Letter to the Editor

Before taking this class or any of the other Ethnic Studies courses I’ve already taken I have never heard of Hyphen. What I liked first about the magazine when skimming through it was that there were Asian models and Asian ads. I liked seeing that because most of the magazines I pick up are the usual Seventeen, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan. In those magazines I usually look through them to see the newest fashion trends, the latest celebrity gossip, and to do those quizzes titled “What Guys Like About You” or “Are You A Snob?”. And in those magazines I hardly see any Asian or Asian American models or ads. When there is an Asian or Asian American model it’s usually in a “how to wear this look” such as showing the readers what styles look good on certain sized women. Another time you might see them is when they’re giving make up tips and they show an Asian woman’s eyes to show how to apply the make up on that certain shaped eye. Other times I’ll see an Asian model in a 7-10 page spread and sometimes she’s not the only girl. Sometimes there will be several girls each having their own page in the spread. Sorry that I’ve gone off tangent talking about these other magazines that I read, so, back to Hyphen. Other than the picture art and the photographs I also found the articles very interesting. They were up to date and were about things that interested me in particular, as a college, Asian American woman, which I appreciated. And by up to date I mean that it’s not like a history or national geographic magazine. The article on Sex Education was different for me because the articles I’m used to are ones like “36 ways To Keep Him Satisfied” or “40 New Tricks To Spice Up Your Love Making”. But the one about the porn star, Hung Lo, was exciting because it wasn’t about different types of diseases or how to practice safe sex, not that those are boring things to read about but because it was more exciting since porn is “forbidden” to me because of my parents, and it was informative because it brings up the stereotype that Asian men have small.. ”you know whats”. I also enjoyed reading the article, The Jokes On Us because I enjoy watching comedy especially Margaret Cho, and Russell Peters. I’m not too familiar with Dat Phan’s jokes but the interesting part of the article was that they were interviews and the comedians gave their opinions on Asian jokes and why people enjoy them and why some people find them racist. Some Asian groups may find their jokes offensive but I feel like their comedy is realistic and that people just have to laugh, of coarse some jokes are down right racist and that’s when someone should speak up about it but these comedians are pretty chill and they know when to draw the line. The other articles were also interesting and very informative and the magazine has something for everyone to read. Sex, comedy, sports, food, income, music, and art.

-ashley