Nuances: Our Asian Stories

To participate in our Lunar New Year episode, see instructions on nuancespod.com (final deadline Feb 8) Today's episode is a re-run of my nuanced conversation with Dr. Manijeh Moradian, an Iranian American feminist and professor at Barnard College. The episode originally aired in 2023. You can view the original full show notes here.https://nuancespod.com/2023/07/02/s3-e03-dr-manijeh-moradian-on-why-iran-isnt-always-considered-part-of-asia-and-how-the-west-may-be-misinterpreting-what-iranians-truly-want-out-of-the-current-feminist-revolution/

Welcome back to the Nuances podcast! I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday week if you celebrate. If not, I hope you get some rest at the very least as we wind down 2024. Last week I told you that my next release will be for you if you’re not into the festive vibe, but would rather hear something spooky! Well, I am here to deliver on that promise with our latest feed drop. Today I’d love to introduce you to the podcast “That Scares Me Too”. In it, Dr. Sophie Yang and K.A Statz discuss myths and tales of horror from Taiwan and Asia. Together they compare and contrast stories from their cultures and talk about the shared humanity that is fear. In this episode, we’re introduced to unknown entities in the mountains of Taiwan. Enjoy! If you would like to share input about the upcoming seasons, I’d love to hear from you! Find @nuancespod on socials! Instagram | TikTok | Threads | LinkedIn | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter Subscribe to LAZOU’s Substack Write us a review. BOOKS - If you’d like to support Asian diaspora authors this holiday season, I gotchuuuuuu!!! Subscribe to That Scares Me Too: https://pod.link/1768039621/episode/5b3588d978a736e7b932c4cd05b9bf26

Season finale!!!! See full show notes for references & additional info. Queering Premodern Asia is a limited series and the 5th season of the Nuances podcast about Our Asian Stories. Each episode explores different aspects of sexual diversity in premodern Asia with commentary from guest scholars. Episodes are divided into a narrative portion, and a discussion with a guest co-host from the queer Asian community. Ep. 9: In search of the “socially acceptable” Introduction Military makeup and good looks Women in trade & female agency Gender fluidity as a plus Love, marriage and their casual (and recent) relationship Why it all changed Icons and rebels Why premodern Asia? Why me? Discussion with co-host Ryan Ah Seek Credits Spotify playlist Did you enjoy this episode? 🧧 If you would like to help me spread the word about the show, or support it financially, learn more at nuancespod.com/support ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’d like to tell other people how much they will enjoy this show, please consider writing a review. ☎️ You can even leave me a voicemail! 💌 Subscribe to LAZOU’s substack, where I’ll be sharing some behind-the-scenes + additional essays! Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | LinkedIn | Threads | Facebook Guest co-host bio Ridwan (Ryan) Ah Seek, known as Ryan, is LGBTQIA+ activist in Mauritius. He is the former President and current vice president of Collectif Arc-En-Ciel, the biggest LGBTQIA+ NGO in Mauritius. He challenged Section 250 of the Mauritian Penal Code in 2019 and won the case on 4th Oct 2023, against the State of Mauritius.Instagram | TikTok | Facebook

Queering Premodern Asia is a limited series and the 5th season of the Nuances podcast about Our Asian Stories. Each episode explores different aspects of sexual diversity in premodern Asia with commentary from guest scholars. Episodes are divided into a narrative portion, and a discussion with a guest co-host from the queer Asian community. Content warnings Introduction Performing gender in Indonesia, Philippines, Japan Cross-dressing in theater in Korea, China, India, Japan Gender bender icons from China, Vietnam, Korea Gender boundaries in premodern China, Japan and Iran Conclusion Discussion with co-host Stella Gold Did you enjoy this episode? 🧧If you would like to help me spread the word about the show, or support it financially, learn more at nuancespod.com/support ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you'd like to tell other people how much they will enjoy this show, please consider writing a review. 💌 Subscribe to LAZOU's substack, where I'll be sharing some behind-the-scenes + additional essays! CONTACT @nuancespod on socials! Instagram | TikTok | Web | LinkedIn | Twitter Host: Lazou GUEST BIO Stella Gold is a queer and nonbinary Rebirth + Wealth Coach for changemakers and comes from a lineage of activists. They are the founder of My Gold Standard, a believer in wealth activism, pro liberation from all oppressive systems, and collective care. They believe in using business as an ecosystem for financial solidarity for yourself AND the collective. Their ancestors are filipinx, romanian jewish, scottish, irish, chinese, italian, iranian, french, german, british, and likely so much more. They hold values and beliefs in abolitionism, anarchism, decolonization, collective and ancestral liberation, and leftism. Instagram | LinkedIn | Web

Nuances podcast about Our Asian Stories. Each episode explores different aspects of sexual diversity in premodern Asia with commentary from guest scholars. Episodes are divided into a narrative portion, and a discussion with a guest co-host from the queer Asian community. Introduction & content warnings Why is this series focusing on premodern Asia? The West isn't the only imperial power From the Silk Road to the Age of Exploration British colonization of India, Section 377 & vagrancy Laws Premodern Chinese law about sexual crimes (w. Prof. CunCun Wu) Portuguese vs British India (w. Prof. Anjali Arondekar) Spanish colonization of the Philippines French colonization of Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos Discussion with co-host Stella Acknowledgments Guest co-host: Stella is a writer, editor, and co-host for the Brazn Azn podcast along with the lovely Virginia Duan. Did you enjoy this episode? 🧧If you would like to help me spread the word about the show, or support it financially, learn more at nuancespod.com/support ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you'd like to tell other people how much they will enjoy this show, please consider writing a review. 💌 Subscribe to LAZOU's substack, where I'll be sharing some behind-the-scenes + additional essays! CONTACT Instagram | TikTok | Web | LinkedIn | Twitter

Queering Premodern Asia is a limited series and 5th season of the podcast Nuances: Our Asian Stories. Each episode explores different aspects of sexual diversity in premodern Asia with commentary from guest scholars. Episodes are divided into a narrative portion, and a discussion with a guest co-host from the queer Asian community. 4. LOVE, MARRIAGE & THEIR CASUAL RELATIONSHIP Introduction & content warnings Marrying for love China China - Male-Male marriages in Fujian China - Marrying ghosts Iran - the many forms of love How the definition of love and marriage evolved in Korea and Japan Vietnamese village customs Female agency in South East Asia (Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines The only people without marriage When did love and marriage tie the knot? Discussion with Dr. Badie What monogamous people can learn from polyamorous folks Outro If you enjoy this show and would like to help me spread the word about it, or support it financially, you can find out more at nuancespod.com/support If you'd like to leave a review, these are the places you can do so write a review GUEST BIO Dr. Manijeh Badiee (she/her/hers) is an Iranian, queer, bisexual, polyamorous, neurospicy, cisgender femme professor, psychologist, and CEO of Poly Therapist Psychology Corporation.. Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn | Web CONTACT Instagram | TikTok | Web | LinkedIn | Twitter Host: Lazou --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nuancespod/support

Queering Premodern Asia is a limited series and the 5th season of the Nuances podcast about Our Asian Stories. Each episode explores different aspects of sexual diversity in premodern Asia with commentary from guest scholars. Episodes are divided into a narrative portion, and a discussion with a guest co-host from the queer Asian community. Introduction & content warnings China – Literacy as a barrier (Prof. Wu) China – Li Yu's "The Fragrant Companion" (read by Karen) China – Lesbian consort in the Ming dynasty (Prof. Wu) China – Wu Zao China – Golden Orchid Societies Korea – Deposed Crown Princess Sun Bin Japan – Lesbian sex toys Iran – The cross-dressed woman (Niloofar Rasooli) Discussion with Karen References - in the shownotes on nuancespod.com Episode transcript: COMING SOON Guest scholar: Niloofar Rasooli, doctoral fellow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Wu CunCun, ⁠professor of Chinese literature at the University of Hong Kong⁠. Guest co-host bio: Karen Zheng is a first-generation, queer, Chinese-American poet. Her poetry has been featured in Sine Theta Magazine, Honey Literary, Benningham Review, Harbor Review and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference, Roots. Wounds. Words, Chicago Storystudio, and The Poetry Lab. She has been a finalist for Harbor Review’s Washburn Chapbook Prize. In her free time, she hosts the Mx. Asian American podcast and Tucked in Bed podcast. Find out more about her on her website and listen to Mx. Asian American here and here. You can also follow us on all social media: @nuancespod --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nuancespod/support

Full transcript here | Support the show here. In search of our queer Asian roots The idea for this series came about a year ago, inspired by my interviews with the queer Asian community. Many of the guests shared a desire to connect more with their culture, but also a feeling of being rejected by it because of their queerness, like Cece S1 E07⁠ Queer representation in the media has primarily centered white narratives which is often not relatable to queer Asian folks, like Josh explains in S1 E06 A lot of families see queerness as a Western concept that is incompatible with their Asian heritage or cultural tradition, especially the part of our culture that expects us to get married and have kids. Like Travis says on S3 E06 My queer guests also often feel like queer spaces aren’t safe for them, as those are typically very white spaces and often have very overt anti-Asian sentiment. Edmond talks about this in S1 E08 Another issue our queer Asian community faces is fetishization, as well as misogyny in their Asian family circles. Like Sally, S1 E09 For some of my guests, it was religion, more specifically Christianity, that made it hard for their parents to accept their queerness. Like Dani S3 E05 A common theme I also picked up in those conversations is how lonely it was for them as young people trying to navigate their queerness. Like Tonie S1 E03 I was really struck by how little I knew of these experiences. As a straight woman, I lived decades completely oblivious of these experiences. But the more I heard, the more I wanted to encourage my fellow straight folks to be curious, to care, and to engage with these stories. One day, I was scrolling on TikTok when I saw a video about how in 1651, there was a Chinese play that featured lesbian characters. It immediately piqued my interest. If that story was out there in a hit play in 1651, what else is out there? Could history bridge the gap between our current diasporic existence and conversations that seem too futuristic for our parents? More importantly, what if we could validate the idea that queerness and cultural pride are not alien concepts, but in fact intertwined in our past? And thus began my journey. For my Queer Asian listeners, my hope is that this series will help you feel more connected to your Asian roots, and bring hope & healing as you laugh and cry with us on this journey. For my fellow straight folks, I hope it makes you curious to learn more. Because I don’t think creating a society that is more inclusive of queer folks should fall squarely on our queer community’s shoulders. In a society where cis-hetero folks like us are the norm, we’d get much further if more of us pitched in. And we can start by listening. And for the activists and educators listening, I hope this series helps you reflect on the language you use in your activism, whether it perpetuates orientalist tropes, and how we might do better together. Episodes: 1. In search of Prince Charming (and his King) 2. But Where are the lesbians? 3. 50 Shades of Gender 4. Love, marriage & their casual relationship 5. Gods, sex, and the patriarchy 6. The West: savior or demonizer? The LGBTQIA+ terms, often doesn’t map quite neatly onto other cultures or eras. In the West, queerness is seen as part of your core identity. But this was not the case in premodern Asia at all. Who you slept with did not put you in a different “gay” category. We think of Lesbians as the female version of Gays. That equivalence also didn’t exist. In some cultures, the English language doesn’t have the appropriate terms to describe their gender constructs. I learned so much from researching this series and I can’t wait for you to go on that journey too. Queering Premodern Asia drops on June 2nd, 2024. Hosted by @itslazou, featuring queer Asian guest co-hosts and scholars. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or go to nuancespod.com to learn more. You can also follow us on all social media: @

GUEST BIO Dr. Sophia Yen is a Co-Founder of Pandia Health, expert online women’s hormonal healthcare: from birth control to menopause and more. She graduated MIT, UCSF Medical School, and UC Berkeley with an MPH. With 20+ years in medicine, she’s also a Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford Medical School in Adolescent Medicine. Her passion is making women’s lives better She’s also the Mother of 2 future sheheroes and wife of a feminist. Taiwanese-American married to a Korean-American (feel free to cut the last 2 lines or edit as you will). Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn | Web MENTIONED Plan C Pills - Abortion Access Inequality in Maternal Outcomes Maternity leave in Mexico Maternity leave in Canada Maternity leave in the U.S. Dr. Rebecca Gomperts from the Netherlands Calculate your BMI TAKEAWAYS Sex Ed is more than just "how to not get pregnant". And. Ladies, you deserve satisfaction too. Emergency contraception: Plan B only works well if your BMI is <=25. Ella works for BMI <= 35. Copper IUD works for all BMIs Hormonal birth control doesn't hurt your fertility. In fact it's often used before fertility treatments to stabilize hormone levels. Best to worst: the implant, vasectomy, hormonal IUD, tubal ligation, copper IUD, the shot, the ring, the patch, then the pills. If you're getting an IUD, you should be given pain management. DEMAND IT. (*paracervical block) There are treatments to help you transition in perimenopause and menopause. You don't have to suffer through hot flashes. Estrogen replacement also helps you avoid a lot of health complications from menopause. Women used to have 100 periods in their lifetime (8 kids), now they have 350-400 and each time we risk developing ovarian, endometrial or colon cancer. But periods are optional!!! The pill that works best for white women often doesn't for Black/Asian women. Find the right one for you. Disaggregating "Asian American" in medical research can help better identify genetic differences in our bodies' response to treatments. CONTACT Instagram | TikTok | Web | LinkedIn Host: Lazou --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nuancespod/support

If you enjoy this show and would like to help me spread the word about it, or support it financially, you can find out more at nuancespod.com/support GUEST BIO Jenny is a professional chef and food writer, researcher, and educator who studies food as the foundation for human meaning-making and identity formation. She holds a Master of Education from Harvard University and is currently a Fulbright-National Geographic Fellow in Singapore, researching food security in the context of hawker centres. Jenny is an IACP-winning photographer, James Beard Awards-nominated writer, and has been named an industry Game Changer by Food & Wine and a Trailblazing Activist by the World’s 50 Best. In pre-pandemic 2020, she also gave a TEDx titled, How Food Can Be A Source of Identity, Intimacy, and Vulnerability.. Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn | Web MENTIONED Reem's Billie Eilish's book flops Jenny's TEDx Talk TAKEAWAYS The people we advocate for should be the ones dictating what advocacy looks like for their cause. Food is inherently political. Most books don't sell well - something to keep in mind if you're going to invest time and energy writing one. The U.S. has many of the pieces that could be leveraged for a more equitable future but we've been brainwashed to fear socialism. Aligning our business practices with our values can have significant positive impact within our own spheres of influence. Immigrant parents often struggle with their kids choosing a career that isn't seen as "moving up in the world" and while their fears around financial stability are understandable, there is an element of classism there that we need to acknowledge and work on. Recipes using grams are much easier to replicate accurately than those using cups and arbitrary units like "one onion". The US gallon isn't the same as the Imperial gallon. CONTACT Instagram | TikTok | Web | LinkedIn | Twitter Host: Lazou --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nuancespod/support

Today is Trans Day of Visibility (March 31). I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than to share this wholesome portrait of Cece Chow, an Asian trans woman who transitioned later in life, with support from their ex-spouse and kids, and who finally feels at home in her own body. GUEST BIO Cece Chow is an autistic, ADHD, disabled, Canadian born Chinese trans woman, parent, model, and transgender rights advocate. She strongly believes that representation changes lives and is dedicated to creating positive Asian trans representation so that trans kiddos will see a future for themselves and so that adults who grew up the way she did will see that it is possible to come out later in life and find joy in authenticity. Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn DEFINITIONS Gender dysphoria: A sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity. This sense of unease or dissatisfaction may be so intense it can lead to depression and anxiety and have a harmful impact on daily life. CPTSD: Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) can result from experiencing chronic trauma, such as prolonged child abuse or domestic violence. It’s closely related to PTSD and borderline personality disorder. MENTIONED Cece's S1 E07 episode What anti-trans bills passed in 2024? (US) 66% of NYT stories about trans issues failed to quote a trans person Alberta restrictions on transgender youth access to care CONTACT Instagram | TikTok | Web | LinkedIn | Twitter Host: Lazou --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nuancespod/support

If you enjoy this show and would like to help me spread the word about it, or support it financially, you can find out more at nuancespod.com/supportGUEST BIOEr-Gene is a Korean-American violinist and college professor who lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas. As an immigrant, she was always interested in assimilation as a survival strategy until she discovered Florence Price, the first Black American woman composer whose compositions were performed by major symphony orchestras. Since then, she has championed Price's music and continues to investigate ways classical music can participate in global conversations around diversity, social justice, and equity.. Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | Web MENTIONEDFlorence PriceEr-Gene Kahng performing Florence Price's concertosRandall GoosbyDoenjang JjigaeTAKEAWAYSPeople from so-called progressive states like California often make assumptions about the South but fail to realize the same issues exist at home.Exposure to classical music early and ability to afford lessons is a key determinant of one's chances of making it into an orchestra. Diversity efforts need to start there.History is far from static because it only shows the perspective of those who wrote it. Whose perspective might have been left out?To be in community is not only to receive, but also to give back. CONTACTInstagram | TikTok | Web | LinkedIn | TwitterHost: Lazou --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nuancespod/support