- “Growing up, I didn’t have someone that looked like me,” said Nu, who is of Japanese and Dutch descent. “Being able to fulfill this representation role for other people who see me as a role model and to also fulfill that for myself has been super healing.”
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- She listed off some of the comments made by Asian elders that many Asian women might find relatable.
- “There’s a lot of shame like, ‘Cover up,’ and, ‘Don’t eat so much,’ but also, ‘Don’t waste food.’”
- She said that these sorts of comments are often disguised as concern for wellbeing but carry a much more harmful message.
- Having experienced fatphobia growing up, she said that “living with that little voice of how I should be, at least for my Asian side, was really difficult” and eventually led to her rejecting her Asian background.
- “I felt like I was less worthy for being Asian because I felt like an outsider being so tall,” Nu said. “All I wanted to do was be white, to be white enough to fit in and not be called Godzilla.”
- “For Asian American women, there’s a lot of shame in flaunting your body and feeling sexy. And I think for me as a plus-size model, we’ve had to evolve and battle this like, inner voice that hasn’t evolved,” Nu said. “I’m plus size and Asian. That’s why I’m like, this is important. I want to do as much as I can to show other people that we don’t have to be dainty and little. I can say, I know that in myself, I’m beautiful.”