Sharkbites Newsletter

*|MC:SUBJECT|*

JUNE 8, 2022


Hello, everyone!

Asian Americans are suffering from cancer, and racism is worsening it. 


According to a new research article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, structural racism and its biases, exacerbated by aggregated data, are furthering cancer disparities among Asian Americans.

The AAPI community, as an umbrella group, have lower cancer rates, but much of that data also hides the ethnic divides in cancer diagnoses. In many cases, Asian Americans are denied diagnosis, despite cancer being their leading cause of death. 


Asians also experience the most “unusual” cancers, with Korean Americans harboring a high concentration of stomach cancer diagnoses, Vietnamese American women with the highest cervical cancer rates and Chinese Americans having disproportionate rates of nasopharyngeal and lung cancers. Community health and wellbeing are changing, and we need accurate research to represent the concerns of our communities. 

Race in America 🌎

Michelle Watt, a Chinese American photographer, explores the East Asian identity and its sexualization through her surrealist portrait collection, “Lunar Geisha.”

Watt uses “geisha” as a metaphor, following the lives of young women through her artistry. She also explores tokenization through her career opportunities, constantly wondering if her gender and race are filling the diversity quota or if clients interact with her differently because of her race and gender. 


Watt brings up a critical theme of codependency, describing the struggle between wanting to belong to the identity and discerning what parts of it fits. Her compelling storytelling through vibrant and unapologetically East Asian-influenced sets bring authenticity and allure to her subject matter. 




In Other Asian News 🗞


June 8 is World Ocean Day, and Al-Jazeera compiled a list of eight critically endangered ocean species.

Here is a snippet:
 
  1. The great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran), the largest of its species, is typically targeted for its large fins. 

  2. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla), a nocturnal species that travels from the northern coasts of Finland to the shores of Egypt, faces physical hurdles in its migration patterns like dams, hydroelectric turbines and overfishing. 

  3. The sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides), one of the largest sea star species in the world, is dying in droves due to a disease brought on by warming temperatures. 

  4. The angelshark (Squatina squatina), a nocturnal bottom-dwelling flat shark, often finds itself caught and severely injured by bottom fishing gear. Its population shrank by 80% in the last century. 


These animals, and more, are continually at risk of extinction because of greenhouse gases, plastic waste, chemical waste and overfishing.



Many people continue to seek asylum due to conflicts and violence in their nation, but many cannot anticipate their host nations' legal and social hardships.

Like other countries, refugees in Malaysia cannot receive legal status to work. This pushes them to find other forms of employment that are not legally binding, leaving little protection from labor exploitation and other forms of economic violence.

This disparity also leaves many families vulnerable to arrest for sending their children to school or attempting to work. With little opportunity and resources, these workers usually become victims of difficult, dirty, dangerous and unpaid work for hours on end. 




Entertainment 📺

John Cho is starring in a new movie with Mia Isaac that will most likely make me sob uncontrollably.

“Don’t Make Me Go” is a heartfelt movie detailing how a single father navigates a terminal illness and a summer with his teenage daughter. The father-daughter pair travel together to New Orleans from California, while Max, played by Cho, hides the nature of his headaches and attempts to teach his daughter Wally, played by Isaac, how to drive.

On July 15, another story about a POC family coming together to explore their relationship and feelings is set to release on Prime Video. Grab your tissues.




The Tonys are coming! The Tonys are coming! Presenting the awards on June 12 is an iconic lineup of stars, including Bowen Yang, Andrew Garfield and Jennifer Hudson.

They will be joined by other presenters such as George Takei, Laurence Fishburne, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Samuel L. Jackson, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Chastain, Sarah Paulson, Billy Porter, Phillippa Soo, Lin-Manuel Miranda and more. 
John Cho, on the verge of tears, looks at his co-star (not pictured) in the new film, "Don't Make Me Go."

Image: Prime Video

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

What’s your favorite sea creature?

I like dolphins, and Daniel wishes there were dolphin pokémon.

Sincerely, Mya Sato and Daniel Anderson

Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Website
 
Want to read more like this?
Sign up for Sharkbites to get your free daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.
NextShark.com
© 2024 NextShark, Inc. All rights reserved.