Sezin Devi Koehler's Blog, page 13

Mindy Kaling’s Brother Slut-Shamed Her to Distract From His Bizarre Race Experiment

"Slut-shaming is not new in Asian immigrant communities. Conservatism abounds, and the sometimes-insulated nature of many Asian communities, especially in the older generations, pushes back and hard against younger members getting too assimilated by mainstream American culture. The policing of women’s sexuality is a cornerstone of this conservativism, and you’d be hard-pressed to find an Asian-American woman who hasn’t been slut-shamed by a family member or many of them, and more than once. The difference is that most of these chastisements take place in the privacy of the home, not in the media." For Wear Your Voice Mag, October 2016.

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Dear Tim Burton: I’m Done With Your Racism

"Learning that people of color like me who have supported your work for almost 30 years don’t exist to you, don’t interest you and aren’t relevant to you is something beyond my comprehension. And that you’ve felt this way since you were a child makes me feel sick to my stomach for having idolized you and your art." For Wear Your Voice Mag, October 2016.

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Shame is on the Other Side: The 10 Stages of “Coming Out” as an Abuse Survivor

"After the Stanford rape survivor released her powerful and detailed victim impact statement, I was inspired to write my own open letter in which I discussed my experiences with sexual and partner violence. In the months since my “coming out” as a survivor — a decision that I did not make or take lightly — I’ve been actively reflecting on my myriad emotions and identifying distinct stages to the process. As with the five stages of grief, this isn’t a linear evolution; I found myself cycling through some of these stages multiple times before the emotion passed. Here’s what to expect." For Wear Your Voice Mag, October 2016.

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How Changing My Name Gave Me a Deeper Respect for the Resistance Trans Folks Face

"Names — the thing by which people call and refer to us and set one of the foundations of our identity — are important." For Wear Your Voice Mag, September 2016.

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Explaining the Seemingly Bizarre Indian-Americans for Trump 2016 Movement

"During this most insane of election cycles, I wake up every day thinking that things can’t possibly get any more surreal or bizarre — and somehow, each evening when I watch the news, I find myself surprised at what new rabbit hole we’ve gone down." For Wear Your Voice Mag, September 2016.

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Showtime’s “Roadies” is a Dumpster Fire of Asian Stereotypes and Casual Racism

"What really started to gnaw at me as the episodes went on was the unbearable casualness of all this blatant, outright racism. This is 2016. Why is nobody vetting shows like Roadies? And what kind of bubble are these creators living in that they think it’s acceptable to use racial stereotypes as punchlines to jokes? Oh, how could I forget — that bubble is called white privilege." For Wear Your Voice Mag, September 2016.

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Through Naz, the Man at the Core of ‘The Night Of,’ We See the U.S. Legal System’s Ugly Side

"HBO’s The Night Of gives Naz — and the rest of us — an education in reasonable doubt, presumed guilt, and a certain kind of brownness." For Wear Your Voice Mag, September 2016.

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Ghostbusters Smashes the Patriarchy One Proton Blast at a Time

"'Ain’t no bitches gonna hunt no ghosts,' Kristen Wiig’s Erin Gilbert reads from a comment in an online forum in the new Ghostbusters, echoing the misogynistic sentiment of Men’s Rights Activists, Internet trolls and other sexist man-babies about the much-anticipated all-female reboot of Ivan Reitman’s 1984 film. Well, Paul Feig and company prove without a doubt that badass bitches be hunting some ghosts — and then some — in this glorious and feminist take on the Ghostbusters franchise." For Wear Your Voice Magazine, August 2016.

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Why I Almost Chose an Arranged Marriage

"For as long as I can remember, I wanted to get married. A huge part of this desire was most certainly Disney movies and romantic comedies, where a dorky bookworm like me takes off her glasses, becomes beautiful, and weds the hunk everyone else covets. Another part was that getting married felt like an escape from my own dysfunctional family, where I’d be whisked far away and have a chance to build a new life with someone who actually loved and respected me." For Wear Your Voice Mag, August 2016.

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Why This Feminist Ended Her Game of Thrones Boycott — And Was Surprised by Season Six

"After Game of Thrones aired its first episodes of season six, I began to receive whispers from my own network of sparrows telling me that it was like an entirely new monster had been born, but this time a feminist beast had emerged. Apparently, women were taking center stage and there was far less gratuitous female nudity and no sexual violence of any kind on camera." For Wear Your Voice Magazine, July 2017.

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