Hello, Shameless readers!
My name is Teresa and this is my first of, hopefully, many blog posts to come. I am a queer Chinese/Taiwanese daughter, sister and friend (relationship titles that I really value). I’ve spent half of my life living in Taiwan and the other half in Canada. I spend the daytime working at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore, one of the largest feminist bookstores in North America. During my off-time, I am usually obsessively reading various blogs, with at least 12 browser windows open at once. When I’m not doing that, I spend my time making zines, journaling and writing down family stories.
My interests include fashion/style/trends, representation of race in pop culture, and urban and public space. I will be centering most of my posts around these issues.
And just as a fun random fact about myself, one of my earliest feminist and anti-racist influences was The Baby-sitter’s Club series by Ann M. Martin (and by “earliest,” I’m talkin’ when I was nine or ten years old). There was something about a group of girls my age, coming together to “do it for themselves” that had me hooked. They built community, empowered themselves and threw pizza parties with the profits they made. And this all came about because these girls recognized their different skills and potential and applied them to something that was bigger than themselves. And for those familiar with the series, you must remember Claudia Kishi, the kick-ass, creative, fashionable and sassy Japanese-American character. Her character traits were “unexpected” of her as an East-Asian character (stereotypical East-Asian girls as equating to quiet, obedient and excelling in school), which really appealed to me. Granted, all the babysitters had class privilege, amongst other problematic aspects of the series, but I was young and to my nine year-old self, the sitters were incredibly inspiring.
I look forward to being a part of the blogging team!
