Podcasts

YR via RSS

For Educators
Teach Youth Radio
Curriculum

Youth Programs
CORE
Outreach

Yell-Oh Girls!

Youth Radio talks to Vickie Nam about her anthology of writings by Asian American girls.

By Felicia Wu

Listen to this interview! (if you don't have Real Player you need to download it)

With sections titled "Orientation: Finding the Way Home," "Dolly Rage," "Family Ties," and "Finding My Voice," you can expect Yell-Oh Girls! will be unlike any other anthology you've ever read.

Released in August 2001, Yell-Oh Girls! is made up of essays, poems and stories written by Asian American teens from all over the United States. Their writings allow readers to look into the life and see through the eyes of an Asian American female. Through these pieces you are able to experience their struggles and strengths as they grow and develop during their journeys in search of their real home and their real identity.

As an Asian American female, reading this book was almost like reading the past 17 years of my life. Yell-Oh Girls! is something fresh and new - and something that I've never seen on the shelves of a bookstore or library. The message conveyed from the book is that Asian American girls aren't all passive, quiet and "exotic china dolls" - we are opinionated, we do know how to express our ideas and emotions, and we can YELL.

Yell-Oh Girls! isn't only targeted towards Asians - it's a great book for people who are interested in learning and getting a different perspective of life in another person's shoes. From the anger and humiliation an ABC girl (American Born Chinese) feels from being teased for her "tiny eyes," to the dilemma faced by a Filipina (are you really American because you were born in this country or are you Filipina because of your blood?), Yell-Oh Girls! gives readers an idea as to what growing up Asian American and female is all about.

Youth Radio got a chance to catch up with the editor of Yell-Oh Girls!, Vickie Nam.

Youth Radio: Why did you decide to put this book together?

Vickie Nam: Well, it was apparent to me that the mainstream dialogue going on around adolescent issues didn't address a lot of the issues I faced while I was growing up and, just to give you some context, I grew up in the 80's in upstate New York, in a predominantly white town outside of Rochester, New York. And I was often times the token Asian girl. And for me, a resource like this would have been amazing, it would have been a meaningful comfort at a time when I felt alone. And as I continued my studies I just saw a pressing need still for this type of resource. I've always wanted to do this ever since college.

YR: I'm sure you got a lot of responses in regards to your requests for submissions to the book, so how did you choose the pieces amongst everything that you got? What distinguished the ones that you picked from the ones that you didn't?

VN: I think aside from finding structure for the anthology after I chose the submissions, submission review is probably the most challenging part of the process just because throughout the process I had shifting priorities. One side of me was like, "You know, this being a breakthrough book it needs to be a showcase of great writing so that nobody can argue that Asian American girls can't articulate themselves effectively and powerfully."

But on the other hand aesthetics took a backseat to my desire to [have this book be] a truly accurate portrait of Asian American teen girls. And so, I thought, "I really need to pay attention to ethnic diversity." I mean, our community, the Asian American community, is composed of so many different ethnic sub-communities and it was really important to me that this conversation didn't fall into the traps of being an East Asian heavy conversation [and] omit the voices and needs of South Asian girls, Southeast Asian girls, who often feel that the Asian American label glosses over them. So taking those two things in consideration was sort of what governed my decision-making, in terms of looking at the submissions and sifting through them.

YR: What qualities did they have to possess in order for them to be accepted into the book?

VN: Well, I wanted girls to speak from the heart. The call for submissions was very loosely defined. I had a couple of basic categories -- family, activism, relationships. And then under each category I asked even more basic questions, open-ended questions. I didn't want to put forward the idea that I was looking for an answer. I didn't want any leading questions. I really walked into this aware of my own bias, you know, my subjectivity as a girl who grew up in a suburb. And I was hoping that I would get a very multi-faceted response, which I ended up getting, and so in the end I was looking for certain patterns. I wanted to discern whether or not there were commonalities in the midst of so many other differences - those differences being ethnic diversity, geographic location and political alignment and all the things that make us different. And I did find some interesting parallels.

YR: Going through all of these things from so many different people, did it change you in any way? Did you expect to hear what you found?

VN: I think it definitely changed my perspective and my life. I mean, this book means so much to me. And I think that I was committed to seeing this happen, and there was a lot of skepticism by people who felt that perhaps there wasn't a market for this book. Asian American teen consumers haven't been catered to, and I think the big publishers ultimately noticed that and wanted to be the first to see what would happen. So I think this is, in many ways, a test book.

But it's changed my life in other ways. I think the reason why I came upon this project is because I yearn to hear voices and it was a way to validate my own experiences and come to terms with my identity. I don't think I had finished answering some of the questions that still kind of float around in my head. I mean, I think this search for identity, this journey is ongoing and it'll last a lifetime.

YR: For those that may not be familiar with the Asian female stereotypes, could you describe what that is and do you think that this book fights that stereotype?

VN: I think that one stereotype that jumps to mind which seems to be the prevailing representation is the "China doll" stereotype which we talk about in "Dolly Rage," which is a chapter [in Yell-Oh Girls!] composed of a lot of emotionally hot pieces written by girls who have so many different mixed emotions to express. One of the recurring images that I felt was emerging from their pieces was the idea that they were often portrayed as silent, submissive, mysterious, exotic, sort of, sex kittens and I think that they feel stifled by that representation and I felt the desperate urge by them to dispel that myth and redefine it in their own ways.

Then there are the Lotus Blossom and Dragon Lady stereotypes that are hand in hand and also proliferate the same perception of Asian American girls that we're trying to combat as well. But also the model minority myth that just does not describe the challenges we face as Asian American girls… I think a lot of people have this perception that Asian girls are somehow exempt from the usual adolescent traumas that effect all youth, like eating disorders and questions about sexuality. Any given issue that faces modern teens also affects Asian American girls.

YR: Were there any stereotypes that you felt you had to work against while working for a magazine, like Teen People?

VN: Well, inevitably, as a person of color who's working at a mainstream magazine, in some way you'll feel singled out. In some context along the way you'll feel like you're somehow branded the cultural ambassador, the spokesperson. The one who calls the staff on flawed representations.

The reason why Teen People hired me, or one of the reasons, was because I had the experience putting together groups of aspiring teen reporters. But in doing so I used my power to make sure that the team of 35 reporters were incredibly ethnically diverse. And, in wielding that power, I felt like I did make a difference in a way. I did feel gratified. Teen People, though, in comparison to other teen magazines, I have to say, pays a lot of attention to make sure they have ethnically diverse content. So I enjoyed working there, I had a great experience and I had excellent mentors.

YR: I was wondering if there were any books or any magazines that were a real inspiration to you?

VN: Yeah, there were several. I used some bad sources of inspirations and some good ones (laughs). I looked at what was out there, you know, the main teen anthologies. I looked at Chicken Soups, I looked at Ophelia Speaks which is by Sarah Chandler. I thought it was a fantastic anthology, but again, I looked for diversity and I didn't find it, and where I did find it was in the small section discussing race and prejudice.

And I felt that, although gender and race definitely inform our perspectives as Asian American girls, it doesn't define it. You know, we should be able to talk about everything, family issues, racial discrimination, along with the other things we're doing in our lives, and how we're engaging actively in our culture.

YR: Just as a final question, if someone was walking by a bookstore and they saw your book why would you tell them to buy it?

VN: They are voices that you don't hear and they are voices that should be heard in, not only a national context, but a world context. We have so many misperceptions based on the media, which is all pervasive and so powerful in shaping our perceptions of people and ideas, and I think, this is a book that has been long anticipated by the community and just society at large. I've sensed that the readership is incredibly diverse and I think that there has been a lot of curiosity that's out there. 1.5 million Asian American teens in America today weren't a voice in the media and I think this book takes us a step closer towards that goal - that collective goal and vision.

For more information about Yell-Oh Girls! check out the website: www.yellohgirls.com

— Felicia Wu is a 17-year-old Yell-Oh girl who's a senior at Albany High School in California.