More from Dmae Roberts
Artland: A Pushing Boundaries Special
(00:59:01)
From: Dmae Roberts
Producer Dmae Roberts embarks on a one-hour exploration of what makes Portland, OR a creative haven for artists, performers, writers and media people. Artland: A Pushing ...
Author Lisa See
(00:29:01)
From: Dmae Roberts
Dmae Roberts talks with acclaimed author Lisa See about her novels, her research process, and about the horrors of the "Great Leap Foward" in mid-century China.
Ernest Bloch: The Man and His Music
(00:09:24)
From: Dmae Roberts
Producer Tali Singer presents a feature on composer Ernest Bloch. Editor: Dmae Roberts
Blending Art With Nature
(00:29:00)
From: Dmae Roberts
Dmae Roberts presents a profile of the 40-year-old Sitka Center for Art and Ecology on the Oregon Coast. The picturesque center nestled in beautiful old growth forest of ...
Ivan Doig's "Work Song"
(00:28:02)
From: Dmae Roberts
Dmae Roberts features an in-depth and lively interview with Northwest Writer Ivan Doig.
Author Molly Gloss and the Heroines of the American West
(00:27:52)
From: Dmae Roberts
This show profiles novelist Molly Gloss, whose books have shed light on untold stories of women in the American West.
Ursula K. Le Guin: "Out Here"
(00:28:57)
From: Dmae Roberts
Dmae Roberts features author Ursula K. Le Guin.
Henry Winkler & Dyslexia
(00:06:32)
From: Dmae Roberts
Actor Henry Winkler didn't know he had dyslexia till his oldest son was diagnosed with it. Winkler was 31 at the time. He has become the author of 17 young adult books with ...
Talking With The Wind: The Mystery of Opal Whiteley
(00:28:21)
From: Dmae Roberts
"Talking With The Wind: The Mystery of Opal Whiteley," a half-hour documentary about Opal Whiteley who caused an international scandal in 1920 when she published a childhood ...
Hip Hop Hamlet at 75th season of OSF
(00:04:55)
From: Dmae Roberts
Oregon Shakespeare Festival kicks off its 75th season with a fresh take on Hamlet.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Secret Asian Woman is a personal exploration of identity and Mixed Race by Independent Producer Dmae Roberts, who has to make a daily decision to reveal her ethnicity. Through her personal story, Dmae charts four decades of a search by multiracial peoples for a name. The politics of calling out racism has changed through the years as has identification. In this half-hour radio documentary, Dmae talks with other Mixed Race Asian women with identities not easily recognized and addresses with humor the complexities involved in even discussing race. This piece perhaps creates some understanding of why people seem confused by Barack Obama's Mixed Race identity.
6 Comments
|
Don't Get ItThe term "racism" and "racist" papered this piece almost wall-to-wall. These young women are deluded. What they encountered was minor (very minor) social errors, blunders, insensitivity. It has become all-too-common to sling around weighty terms. They are going to have to dial down their "Unbrage Meters" for their own peace of mind if nothing else. |
|
Review of Secret Asian WomanRoberts' warm voice conveys important truths re: frustration of not fitting in to neat categories. Brings listener along as she grapples with "racial" definitions, ultimately claiming the right to pay attention when and as she sees fit. Excellent use of humor. |
Broadcast History
Debut piece.
Transcript
Secret Asian Woman
Dmae Roberts
PART ONE- PASSING
DMAE: Not a week goes by that I don?t hear racist things said to my face.
When people find out I?m Asian they will ask me deeply personal questions that turn into interrogation and I?m compelled to defend myself.
All because I have a secret? I am Asian. At least half of me is, and every day is a choice for me to reveal my secret identity: I am Secret Asian Woman.
MUSIC UP
DMAE: There are lots of times when Secret Asian Woman drops cover...when I hear oriental instead of Asian...when someone, usually White, makes a Japanese houseboy comment...when I hear colleagues say they just ran a Chinese fire drill (do you know how many youtube videos feature kids running crazy around a car?) or when an educated businessman at a dinner party asks me if all Asians eat dog. That was just last month.
These are instances of...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
What to call yourself when you don't have a name? That's what Dmae Roberts grappled with most of her adult life. In a country that likes to think it celebrates cultural diversity, America still has trouble with multiracial people and trying to have them choose one identity to call themselves. When Barack Obama first entered the presidential race, he proudly called himself Mixed Race. Then you hardly heard him speak that term until recently when he made his ground-breaking speech on the complexities of race. Race and identity continue to be a complex topic and as Dmae charts four decades of history, we hear from her perspective what it's like to be a "Secret Asian Woman."
Related Website
Of 7 purchasers of this piece...
- 6 also bought:
- 6 also bought:
- 6 also bought:
- 5 also bought:
- 5 also bought:
Kevin Atkins
Posted on July 05, 2009 at 02:23 PM | Permalink
Personal Responsibility
Poppa 150's comments are typical of someone who has not walked in the shoes of the people interviewed. It is better to accept that the story does not speak to you than to tell others how to live their lives. It suggests that you are so superior you know exactly how they should view their experiences so they can live happier lives. It allows him and others like him to avoid responsibilty for their actions and comments.