N O T E
(written by teamiyazaki)
Interestingly enough, all my non-fanfiction stories are about Asian women.
It's not because of racism or because of racial superiority---rest assured, I have no intention of treading anywhere near that kind of horrifying territory. If I wanted to, I could write a story about slavery in the Deep South. I could write a story about the conquistadors in the New World. And it would all be for the sake of perfecting my art as a writer, for creating something riveting and telling a powerful story to keep people's eyes glued to the page.
But I think it's not fair for me to write a story about a culture I know so little about---instead, I want to leave it to people who do know and understand their own culture to tell the right stories. With so much controversy flying around about representation, I feel most confident writing about the culture that is my own.
As an Asian girl, I write stories about other Asian girls because that is the life I know about, the only life I've ever known, and the only story that I believe I can tell with accuracy. Being an Asian girl is part of my identity, part of who I am, and I'm proud of that. But at some time, the world decided that if you weren't Caucasian, you were of no worth.
So I decided that if I was going to write about Asian girls on Wattpad, I was going to do it the right way in reclaiming the glory of a heritage that is more about small eyes and Qualcomm nerds. (And no, I am not ashamed at all about being a total science geek.)
When I first began writing my book chroma, I struggled to find a proper faceclaim for my main character, Juliet Chai. I ended up casting Arden Cho, who seems to be the most common Asian girl faceclaim these days on Wattpad. It's not that I don't love Arden, who is a fantastic actress in her own right, but it's the fact that we seem to be grasping at straws in the Asian female faceclaims department.
So I revamped the cast, after way too much searching, and put in Im Nayeon, Twice star who is nearly legendary in South Korea but is essentially obsolete in America if you're not a k-pop fan.
But as stated above, way too much searching.
So the #projectasiangirls team presents to you, as stated in the synopsis, a free book of Asian female face claims for all you lovely Wattpad writers to use in hopes of promoting an environment of diversity, inclusion, and Asian love.
They'll be sorted by country, because contrary to popular belief, not all Asians look the same. I don't know if anyone will get this, but I feel like as an Asian kid I have this sixth sense that tells me what country an Asian person is from---a combination of names and facial features. It's not the most useful sixth sense to have, but the point is not all Asians look the same.
(So please don't go casting a Filipino actress as a Japanese girl.)
Our goal is to provide you with lovely women that deserve more love than the world has offered them, some who you've probably never met but are all strong and powerful and unique and beautiful in their own right. They may not conform to Asian beauty standards, which are notoriously limiting, but they all deserve a place on the Wattpad stage.
I hope this book helps you as much as it does me.
with love,
t
(and everyone on the #projectasiangirls team)
