REMAINS OF THE DAY: Reviewer Susan Soon He Stanton finds beauty and sensuality in Uyen Nicole Duong’s Daughters of the River Huong, an epic tale journeying from the ancient Kingdom of Champa to French colonialism to modern day New York City, all told through the eyes of an alluring but flawed heroine.

ISSUE: Summer 2011

DEPT: Plugged In

STORY: Susan Soon He Stanton

Over the course of a tumultuous century, the stories of four generations of Vietnamese women unfold in a historical epic that shifts from Imperial City of Hue, war-torn Saigon, Paris, and ’90s New York City. For such an entertaining read, the amount of history author Uyen Nicole Duong packs into her pages is impressive. Even while painting a larger picture of Vietnamese culture, the focus never strays far from these daughters of the River Huong.

At the heart of the story is Simone, a petulant Indochine Lolita, who reveals the lives of her ancestors tracing back to the extinct Kingdom of Champa. Beginning with the Mystique Concubine, a paddle girl discovered by a king, to her daughters, Madame Cinnamon and Ginseng, and Simone’s mother, these survival stories trace the journey from the last Vietnamese monarchy to French colonialism, revolution and independence.

Continue Reading »

Every woman’s face or body has a different story to tell. We may be bombarded by the mainstream media’s message of what beautiful is supposed to be, but we know that beauty comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Here, an Asian American woman proves it.

ISSUE: Summer 2011

DEPT: Features

STORY: Janice Jann

PHOTOS: Melly Lee

HAIR & MAKEUP: Joyce Luck and assistant Natalie Herrera for JLS

{ HELENA }

Growing up, the only way Helena Kim thought she could make herself look more “feminine” was by growing her hair long. “I had always been really athletic and strong with a stockier frame,” says the Korean American. “As I got older, I felt a little out of place. It was hard to identify with not having a really feminine build. My mom tried to make me wear makeup, but it didn’t look right. I just accepted I wasn’t going to look like the images I saw or the people [around me].”

By the time Helena got to college, she cut 14 inches off her locks and started to feel more like herself. “Now if people put makeup on me or pouf out my hair, it feels really weird — like not part of my body.” Though Helena is comfortable with the way she looks, there are still people out there who aren’t. “The only time [my image] evokes a negative response is generally where there are not a lot of people of different color,” she says. “Kids would come up to me asking if I were a boy or a girl. Sometimes guys feel uncomfortable around me. They’ll say things like, ‘Oh, I have that shirt in my closet.’” The public bathroom is where most issues arise. “Usually someone will say something like, ‘This is the women’s bathroom.’ Yeah, I know,” Helena laughs. “That’s why I’m here. It’s been so long it doesn’t even bother me.”

It’s something the 35-year-old had to learn. “I think my biggest thing is to walk the best journey I can and exercise patience and compassion with people,” she says. “I get it — they just haven’t seen anyone that looks like me. I think people are afraid of things that they don’t know or understand. Usually, if I can sense that someone’s uncomfortable or will have some sort of negative reaction, I’ll just say, ‘Hey, how are you,’ and suddenly it doesn’t really seem to be an issue anymore. It’s like, oh, I’m a person. You don’t have to treat me like some sort of freak show.”

Helena admits she was a little nervous about sharing her story. “I was really surprised when I got chosen. I’m familiar with Audrey. I’ve known it since the launch [in 2003] and I know I don’t look anything like the kind of women in Audrey.” So what changed her mind? “When I was growing up, I think I would have really liked to have seen someone who looks like me in a magazine for Asian American women.”

– Janice Jann

Joz is one of nine women Audrey featured in its Body of Quirks feature. Check out more stories here.

Purchase the Summer issue of Audrey Magazine here.

Mission accomplished.

Every woman’s face or body has a different story to tell. We may be bombarded by the mainstream media’s message of what beautiful is supposed to be, but we know that beauty comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Here, an Asian American woman proves it.

ISSUE: Summer 2011

DEPT: Features

STORY: Janice Jann

PHOTOS: Melly Lee

HAIR & MAKEUP: Joyce Luck and assistant Natalie Herrera for JLS

{ NEBULA }

In a recent Glee episode, wannabe Broadway superstar Rachel Berry contemplates getting a nose job, despite her adulation of Barbra Streisand. The episode was one Chinese American Nebula could empathize with. Having grown up with a distinctive nose, one her parents always touted as “the highest-bridged Asian nose they could find,” Nebula is also in the acting industry, one where sometimes how you look is more important than how you act. “I just don’t have that typical Asian look when they’re looking for the [button-nose] and everything,” says Gu.

Sometimes looking atypical has its upsides. While on jury duty, one man recognized Nebula. “He’s like, ‘Have I seen you before? Your nose, it’s really distinctive. … it makes you really special,” Nebula remembers. “I thought that was so sweet.”

Whether or not she’ll have a career like Barbra Streisand who “defined a whole generation,” Nebula is confident she’ll continue working. “Character actors work,” Nebula says. “They have a tremendous opportunity because there are so many cookie cutter [faces] — that’s an opportunity for you to stand out.”

– Janice Jann

Joz is one of nine women Audrey featured in its Body of Quirks feature. Check out more stories here.

Purchase the Summer issue of Audrey Magazine here.

ISSUE: Summer 2011

DEPT: Plugged In

STORY: Katrina Guevara

Treme, HBO

Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, this HBO TV series from David Simon (The Wire) follows the lives of struggling artists and musicians, including Annie, played by Korean-Italian American Lucia Micarelli, a real-life, Juilliard-trained concert violinist who has toured with Josh Groban and Jethro Tull. Currently in its second season, Treme (pronounced “truh- may”) is shot on location where the city is as much a character as its human counterparts.␣

Audrey Magazine: Has filming on location changed your perspective of New Orleans?

Lucia Micarelli: All these years later, you can clearly feel the gravity of the natural disaster in the city and its people. The city’s still not back, and the people are still hurting. At the same time, there’s a strong sense of community. It’s part of what makes it a really interesting cultural space and place to tell that city’s story.

AM: What’s happening to your character Annie this second season?

LM: I can say that she is in a new relationship, and she is really growing a lot as a musician. She just returned from being on tour and over the course of the season she’s being encouraged by different people to become her own artist.

AM: You were a child prodigy of sorts on the violin.

LM: I started off on piano, and that didn’t work out so well. And then I switched over to violin. I was like 3, so I don’t actually remember starting out. But my parents did tell me that I was a pretty quick learner.

AM: You did a lot of touring before Treme. Any favorite destinations?

LM: I had an amazing time in South Africa and Iceland. Red Rocks in Colorado was one of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever seen. But I still haven’t been to Japan and am really excited to visit one day.

— Katrina Guevara

More stories from Audrey’s Summer 2011 issue here.

Every woman’s face or body has a different story to tell. We may be bombarded by the mainstream media’s message of what beautiful is supposed to be, but we know that beauty comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Here, an Asian American woman proves it.

ISSUE: Summer 2011

DEPT: Features

STORY: Janice Jann

PHOTOS: Melly Lee

HAIR & MAKEUP: Joyce Luck and assistant Natalie Herrera for JLS

{ JESSICA }

“I realize it’s more about how you carry yourself.” — Jessica Del Rosario, 23, on being 4-foot-11-inches and having some of her kindergarten students taller than her.

– Janice Jann

Joz is one of nine women Audrey featured in its Body of Quirks feature. Check out more stories here.

Purchase the Summer issue of Audrey Magazine here.

Every woman’s face or body has a different story to tell. We may be bombarded by the mainstream media’s message of what beautiful is supposed to be, but we know that beauty comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Here, an Asian American woman proves it.

ISSUE: Summer 2011

DEPT: Features

STORY: Janice Jann

PHOTOS: Melly Lee

HAIR & MAKEUP: Joyce Luck and assistant Natalie Herrera for JLS

{ VIOLETTA }

Cambodian-Chinese American Violetta Tang’s wild mane of hair is so perfect for her effervescent personality that it’s hard to believe there was a time in her life when she would spend an hour every morning and pay hundreds of dollars to get her hair stick straight. “In middle school I started to feel weird that my hair wasn’t as straight as my other Asian friends, so I started blow drying it a lot to get it straightened,” she says. “I didn’t really know how to handle my hair.” When Violetta started wearing her hair curly in college, she was surprised to hear a lot more compliments on her locks. “I guess I just kind of stood out,” she says.

It hasn’t been all positive feedback though. “I once got this job as a hostess at an Asian restaurant and I wore my hair curly and down. My manager asked me to tie it up and wear it as a bun,” remembers the 24-year-old. “All the other hostesses had stick straight hair and they got to wear their hair down. I don’t think I fit the Asian image of what they were looking for.”
Continue Reading »

Every woman’s face or body has a different story to tell. We may be bombarded by the mainstream media’s message of what beautiful is supposed to be, but we know that beauty comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Here, an Asian American woman proves it.

ISSUE: Summer 2011

DEPT: Features

STORY: Janice Jann

PHOTOS: Melly Lee

HAIR & MAKEUP: Joyce Luck and assistant Natalie Herrera for JLS

{ DORIS }

“Since I was a teenager, my body was not like any of my petite classmates who had just nipples, no boobs,” says Doris Tang with a laugh. “I always associated the reason I couldn’t get a date was because of my body — because I was supposed to be petite and no one wanted me,” says the Chinese American. Continue Reading »

Every woman’s face or body has a different story to tell. We may be bombarded by the mainstream media’s message of what beautiful is supposed to be, but we know that beauty comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Here, an Asian American woman proves it.

ISSUE: Summer 2011

DEPT: Features

STORY: Janice Jann

PHOTOS: Melly Lee

HAIR & MAKEUP: Joyce Luck and assistant Natalie Herrera for JLS

{ YOKO }

“It helps me feel beautiful from within because it just makes you feel good.” — Yoko Igawa, 30, on working out.
A former track athlete, the Japanese American also takes hula classes and kickboxing.

– Janice Jann

Joz is one of nine women Audrey featured in its Body of Quirks feature. Check out more stories here.

Purchase the Summer issue of Audrey Magazine here.

Every woman’s face or body has a different story to tell. We may be bombarded by the mainstream media’s message of what beautiful is supposed to be, but we know that beauty comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Here, an Asian American woman proves it.

ISSUE: Summer 2011

DEPT: Features

STORY: Janice Jann

PHOTOS: Melly Lee

HAIR & MAKEUP: Joyce Luck and assistant Natalie Herrera for JLS

{ JOZ }

“I come from a family that was extremely beautiful and I always felt that I was not one of them,” Taiwanese American Jocelyn “Joz” Wang remembers. Raised among cousins who eventually became models and news anchors, the 34-year-old grew up labeled “the smart one.” Though she did feel pressure to compare herself to her genetically blessed clan, she never let herself go overboard. “Some people get really obsessed with their looks,” says Joz. “A lot of people let their own body image stop them from living life. I decided that wasn’t something I was going to do. I feel like life can be so full, why spend the time being consumed with things that you can’t control or will bring you down?”

Joz’s grounded perspective is evident in her online presence. An editor of the website 8Asians, she went viral when she posted a photo on Flickr labeled “Racist Camera! No, I did not blink … I’m just Asian!” (The camera tracks eyes to prevent a shot of the subject blinking.) The controversial photo has been viewed more than 420,000 times and was even discussed in an article on Time.com.

“I think the thing about the Internet that’s so beautiful and empowering is [it used to be] an editor [who] decided you were good looking enough to be on [her] magazine, but nowadays with the Internet, it’s you who decide what you want to put out there,” says Joz. “Do you have to be model thin to have 3 million followers on YouTube? No. The definition is changing. There’s all kinds of things that can make you appealing in front of a lot of people.”

– Janice Jann

Joz is one of nine women Audrey featured in its Body of Quirks feature. Check out more stories here.

Purchase the Summer issue of Audrey Magazine here.

A restless soul gave up comfort and security to seek out her favorite painter’s place of refuge.

ISSUE: SUMMER 2011

DEPT: CULTURAL COLLAGE

PHOTOS: ELIZABETH KIM

This past winter, I gave my two weeks notice, sold most of my belongings, packed up what was left in my VW hatchback, and drove straight out of Los Angeles. I traded my enviable job, comfortable apartment and a city full of friends for some time on the road.

Continue Reading »