It’s the end of the summer, and as often at the end of a summer, my skin is a dark, golden brown. As a child growing up in sunny Arizona, I cherish my memories of playing outside, swimming in neighborhood pools, and hiking in the hot sun. I love my brown color and think nothing of the shades it turns based on the seasons of the year. But this year, similar to the many years I would return as a child to my mother’s native Taiwan, I field many questions about my skin color.

“Are you mixed?”

“You don’t look…

Microaggressions from both sides of the Pacific

It’s been exactly one year since my family and I moved from California to Taiwan. My spouse and I have been thinking about living overseas for many years before we made the move last year. As a couple raising biracial kids, we wanted to live in a bilingual and bicultural environment so that our kids (and us) could learn to decenter the American way of life. …

Following many months of increased xenophobia and racism towards the Asian community world-wide, the virus may now have a real presence in the Bay Area. Lowell High School has announced closure. Hand sanitizer is being sold online for crazy amounts of money. Public panic mixed with capitalism can easily increase the blood pressure of a sloth (if you know me, I really love sloths). …