JESS

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I reached out to Jess, an Asian American hip hop dancer and creative, and asked her to share with me some challenges fighting racial stereotypes. Jess, an undeniably vibrant person, feels like there is judgement from both parties, her own people and from other communities. I was intrigued in the opposition she feels from her own people, as I also empathize with the struggle to fight the submissive Asian female stereotype. "Asian parents cover their children’s eyes when they see their child starring at me. I’m just a very colorful person in general but it shocks me even more when they refuse to speak to me in Chinese and instead laughs and makes fun of my American accent when I speak Chinese.” 

 

I met Jess in a park in Chinatown, where I immediately spotted her in a sea of Chinese grandmas and grandpas in dark colored winter coats. The portrait was inspired by the isolation and misplacement she sometimes feels within her own people. 

 

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Jess @jess2siick

Photo by Nigel Hosang @antioch_studio

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