Dichotomy In The Women's March

On January 21, 2017, millions of women across America, including myself, participated in the Women’s March that followed president Trump’s inauguration. Whether it was advocating for gender equality or for pro-choice, the March aimed to form solidarity among American women to break the patriarchy. Despite the multitude of marchers and the success of the march, some marginalized groups, like supporters of Black Lives Matter, perceived the Women’s March as controversial. Many minorities felt disconnected from the cause as the march was broadcasted mainly towards white women, discrediting similar efforts of protests that minorities built in the past. The Women’s March claims to be a historical milestone of civil rights movements, but one critic

It’s almost impossible to find this kind of headline that replaces “black women” with “Asian women.” Little to no coverage of Asian Americans in the race debate emphasizes the perpetually ignored problems that Asian Americans face, as evident of the historical norm of dismissing Asians. This disregard persists because other races view Asians as the most educated/wealthy minority, who are allegedly unvexed by urgent ethnic issues. Therefore, a dichotomy forms between Asian Americans and African-Americans, Latinos, and Muslims. As a result, Asians have become ostracized from racial discussions and communities. This places Asians in an awkward middle, where they are neither treated as a part of the minorities nor white people, and are neither perpetrators nor victims. Because of the social view of Asians, troubles within this community are less addressed and even less covered, forgetting the fact that Asian Americans are still vulnerable to political turmoil and racism. The argument of race has become too black and white, and there is minimal contemplation of what it feels like to be Asian American in today’s society, as their history has been periodically

In a Census study, “19 percent of older Asian Americans live in poverty, just a sliver behind the 19.5 percent of older African Americans,” and over “46 percent of Southeast Asians lack education” (Census, 2015). According to an Atlantic report of statistics in Arizona, “Thai Americans have one of the lowest per capita incomes at $18,774” (Wagner, 2016). These statistics show significant evidence that Asian Americans- or more inclusively, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI)- can be even more disenfranchised than other races. Not only do they face difficulties similar to black people or Latinos, few constituents identify AAPI issues as a priority that America needs to address, in contrast to the latter races. The absence of support fabricates Asian Americans as an invisible entity that’s assumed to be thriving, even though that ‘success’ is