Skip navigation!

Asian American Stories

Gemma Chan Swears By These Drugstore Serums

Advertisement

Dedicated Feature

Instagrammer Christine Yi Escaped Death Twice — This Is How It Changed Her ...

Dedicated Feature

This Painter Broke All The “Rules” To Fulfill Her Childhood Dream

Dedicated Feature

Beauty School: Honoring Vs. Appropriating

Hilary Shepherd

Dedicated Feature

The Difference Between Appreciating & Appropriating Asian Beauty ...

Welcome to Beauty School, where Refinery29 and Ulta Beauty explore a rich, diverse curriculum in order to spark honest — and authentic — conv

by Andrea Cheng

Not Your Token Asian

Chloe Kim’s Newest Trick: Breaking The Role Model Myth

For the two-time Olympic champion snowboarder, the pressure to be the best comes with the task of being a role model for an entire AAPI generation.

by Melissah Yang

Not Your Token Asian

South Asian Women Are Deleting Dating Apps & They Couldn’t ...

Every few weeks, Malvika Sheth can be certain of one thing — she’s going to get a reminder from her parents. It might come through a WhatsApp message,

by Katherine Singh

Advertisement

Not Your Token Asian

100 AAPI Beauty Leaders Were Attacked On Zoom. The Industry Staye...

Despite a documented increase in attacks against Asian Americans, nearly one third of Americans are still unaware that they are happening — and it’s af

Not Your Token Asian

Sex, Drugs & Alcohol: Korean Americans Find Success In The Taboo

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question, commonly posed to young kids, can have no wrong answers. Well, except maybe if the people ask

by Jasmine Ting

Not Your Token Asian

Kelly Mi Li’s Hustle To Create A Bling Empire Has Its Limits

Those who only know Kelly Mi Li as a cast member of Bling Empire might be convinced that her life revolves around her relationship. Her storyline in season

by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Not Your Token Asian

The AAPI American Dream Is More Than Just Money & A Good Job

Immigrants have long pursued the American Dream and its promise of upward mobility, with better opportunities and more fortune. It’s an ideal that th

by Melissah Yang

Fuslie Proves Being Yourself Is Never Out Of Character

Tens of thousands of people watch streamer Leslie Fu roleplay as someone else on Twitch. By immersing herself into another life, she’s come into her own

by Melissah Yang

In Everything Everywhere All At Once, Michelle Yeoh Find...

There’s a moment, fairly early into A24’s genre-bending film Everything Everywhere All At Once, when you realize just how meta the Michelle Yeoh-st

by Katherine Singh

Pachinko’s Cast Hopes You Finally Have That Con...

hile Pachinko may squarely be about one Korean family, its message of opening the channels of communication within your blood brood is something we all can

by Melissah Yang

Want To Support Asian Americans In Fashion? Start In The Garment ...

Nestled between 34th and 40th Streets, from Broadway to Ninth Avenue, is the Garment District, where 54% of all businesses are Asian-owned and led.

Why We Need To Stop Labeling Asian-Latinx Food As “Fusion”

I’m Japanese & Uruguayan, and here's why the term "fusion" obscures the culinary stories of Asian and Latinx communities.

by Niki Nakazawa

Margaret Cho On Asians Behaving Badly

"There's a relative of mine who [my parents] always compare me to. She wore men's clothes, and she was so famously ugly that people would come from other v

by Christina Lee

Inside The Exhibition Box: How White Sexual Imperialism Has Trapp...

On March 16th, 2021, eight people in Georgia were killed in a string of shootings that took place at three different spas and massage parlors: Young’s As

I Run Tiny Gentle Asians. My Mom Has Spent Her Life Avoiding Bein...

My mother is a master of shtick. She is childlike and fit for theater, with the kind of bossy tenacity that’s practically a requisite for immigrants. Whe

by Melissa Kenny

Advertisement

Visibility Isn’t Enough. Asian Americans Need To See Ourselves

A stranger asking me where I’m from doesn’t horrify me — it just jolts me out of place. Suddenly I’m looking at myself from outside my own body, as

When Our Bangs Reached The Skies: A Celebration Of Vietnamese New...

"So much of being Asian and an immigrant is to just 'fit in' and 'not make too much noise.' The Vietnamese New Wave scene was a total revolt against that."

“Asians Don’t Quit”

For immigrants, activities like piano aren't just "for fun." They're spaces in which the rules of America are taught and confirmed.

Asians Moved Back Home En Masse: Then, Something Beautiful Happened

“I honestly didn't expect to love it as much as I did.”

by Katherine Singh

The Asian American Activism You Won’t See On Instagram

The most effective work that's being done to protect and support our communities isn't meant to look nice on social media.

Meet The Organizers Who Serve (& Have Been Serving) Asian America...

These activists are doing the essential on-the-ground work in Asian American communities.

by Natalie Gontcharova

The Year We Weaponized The Model Minority Myth

Ironically, it's "model minorities" who benefit the most from calling it a myth.

by Roslyn Talusan

Black and Asian Solidarity Has A Long History — Here Are The Wome...

As the fight to abolish white supremacy rages on, we’re honoring some of the Black and Asian women living and fighting for social justice at the intersec

by Niki McGloster

This Asian American Hate Crime Bill Misses The Point By Prioritiz...

As of Wednesday, the U.S. Senate is set to advance the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, a bipartisan effort to address and fight hate crimes against Asian America

Lukita Maxwell Went From Bali To Utah To Generation — Al...

Welcome to The Come-Up, where rising Gen-Z talent checks in on their way to the top. Here, Lukita Maxwell, star of HBO Max’s Genera+tion and self-des

by Lauren Le Vine

Talking About Anti-Asian Hate With My Conservative Chinese Mother...

When my mother’s family came to the United States in the 1970s, their experience was far from the romanticized immigrant story we’re often told in Amer

by Kristin Wong

An Asian Woman Was Attacked On The Street In NYC & No One Did Any...

Two weeks after the massacre of eight people — including six Asian women — in Atlanta, GA, violence against Asian-Americans is still a massive, ongoin

by Sarah Midkiff

Advertisement