I don’t have an Instagram account at the moment but this week i decided it would be fun to look up #pilipinx and #pilipina on Instagram to see people’s stories! It was really fruitful, there are so many talented and inspiring people in the world.
@KimberlyCalifornia was born in Los Angeles and is in New York City studying food in a Master’s in Arts program. Her family is from the Batangueñas region in the Philippines. Some of her posts talk about decolonizing Pilipino food and she makes yummy meals that I want to eat and learn how to make. My Lola taught me as much as she knew about Pilipino cooking which was mostly just adobo, lumpia, and chicken tinola. My Lolo didn’t learn much cooking growing up in the Philippines because he was a boy and in his household, that meant cooking wasn’t a chore that he had to do. And when my Lola did live with my Lolo’s family in the Philippines, it was important to feed her and serve her as their guest. My Lola and Lolo are always super excited when I come over to their house to make a Pilipino dish so this makes me want to continue learning more, also Pilipino food reminds me of home and is simple, nutritious, and delicious! Especially since I get sick if I eat gluten, dairy, or corn, Pilipino food doesn’t traditionally have dairy or gluten so that is awesome for me!
@BrownRoundBoi is a speaker and author among many other titles. They are very vulnerable about their life and process as a gender nonconforming, queer, disabled, Pilipinx/American person. They bring a lot of attention to other trans people of color and bring up issues of race and privilege and were we need to go personally to gain strength and self love as well as where we need to go as a nation. Their voice is especially important because of the intersectionality their identity holds. I know that in the Pilipinx community (as all other communities) there can be harsh realities when it comes to children coming out as LGBTQIA to their parents. Therefore, this is an important topic to discuss and work through to find understanding and a better way.
@BulamBulanen is a queer singer/songwriter and also makes traditional Ilokano healing salves and bath salts. It is cool that they are keeping the traditions of her ancestors alive does activism work in their community.
@Ninaesca is a Canadian/Pilipinx and had founded and is working on some legit artist collective. @StayInQueue is also in the Tayo Collective and does cool work relating to the fashion and textile industry. It is cool to connect with other people in the diaspora.
@Bombchelle is a Pilipinx artist and it is cool to see them express the culture that is familiar to me.
I also liked seeing Blasian Narratives and all the work that they are doing to build a bigger network of people and stories that have had different experiences. i think it is important that people continue the conversation of what it means to be mixed race in America. I want to find more people who are half or quarter Asian and white passing and understand how they experience the world and identity.
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Also! I found all these books that I got last year from a free box on Evergreen campus. I have only gotten to read through a couple of them but I was happy to find them again and and am excited to read more, hopefully over the breaks that are coming up.