I first saw this fundraising project from our friends over at AALR and it’s a cause that is really important to me. Among my many goals on this blog is to strengthen the image of Filipinas and Asian women. There are a lot of issues out there affecting these women that saddens me like human trafficking, victims of manual labor, and the unwanted stereotypes of submissive sex slaves in the media. It’s great to see that many people around the world, especially strong outspoken women are taking the initiative to empower women through writing and art.

Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora: Troubling Borders in Literature and Art

The first of its kind, this is a groundbreaking anthology of poems, essays and artworks by Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora. Troubling Borders features work by women of Cambodian, Laotian, Vietnamese, Thailand, Indonesia, Burma/Myanmar, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei or East Timor descent, as well as women from minority groups such as the ethnic Chinese and Indians in Southeast Asia, and the often stateless Mien, Hmong, and Cham in many regions of the world.

Scattered all over the world and mostly defined by stereotypes, we are committed to narrate our own stories. Too often Southeast Asian women are represented as exotic sex symbols and dragon ladies, prostitutes and “bar girls” in movies and the media. This anthology will empower women of all ages in our communities, and inspire us to speak our mind and create. As an incredibly diverse group, our voices make visible in part the enormous ruptures caused by colonization, wars, globalization, and militarization.

Three of the editors of this collection are Vietnamese American and a fourth member is Eurasian (Lan Duong, Mariam Lam, Kathy Nguyen and Isabelle T. Pelaud). We are university professors and writers. We have already collected and selected the best pieces, and written the introduction. The final manuscript has 210 pages and 55 color images of artworks. We are working with Temple University Press to increase the chances for the anthology to be taught in universities and make visible at a national and international level this incredibly talented group of artists.

It is unfortunately very expensive to publish color images and it is up to this organization to raise the needed amount of $20,000. Please help them raise at least $2,000 by June 22.

For more information on DVAN go to: dvanonline.org