point home is that we are not passive. We have desire -- we can be happy, we can be angry. We hold so much power. We nurture and care for our communities, but we can also be instruments of change. We performed the show during APA Heritage Month, which recognizes that there are still inequities in our community and issues that go unseen. The Vagina Monologues is really about jumpstarting those conversations.

Asian American women are a vital force in this country. We vote, we organize, we give birth to life, we provide, we’re nurturing, passionate, physical -- and that’s all in the show. We want to establish a legacy of leadership, and to have such amazing support from the community really meant the world.



(left to right) Actors Judy Tan, Karolyn Wong, Victoria Ma and Tiffany Refuerzo, who performed "If Your Vagina Got Dressed..." and "If Your Vagina Could Talk..." (Photo Credit: Albert Law)

I felt a powerful aspect of the performance was that Asian Americans played non-Asian or non-Asian specific roles, which to me felt like a statement against the under-representation of Asian Americans in the media. What was it like for Asian Americans to be performing non-Asian specific roles?

The entire show was organized, featured, and produced by an all-APA cast. Asian American women are targets for sex work and sexual harassment, and this was really about trying to take control of our own narrative. As Asian American women the community is complex, but there are common threads that bring us together.

I have seen productions of The Vagina Monologues a few times before, and I was surprised you did not choose to perform “Say It,” the monologue about Japanese wartime comfort women. What was your creative reasoning behind this decision?

That’s actually the first I’ve heard of it. I would have loved to see it in the play. V-Day selects the monologues to be performed each year, so we didn’t have that creative control. Comfort women are very much ingrained into our cultures. 

Perhaps that’s an interesting comment on the Asian American narrative being cut out of the “universal” women’s experience. Maybe next year?

Yes, absolutely. I'd love to.

What was the most difficult part about producing/performing in the show?

When we were searching for venues, one venue questioned if we could fill the seats. They said, "we’re not sure there’s an audience for this." It felt personally insulting. I felt like they were underestimating the support we could demand. The Castro Theatre was so wonderful, and having that experience early on made us more emboldened. I felt like saying to that first venue, “Don’t you ever question our power. Wer’re talking about Asian Americans in the Bay Area -- know your demographic!” 

This show would not have been possible without our director Gabrielle Padilla-Patacsil, and Linda Yang, my co-chair for NAPAWF Bay Area and managing producer. It’s a team of incredible vaginas. Gabi is more than just a director, she’s our biggest cheerleader, and went above and beyond the call of duty. She committed so much of her time because not only does she love working with folks without a lot of experience -- she loves the sisterhood. She encouraged people to be even bolder and even more badass. Having someone in your life saying you can be bigger, bolder, better -- that level of support and encouragement is unique. The energy she brought to the rehearsal space was one of the biggest benefits. Without her I’m convinced the show couldn’t have been what it was. As the producer I couldn’t have asked for more.

Gabi was the backbone, and Linda was the arms -- she carried us through. She really made sure everything was taken care of. We’ve spent hours and hours on this, weeks and weeks. Since February I have pretty much eaten, breathed and lived The Vagina Monologues.



Actor/Director Gabrielle Padilla-Patacsil performing "My Angry Vagina" (Photo credit:Albert Law)

I was amazed at how fresh the performance at the Castro felt, as if the cast was seeing each other’s performances for the first time, which I know can’t be true.

There was something about that night; it was such a marathon experience. You can run the same trails, but nothing will get close to that actual day-of experience. We saw new limits reached we’ve never seen before. Even though we’d been in rehearsal, it was like seeing it for the first time. It was like pulling back another layer. And everyone wore so many hats, we all pitched in. Jenny Ton would say, “I’m not just half of ‘Reclaiming Cunt,’ I’m also the event planner and video producer.” Just like I was also the clean-up crew and lunch pickup lady. There’s no better way to describe the production than a labor of love.

In your show-stopping monologue “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy” in which you played a sex worker, you performed a catalog of orgasmic moans -- including the African American moan and the Irish Catholic moan. What is the Asian American moan like?

It is powerful, and surprising, and gives pleasure in the most unexpected ways.

***

Read more about the APAVM show at 8Asians; Audrey Magazine; SF Chronicle

NAPAWF is the only national multi-issue organization for APA women and girls. NAPAWF advocates on numerous policy issues, from reproductive justice, human trafficking, immigrant rights, and more. Donate to the NAPAWF Bay Area Chapter here.

Cross-posted from 8Asians.com

by Erin Jerri Malonzo Pangilinan

I am a domestic violence survivor.

It’s hard to have courage to speak these words to my family and close friends, let alone write that sentence for publication. I was afraid to talk about it.

As the youngest daughter of Philippine immigrants and an only sister, I am told to stay quiet and demure. Domestic violence is one of the most taboo and silenced issues in the Asian Pacific American community, and this needs to change.

Most people don’t know that immigrant women are at higher risk for domestic violence. Compared to the general U.S. population, the domestic violence rate for a foreign-born woman married to a U.S. citizen is three times higher.

Not talking about it because of fear of shame and embarrassment fails to recognize a critical problem impacting our community, and this hurts us more.

Domestic violence is often portrayed only as physical violence, but violence comes in forms that aren’t always visible. I had emotional wounds after staying in emotionally abusive, unhealthy, unequal, and co-dependent relationship for years. When you constantly compromise yourself, it’s easy to stay stuck in a viscous cycle.

Years ago, I woke up with a purple bruise on my arm. After my ex and I broke up, I stayed in contact with him thinking we could still be friends.

When Rihanna and Chris Brown released the track “Cake,” I had a flashback to many memories, ones where my ex and I used to make hip hop tracks together and others where I recalled feeling whiplash on neck and back.

When he tried to mail me gifts, thinking he could buy my love back from me, I finally cut things off.

Recently, Malia Connor, an APA poet, pointed at me during a performance and read “when she bleeds, I bleed.” In battling domestic violence, I used to think that I could never stop crying and bleeding, that my vagina was too ugly and damaged to be able to love anyone. It’s taken me a long time, but I’ve reclaimed my body, heart, soul, and mind back. I don’t want any other woman to go through what I went through. I am dedicated to helping other sisters heal and believe that I can love in a healthy relationship again.

This year, I decided to commit to getting involved in ending violence against women. These past few months, I had the privilege of serving as Outreach Co-Chair for the Asian Pacific American Vagina Monologues in San Francisco Bay Area, the first time a National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) chapter organized the production for V-Day, which strives to end violence against women and girls. NAPAWF is the only national multi-issue organization for APA women and girls. NAPAWF advocates on numerous policy issues, from reproductive justice, human trafficking, immigrant rights, and more.

APA women created multiple spaces for our community to hear our voices. I hope that our communities continue to break our culture of silence and cycle of violence as we celebrate APA womanhood.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Erin is an Outreach Co-Chair for the Asian Pacific American Vagina Monologues 2012 (APAVM12) presented by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF Bay Area) + V-Day. Erin is a prolific writer and has worked as a Philippine News Correspondent for over six years and as a Change.org Immigrant Rights Cause blogger. She currently contributes to Hyphen magazine as staff for the online politics section. Read more work from Erin at erinjerri.com. More at Filipina Women’s Network and South Asian Sisters.

Cross-posted from Audrey Magazine
Post by Karen • May 22, 2012 • Post a comment « Kearny Street Workshop Hosts Dumpling Wars (previous post) The cast of a special Asian Pacific American production of 'The Vagina Monologues'---performed on May 17th in San Francisco---acknowledged a few individuals at curtain call, including family members, NAPAWF Bay Area, and others who made the production possible. (photo credits: Karen Datangel)

On the topic of sexuality, voices are silenced. Speaking out about sexual desires is considered improper for women and much more alarmingly, speaking out against violence towards women—as survivors of it or as supporters of survivors—is difficult, for the pain and suffering is all too much to relive the ordeals. However, through theater, these stories of women exploring their sexuality and surviving sexual assault, war, and domestic violence can be told boldly and with absolutely nothing held back. Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues goes deep into the varied experiences of the female organ, and performers and activists from the Asian Pacific American community went all out in their recent opportunity to honor the strength and courage of women everywhere, even in the face of adversity.

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) and V-Day San Francisco co-presented a landmark production of The Vagina Monologues on May 17th at San Francisco’s historic Castro Theater. Under the direction of Gabrielle Patacsil, the all-Asian Pacific American cast of women from different walks of life came together to perform in this very special presentation, the first by the only national, multi-issue Asian and Pacific Islander women’s organization in the country. Proceeds benefited the Bay Area chapter of NAPAWF and V-Day.

For many of the APA women performers, including Connie Chung, who works at the Asian Women’s Shelter in San Francisco, participating in the production was a valuable chance to address taboo issues amongst the community.

“In media and arts and entertainment, Asian-Americans have such a small presence because of the different barriers that don’t allow them to take front stage,” said Chung. “To have a discussion about sexuality and empowerment is so important, so to bring those two together is such a rare opportunity.”

Chung also spoke of the shared sense of community behind-the-scenes. “Over these past couple of months, we weren’t just rehearsing scripts but also having serious discussions about family violence, violence in our communities, insecurities, our parents, our weights…all those things you wish you could talk to about with somebody,” she said. “This space really provides it.”

For their big night, in a way, the cast was able to extend on those discussions in public through performing The Vagina Monologues. The superbly enthusiastic crowd of about 1,000 audience members were highly vocal throughout the show, but stood in silence and solidarity when narrator Jennifer Pae asked if any of the female viewers were affected by assault or violence or knew somebody who was. After a video presentation about NAPAWF’s mission and another video introducing some of the performers, the show was underway, opening with a rendition of the song “Golden” by Jill Scott and performed by Jennifer Low, Ellisa Hammersia, and Erin Pangilinan. The performers remained on stage as they waited their turns to take over and to support each other, reacting along with the crowd every step of the way—blushing, laughing, tearing up, and wildly applauding.

The Vagina Monologues touched on every aspect of sexuality that mainstream media could never be able to touch with unflinching honesty. Segments based on the real experiences of women torn by civil conflict, rape, female genital mutilation, and even the politics stemmed from natural disaster shook the audience to the core, though it only meant that the production achieved a goal in bringing awareness to these very real issues. “I want [the audience] to sit with their discomfort,” said performer Judy Tan, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California San Francisco. “I want them to walk away feeling uneasy and not be able to put that discomfort down so easily. I really want them to wrestle with what they’ve heard tonight and experienced.” One particularly gut-wrenching piece was performed by Jade Law, entitled “My Vagina Was My Village.” The monologue, based on the accounts of Bosnian refugees, poetically refers to “green water, soft pink fields, cow mooing, sun resting,” a paradise viciously destroyed by the invasion of military men. Law effectively places herself into the shoes of one survivor speaking for many, graphically describing the anguish of the rapes and torture of the women in the war-torn region.

Varsha Singh's monologue was based on one woman's positive experience with a man.

Some pieces walked lines between sadness and sweetness, such as “The Flood” performed by Emmy Pierce, based on a 70-year-old woman’s sexual repression, and Kristina Gerolaga’s “The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could,” expressing one woman’s traumatic experiences involving her “coochi snorcher” (As she came to know her lady parts as, thanks to her mother) over the years until a liaison with an unexpected lover allows her to come to terms with her sexuality. Other monologues were more dominant in their humor, balancing heaviness in some pieces with their more light-hearted yet inspiring takes on the female sexual experience. A couple of big crowd-pleasers included “My Angry Vagina,” where director Patacsil passionately ranted about douches (The actual products, not men in particular), tampons, and such objects amongst other grievances, and “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy,” where executive producer Julia Rhee ecstatically echoed the many different possible moans women make during sex.

The show ended quite fittingly with Lisa Lee playing Ensler in “I Was There in the Room,” the playwright’s first-hand account of witnessing her first grandchild being born. The theme of birth and relating the vagina to the heart—as organs that “expand…ache…stretch…and bleed and bleed us into this difficult, wondrous world”—was resonant to the message of the entire performance and served as a reminder of how powerful the vagina truly is.

Lisa Lee took on 'The Vagina Monologues' scribe Eve Ensler's first-hand account of witnessing the birth of her first grandchild.

Rhee said that she hoped this particular production would be seen as more than a show and would raise the profile and issues of Asian Pacific American women. The trafficking and domestic violence rates in the demographic are high: According to NAPAWF, API women consist of the majority of trafficked persons into the US, and immigrant API women are three times more likely than American-born women to experience domestic violence. However, as the mission to stop the violence continues, there are positives that Rhee hoped audience members would take away after watching the play.

“I want them to take notice that Asian Pacific American women are resilient, strong, and sexually empowered,” said Rhee. “They have desire, they care about community. We’re not passive–we’re happy and we’re angry. It’s really about linking the community, the arts, and education all together, in a great package, sexy show form!”

Cross posted from the San Francisco Chronicle

President Obama, born in Hawaii, raised in Indonesia and dubbed by some "the first Asian American president," looks to be embracing that label with an exclusive, $40,000-a-head Bay Area business roundtable for Asian American and Pacific Islander supporters Thursday.

The morning event at the boutique Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto is not only a chance for Team Obama to pick up a lot of cash, but it will also provide an exclusive group of fewer than two dozen Silicon Valley power players the opportunity to bend the president's ear on key issues such as immigration, trade policy and education.

With just over five months until what's expected to be a razor-close election, the Obama campaign's ethnic-centered fundraiser in California - home to the nation's second-largest group of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders - puts a sharp focus on a key demographic expected to vote in record numbers in November.

Both Republican and Democratic campaigns are "trying to find a community of interest that might be moved - and one of the unturned stones has been the Asian community," says Vincent Pan, executive director of the San Francisco group Chinese for Affirmative Action.

The diverse swath, also known as Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, includes large communities of Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese; as well as South Asians such as Indians and Pakistanis; and Pacific Islanders such as Polynesians, Samoans and Tongans.

Pan said Obama feels comfortable with outreach to those groups because the president has lived in Asia and the Pacific Islands. "He has a natural relationship with those communities. He understands the model: that we have a lot of strengths and we have a lot of needs, too."

Up for grabs The political focus on the group - at 17.6 million about 5.6 percent of the country's population - comes with recognition it might be up for grabs this year, according to a May poll by the National Asian American Coalition.

Faith Bautista, the organization's president and CEO, said the poll showed that "Asian Americans throughout the nation are probably close to equally divided as to who would make a better president between (Mitt) Romney and Obama."

So "in key swing states such as Nevada and Virginia, the absence of effective campaigning directed at Asian Americans could be fatal to the campaigns of the presidential candidates," she said.

"It's not just the fact that (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) are really a force to be recognized within the political process, but collectively have demonstrated incredible purchasing power and entrepreneurial power in technology and Silicon Valley," said Julia Rhee, co-chair of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum.

Rhee's group recently received an outpouring of support from Asian American elected officials around Northern California when it produced the first-ever Asian American and Pacific Islander version of "The Vagina Monologues" in San Francisco - an effort to showcase the diverse voices within the population.

"People are also recognizing that our community has real issues and real needs, particularly for women," she said, "whether it's sweatshop workers, arranged marriages or hotel workers."

The ranks of Asian Americans boomed 46 percent in the last decade, "faster than any other racial group nationwide, including Latinos," according to the Asian American Justice Center, which recently commissioned a poll of the electorate.

Their national survey of 1,100 Asian Americans by Democratic pollster Celinda Lake in February found a whopping 73 percent favored Obama, compared with just 29 percent for Romney.

And Democrats in recent months have ramped up their outreach efforts considerably - led by Obama himself, whose White House initiative uses webcasts and high-profile Asian American leaders to reach the group. Last month, the president addressed the community at the start of AAPI Heritage Month. The Democratic National Committee chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, and Co-Chairman Rep. Mike Honda of San Jose, accompanied by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, appeared in San Francisco's Chinatown earlier this month and promised to address concerns about health care, education and jobs.

Ro Khanna, a former Obama administration trade official and a leading Silicon Valley Democrat, said the president has also made strides by generating "great enthusiasm" among an increasingly influential swath of Indian Americans, who represent some of the biggest success stories in Silicon Valley and who are likely to be represented among attendees at this week's exclusive fundraiser.

"My sense is that issues that will come up are those around American competitiveness," especially with regard to education and tax policies, he said.

'Skills gap' Entrepreneurial Indian Americans, he said, are also deeply concerned about "the issue of a skilled work force: How do we continue to attract the best and the brightest to the United States?"

Many are confronting "a skills gap," said Khanna. "A lot of these tech companies are having difficulty trying to find people ... so it's more about making sure that people who have graduate degrees and skilled jobs will figure out a way to have them be citizens and productive contributors to our country for the long run."

Miriam Yeung, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, said there's growing recognition that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders represent "a community of contrasts" with vastly different interests and socioeconomic backgrounds.

While the Asian "model minority" stereotype - affluent, educated and upwardly mobile - persists, Yeung said AAPI communities also include some of the poorest and most exploited immigrant workers in the country, even in the Bay Area."To be cynical, we tend to get more attention when they're seeking our political donations," she said. "Many of us are saying, you'll also be held accountable to our community between elections."

Community activists like Pan say there's reason to be concerned about the high-priced fundraising that accompanies such outreach in the AAPI community - but he notes that this may be one of the few things that Republicans and Democrats agree upon.

"The only saving grace is that it's open and we can talk about it," he said. "Whether it's Obama or Romney, (when it comes to) race and ethnicity ... the color that matters most is green. Affirmative action is green."

Carla Marinucci is The San Francisco Chronicle's chief political writer. E-mail: cmarinucci@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @cmarinucci


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/21/MN6N1OL6VB.DTL&ao=2#ixzz1viqkCYXA