Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian/Pacific American Activists

by John P. De Cecco, Kevin K. Kumashiro, Pabitra Benjamin, et al.

Book Overview

Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian / Pacific American Activists presents the first-person accounts of 20 activists--life stories that work against common stereotypes, shattering... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1560234636
• ISBN13: 9781560234630
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 137 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Come home to yourself, and to coalition with others

Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian/Pacific American Activists edited by Kevin R. Kumashiro is an anthology consisting of seventeen autobiographical essays by queer APA activists, this collection offers just a small sample of the experiences faced by individuals, as well as by queer APA communities. At just over 130 pages, the slimness of this text masks the richness of its content. One of the most reoccurring and elusive themes in much of the queer APA literature I've read has to do with "home," specifically the search for home. By no means has there been any consensus about what "home" is, or that it even exists, or that it would be a good thing to find or be "at home." Still, the pull of "home" has been one I have strongly felt over the years. At various times in my life thus far, I thought that I had found home in lovers, in family, in friends, in learning, in teaching... What was most powerful, perhaps, was when I found home in myself. By no means an easy task, or one that once accomplished doesn't continue to be an ongoing struggle, but certainly one that I've gotten the sweetest rewards from, even if only for short moments at a time. This book offers many such tales of just such a home coming. The essays echoed my own experiences and feelings, and did a fabulous job of bringing much needed queer APA activist voices to the foreground. Not only did I feel in community with the authors, but it turns out that my life's path actually crossed, and continues to cross, with a good number of the authors' lives. It's a small world, indeed. It's specifically in this context of community that I think revolutionary social change will happen. One of the things that the stories in Restoried Selves strongly instill is that we must recognize the ways in which we get in our own ways, succumbing to various internalized oppressions, so that we may be able to come to loving terms with ourselves, and then with one another. While there are some stories in this anthology that are far from painting rosy pictures of queer API life experiences, there isn't one single essay that doesn't leave readers with hopefulness. In fact, I think the ultimate strength of Restoried Selves lies not in its embodiment of a vibrant queer APA activist community (as HUGE an asset that this is), but rather in the way it presents the challenges facing queer APA individuals and communities in order to offer insights and practical advice to ALL readers to work towards combating these challenges. In this way, this book isn't merely by queer APA activists, about queer APA activism, for queer APA activists, but for every person who wants to better understand what it means to work in coalition for broad social change. I have nothing but the highest praises for Restoried Selves, and if you haven't already read it, go out, buy it, and read it, NOW!!!

A diverse and illuminating collection of voices

"Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian/Pacific American Activists," edited by Kevin K. Kumashiro, is an anthology with a very tight focus (as indicated by the title). The bulk of the book consists of 17 autobiographical pieces written by different activists. In addition, the book contains a foreword, a preface, an afterword, an index, and capsule biographies of the contributors.The entire book runs 137 plus xxvii pages long. The longest of the biographies is 13 pages, and most are under 10 pages long. While focused on a particular group of people, the book celebrates a tremendous diversity within that group. Many voices are heard: lesbian, gay male, bisexual (male and female), transgender and intersex. Ethnic experiences represented include Nepali, Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and more, including individuals who identify as bi- or multiethnic.The stories in this book also take the reader across a vast portion of the United States: to Hawai'i; Long Island, New York; Silicon Valley, California; Connecticut; Decatur, Illinois; San Francisco; Detroit; and elsewhere. Certain recurring themes unify the collection as a whole: the "coming out" experience; the impact of pop culture upon the authors' lives; family relations; religion; dealing with multiple/overlapping identities; and the importance of joining or founding support organizations.I'd like to mention a few selections that I found particularly memorable. "Curry Potatoes and Rainbow Banners," by Nur-e-alam S. Chisty, includes a compelling account of elementary school racism. "You're a What? An Activist??" by Alain Anh-Tuan Dang, recalls the author's fight against abusive Vietnamese sweatshops. In "South of Normal," Loren R. Javier writes movingly about growing up with Klinefelter's syndrome, a chromosomal condition. "Queerly a Good Friday" is by Jeanette Mei Gim Lee, a clergy candidate in a gay-friendly denomination; she writes about her approach to the Bible, which is informed by liberation theology and her own "queer-of-color experience."My only real disappointment with the book relates to the very short lengths of most of the chapters. At times I wished that the authors (particularly Javier and Mei Gim Lee) could have gone into their fascinating topics in greater depth. But overall I really enjoyed the book. Angry and hopeful, intriguing and inspiring, this anthology is suitable both for academic courses and for general readers.