Another Parade: The Olympics and LGBTQ Asians and Pacific Islanders

Guest Post by Glenn D. Magpantay, Executive Director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance



Sports was never my thing. In high school gym class, I would always be the last person to be picked for a team. No one wanted me. I was too fat. Too slow. And I was uncomfortable in my body. The jocks called me queer for being effeminate.

But, today, I’m captivated by the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang. They show us how we can be all of who we are—that we can live our lives authentically and achieve our fullest potential in whatever we do. They also remind me that the world is still a dangerous place to be LGBTQ.

Letters to Immigrant Parents on National Coming Out Day

Guest Post by Patrick Lee



Growing up queer is rarely easy. Throw on a heaping load of immigrant family sacrifice, cultural conflict, and language barriers, and you have something that starts to approximate how I felt coming of age in a very white suburb of Chicago.

I didn't know whom to talk to or confide in; I didn't even really know why I felt so different from other people around me. I just knew that I didn't see myself in any of my friends or classmates.

But now I know I'm not alone: As an adult, I moved to New York and started seeking out community. I met a handful of queer and trans Asian Pacific Americans, and then another handful, and then another. Our experiences are never the same; our families all unique. But we share some common threads and frustrations, and for the first time in my life, I felt like someone was hearing me.

I decided to make a film to document some of the stories of our community, and the struggles we have communicating with our immigrant parents about queerness, gender identity, and sexuality.

An Open Letter about Orlando from Asian American Parents Who Love Our LGBTQ Kids

Cross-Posted from NQAPIA


Dear Community,

We, the Asian American Parents Who Love Our LGBTQ Kids, are heartbroken about the Orlando tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, both given and chosen, especially their parents. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and are still fighting for their lives and those who are suffering emotional trauma. Our hearts go out to our LGBTQ community that is shaken by this horrible news and the loss of their friends and community members, particularly in the Latina/o community.

We support our LGBTQ children and we are proud of who they are. However, we are concerned because we know this world is not 100% safe for them. We condemn this type of unthinkable, senseless violence against the LGBTQ community. Our children are not people to be extinguished, they are loved and cherished and deserve to live their lives fully without hatred and bigotry.

We also stand in solidarity with Muslim families, especially parents with queer Muslim children. Many of our South Asian families are from Muslim backgrounds and they are our siblings in this fight against homophobia and transphobia. Our hearts are with our LGBTQ South Asian and Muslim community members who are reeling in pain from yesterday's attack and feeling the combined pain of Islamophobia, homophobia, and racism. We stand in solidarity with you.

#RedefineSecurity: Policing & Profiling in Asian & Pacific Islander Communities

Guest Post by Sasha W., National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance



When a queer Pakistani Muslim person tries to fly to India, she is deemed a security risk and subjected to an invasive pat-down. Her brown skin is considered a flight risk.

When a Samoan trans woman is targeted by the police for prostitution, her gender identity is disrespected and disregarded. She is seen as a threat, while those who attack and kill trans women are routinely allowed to walk free.

When a gender non-conforming East Asian person tries to fly, they are stopped by security time and time again. Their body is not legible, too confusing to be safe.

When a queer Southeast Asian person is stopped by the police, in a car full of young people, the police care more about impounding her car than the safety of brown youth. Her car is seen as an inconvenience; her safety is deemed unimportant.

These are stories I have heard from friends in just the past few weeks. In our communities, these stories are endless and often go untold. From police officers to TSA agents to FBI informants, people in our API communities are being targeted for state violence, and we need to fight back.

NQAPIA 2015 National Conference, August 6-9

Thriving Together: Queer APIs Building Community, Solidarity, & Movement



You are invited to join the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance for their largest, most diverse gathering of LGBTQ Asian Americans, South Asians, Southeast Asians, and Pacific Islanders next month at the NQAPIA 2015 National Conference. It's happening August 6-9 in Chicago.

With the help of over 100 workshops with presenters who have worked around the world, NQAPIA hopes to press a progressive agenda that will bring all LGBTQ racial and ethnic minority groups into the full-fold of their families, society, the LGBTQ movement, and the AAPI community.

Here are some more details about the conference:

Asian Parents Who Love Their LGBTQ Kids

NQAPIA launches a series of multilingual PSAs for Pride Month.



The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance is a federation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander organizations working to promote acceptance of LGBT people, and their rights and dignity, amongst AAPI communities.

For Pride Month, NQAPIA, in partnership with the Asian Pride Project, has launched a series of short multilingual videos featuring AAPI Parents Who Love Their LGBTQ Kids. The videos will air as public service announcements on Asian-language TV stations throughout the month of June.

The goal of the campaign is the diversity the faces and languages of those who support the LGBT community, giving voice to AAPI parents who have LGBT kids, and LGBTQ youth who aim to come out to parents, who are often foreign-born immigrants and/or are limited-English proficient.

Take a look at the first two videos they've launched for the campaign: