How to Read Now

by Elaine Castillo

the impulse to political unity “for the greater good” often ends up enforcing a politicized type of silence: to not speak about sexual assault in already beleaguered communities of color or activist circles, to not prioritize trans women in feminist liberation; to not speak about the racism, classicism, and sexual fetishization perpetrated upon certain Asian groups by other Asian groups (one only need to cast a scant eye on the online hate comments about Thai Swiss popstar Lisa Manobal, the K-pop group Blackpink’s only non-Korean member, to know that intra-Asian racism is alive and well). Sometimes the silencing takes a soothing, paternalistic tone: minority groups within minority groups are told to “wait their turn,” to save their niche concerns for later, and that their immediate political duty is to support, applaud, and identify with, effectively, their conquerors, employers, and bullies.