Queerness existed in Asian countries, especially in indigenous communities, centuries before colonization and Western imperialism. In the U.S., being queer and Asian is about more than just love and marriage equality. Being queer and Asian is often intimately tied to experiences of xenophobia, racism, and homophobia and transphobia, even within our own communities. The depictions of queer Asians in media are few and far between, with the most recent Hollywood hits, Always Be My Maybe and Crazy Rich Asians, containing the straight rom-com representations that speak to few of us.
Queer and trans Asian Americans are slowly getting more visibility, with the work of Chella Man, a queer, trans, deaf, Chinese, and Jewish artist most recently widely spotlighted. Yet, no matter how much visibility we do or do not receive in media narratives, I find inspiration in the queer and trans Asian American-led groups and organizations that work tirelessly for our community, and the greater QTPOC (queer and trans people of color) community year-round. Their work pays tribute to the history and legacy of queer Asian Americans in this country and the greater diaspora. This month, they are reshaping how mainstream media thinks about Pride by continuing their campaigns to end mass immigrant detention, fight urban displacement, and cancel the racist 2020 citizenship question, to name a few.
They affirm for me time and time again that Pride month is not about corporations suddenly hanging rainbow flags and stickers on their storefronts, nor is it even about marching in a parade. It is not just about equality and acceptance; it’s about liberation. And for me, that also starts with understanding the legacy of Pride itself stemming directly from the work, labor, and resistance of trans women of color. Pride began as a riot against police brutality at Stonewall. Black and Latinx trans women fought for decades before and after, paving the way for the greater relative acceptance and protections some of us have today.
This month, in honor of this legacy, I highlight the work of eight queer and trans Asian American-led organizations fighting for our collective freedom. Here are eight groups to follow and support.*
1. National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA)
The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance is a network of Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander LGBTQ organizations that develops queer API leadership, builds the capacity of local organizations, invigorates grassroots organizing and advocacy, and challenges anti-LGBTQ prejudice, racism, and anti-immigrant bias.
Last year, NQAPIA hosted an LGBTQ API National Conference that brought together hundreds of queer and trans Asian attendees to convene in San Francisco and connect, educate, and build community with each other. It has also been working recently on the campaign to #FreeChin. Chin Tsui is a trans man from Hong Kong held in an immigrant detention center in rural Georgia. He has been abused in solitary confinement for over 15 months and is still there to this day, denied the proper medical care he needs. NQAPIA and other groups are still fighting to Free Chin. Follow their work here.
2. Freedom, Inc.
Freedom, Inc., is a queer Southeast Asian and black-led organization based in Madison, Wisconsin, working to end violence in low- and no-income communities of color. It fights for gender justice, queer and trans justice, and black and Southeast Asian liberation, specifically uplifting the black, Hmong, and Cambodian communities to build strength and leadership from within. Its work is concentrated in Dane County, an area of Madison with some of the greatest racial disparities in the U.S. It holds a range of programming, including anti-violence programs for black and Southeast Asian girls, women, and elders, and also leads in organizing efforts in the community.
Freedom, Inc., has been part of spearheading critical work against police brutality and abuse, including rallying the community to protest the police murder of Tony Robinson, a young, black 19-year-old, and demand accountability. Recently, it also worked with youth to call for more counselors in public schools instead of cops, and to make sure there is no police presence at Pride. Support its work here.
3. PrYSM
Providence Youth Student Movement, or PrYSM, is a youth organization that “challenges and supports Southeast Asian youth to become leaders, organizers, and critical thinkers, by offering educational workshops, leadership opportunities, mentorship, and oversight of youth-led community organizing projects.” It began in 2001 with a campaign against mass deportations of Cambodian American refugees, which is still pervasive today.
Today it is part of Grassroots Asians Rising, an alliance of grassroots Asian organizations from across the country to build the self-determination of our community. PrYSM is also working on a Community Defense Project to train and support CopWatch programs and help the community heal from police abuse and harassment, and a Queer Transformative Roots program, serving the QTPOC community especially through combating homelessness and housing instability. Support its work here.
4. API Equality — Northern California
API Equality — Northern California (APIENC) is led by young trans and non-binary people working to amplify queer and trans Asian Pacific Islander (API) voices, inspire and train leaders, cultivate intergenerational connections, and document and share queer API histories. Its work is largely powered by volunteer members.
Its two main programs are the Dragon Fruit Project, an intergenerational oral history project that documents and disseminates stories of queer and trans API activists, and leadership development, training rising activists and organizers with the skills and knowledge to educate, agitate, and organize their communities. It also actively organizes the API contingent in the annual Trans March in San Francisco. Follow the organization here.
5. 18MillionRising.org (18MR)
18MillionRising.org is the only national Asian American digital organizing group in this country. Its mission and work are to “bring Asian American communities together online and offline to reimagine Asian American identity with nuance, specificity, and power.” It proudly uses the diversity of Asian American identity to build a more just and creative world where all of our experiences and leadership are affirmed, valued, and thriving.
It is currently fighting to pass the LGBT Equality Act, block the citizenship question on the 2020 Census, and stop the displacement of Southeast Asian refugees in Philadelphia, among its numerous campaigns. Although not explicitly a “queer organization,” its staff is led by queer and trans Asian Americans who run intersectional and multi-issue campaigns through a queer lens. You can follow its future work and join in solidarity by signing its petition here.
6. United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance (UTOPIA)
United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance (UTOPIA) is a queer and trans Pacific Islander-led organization working “to provide sacred spaces to strengthen the minds and bodies of queer and trans Pacific Islanders through community organizing, community care, civic engagement, and cultural stewardship.”
Its issue areas are access to education, employment, housing, health care, and more, at a time when Pacific Islanders continue to be grouped with Asian Americans, despite unique needs that are often neglected by both the government and Asian American communities themselves. Recently it held an API health event that provided free queer and trans health services, and also collected much needed data on sexual orientation and gender identity within the community. Follow its chapters in Seattle and Portland here.
7. Sige! — LGBTQ Filipinos
Sige! is a Tagalog word meaning “Go ahead!” and is the name of a grassroots community organization based in New York City, created for and organized by LGBTQ Filipinos. Its work addresses major issues faced by queer and trans Filipinos, including discrimination at home and in the workplace, immigration, and access to affordable, culturally competent health care.
Its members fight for the liberation of Filipino people in the Philippines and greater diaspora, most recently speaking out against anti-trans policies in the U.S. and the Philippines, and supporting the movement for national democracy in the Philippines and against Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s martial law, a declaration that allows the government to use brutal and deadly military force against civilians. Follow its work and support the organization here.
8. The W.O.W. Project
The W.O.W Project is a women and non-binary Asian American-led community-based initiative whose mission is to reinvent, preserve, and encourage Chinatown’s creative culture and history through the arts, culture, and activism. It is located inside Wing On Wo & Co., the oldest continuously operating family business in New York's Chinatown, dating back to the 1890s. The W.O.W Project was established in 2015 by fifth-generation store owner Mei Lum to bring concerns about a rapidly gentrifying Chinatown to the forefront and into a resident-led space for intergenerational dialogue and action.
Full disclaimer: The W.O.W Project is an organization I work closely with in New York. Most recently, we launched “Chinatown Movements: Past, Present, & Futures,” a public program series that highlights historic and contemporary movements focused on labor, housing, and LGBTQ justice in Manhattan’s Chinatown. This month we held a queer Chinatown history tour, perhaps the first-ever in New York City, to bring to light the hidden histories and contemporary happenings of the LGBTQ community. You can follow W.O.W.’s work here.
While news media and Hollywood films continuously fail queer and trans Asian American communities, it is clear that none of these groups are waiting for mainstream consciousness to find them. This Pride month and year-round, they continuously work for the freedom, dignity, and self-determination of all our communities. You can support their work by recognizing the power and leadership of these communities, join their email lists and newsletters, show up during calls for local and national solidarity, and donate to sustain their grassroots work. Finally, share this story and other stories about these organizations with people you know to raise their visibility.
*This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the queer and trans Asian American-led groups and organizations in the U.S. I also acknowledge that within the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) category, it is contested whether or not Pacific Islanders should be, or want to be, included within AAPI. For that reason, I generally keep with saying “Asian American,” but also felt it was important to include the work of Pacific Islanders. Feel free to leave the names of orgs you love and support in the comments below.