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Disorientation
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March 2024: Coming of Age > [BWF] Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou- 3.5 stars

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Jen K | 3171 comments Similar to Interior Chinatown and Yellowface, Chou takes on the systemic racism against Asians, especially Asian women, with a focused look at departments at universities and academics focusing on Asian studies. Ingrid is a Taiwanese-American getting by working on her dissertation for a PhD, in a mundane engagement with a white guy who translates Japanese into English after self teaching himself about Japanese and the culture. Being in the 8th and last year of her studies, Ingrid is stuck. An original idea to apply to local and beloved father of Chinese-American poet, Xiao-Wen Chou, is eluding her. So when she finds a message correcting her notes that she left in the archive folder one day, she jumps at the distraction following a rabbit hole that explodes much bigger than she ever imagined.

Chou takes on through they opening of Ingrid's eyes that her Asian department is mostly non-Asian academics and has only been lead by white men. Is this a problem? There is a big discussion on yellowface and using white actors/ actresses to play Asian roles and the directions to ensure that they portray a "stereotypical" Asian down to the yellowface make up and accent. What about men that only date Asian women? Is it only a preference? Or are all of these protected freedoms? She takes on some difficult questions and some are done better than others. Ingrid is overly naive and more book smart than society smart and she isn't always the most likeable but I do appreciate her stumbling. The book was a bit longer than it needed to be but read quickly.

BWF Tenacious Trailblazers: Letter C bonus, Coming of Age x 8


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