When we are struggling with our sexual orientation, coming out, or grief, we turn to those that we love and trust most. Marsha Aizumi showed us the power of a family’s love and acceptance. Our Coming Out discussion revealed that many of us relied on close friends to give us courage and confidence. The Boston Strong spirit that runs through our area now shows that even strangers can instinctively rush to rescue in times of our need. The point is – you never nor should you have to go through any of these life changing moments alone.

We are so thankful for those that have come to our events, and even those who haven’t just yet. QAPA is nothing without the care and consistent support we have received. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if there is something we can help with. We are more reliant on each other than we ever realise, and we hope to see you soon.

Special thanks to Marsha Aizumi for graciously sharing her new book and personal journey with her trans* son. If you would like to read her heartwarming story, please check out her book, “Two Spirits, One Heart.” Special thanks to MakeShift for generously helping us provide the space for the intimate event.

Our friends at the Meeting Point are hosting a conversation for those looking for assistance in this process.

We don’t have to separate our need for a spiritual fulfillment from our queer identity. Religious extremists make it easy for us to forget that religion is not exclusive with the social conservatism that ostracizes us. We may long for that social unity that happens so infrequently in our communities; often these communities may be centralized in a religious setting. For example, I grew up in a sparsely Asian-populated area so church or temple were the few times the community would unite to socialize and keep our cultures – our roots alive. For us to deny those cultural or religious roots can be painful or cause “spirtual abuse.”

It doesn’t have to be this way! There are many religious communities that opened their doors to the queer community. Whether you can wander into a church, temple, synagoue, or mosque, you can also look for other resources to help reconcile your spirirtual and queer identity. There are plenty of online groups and forums (For starters: LGBT Religious Archives: http://www.lgbtran.org/). Patrick S. Cheng is also releasing a book soon called Rainbow Theology: Bridging Race, Sexuality, and Spirit. More info on his book here: http://www.patrickcheng.net/rainbow-theology.html.

We want to thank Patrick S. Cheng for his resources and outreach in our discussion, and of course many thanks to our attendees!

EDIT: Patrick S. Cheng will be speaking at Trinity Church on May 5, 2013 about his newly released Rainbow Theology book! More details at:http://trinitychurchboston.org/calendar/event/10/2h0k5e4moos5a1828snacn8qq0

Please join us for an evening focused on Comprehensive Immigration Reform and how it impacts LGBT Asian Americans. Share your/your family’s story or come to listen. Refreshments and refreshing conversation will be provided. You bring the networking and community. We’ll bring the latest information locally and nationally about the national debate around immigrants’ rights and how YOU can get involved!

Thursday, March 21st, 6:30pm

Held at MAP for Health, 324 Tremont Street, Boston, MA

RSVP Here via Meetup,  or  RSVP Here via Facebook

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are about 35,000 same sex bi-national couples where one partner is a US citizen or legal permanent resident and the other is a foreign national.  There are over 400,000 Asian Americans, South Asians, Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, over 60% of them are immigrants.

With President Obama passing the Dream Act, the time is NOW for comprehensive immigration reform.

After dinner, we didn’t want to part ways just yet and we went to have some bubble tea and continued conversations. QAPA wishes everyone an incredible year, and if you’re not done celebrating yet. There is the Quincy Lunar New Year Festival this Sunday, March 10th (postponed from February 24 due to weather). We will be tabling this year starting noon time. Come by and say hi and enjoy the festivities! You can RSVP on our meetup page for more details.

The Lunar New Year is a special time for families to gather and reflect. We have a year to hope for better things to come not only for our real family, but for the “families” that we have discovered through our communities. QAPA is very lucky to have this family and we cannot wait to contribute more for 2013.

It’s kind of a funny question to ask, since Trans* people are and have been the backbone of the Queer Civil Rights movement.

During Barack Obama’s speech during his inauguration, he passionately linked three locations together:  Seneca Falls, the birthplace of the women’s suffrage movement, Selma, the birthplace of the black civil rights movement, and Stonewall, the bar that is often cited as the birthplace of the LGBT civil rights movement.

Note that I said the birthplace of L-G-B-T civil rights.  I did not say gay civil rights.

NPR, has since graciously offered a quick history lesson to any who didn’t understand the President’s three references.  But in all the synopses of the Stonewall Riots, the “historic” voice was so narrowly presented that anyone reading/listening can easily deny the richness that sparked the next 40 years of civil rights activism.  The people who rioted for FIVE DAYS were transvestites and bull daggers and drag queens and cross dressers and nancy boys and fags and faeries and butches and femmes and people like you and people like me.  Some of them were on the fringes of society, and yes, it can be argued that some of them were on the fringes of queer society.  But they were there and they were the reason why City Hall plaza flies a rainbow flag, and why Pride is celebrated in June.

People often like to separate out the T from the LGB community.  I understand.  I am a self identified transman, and I can tell you that my own personal journey of identity has been focused around gender and NOT sexuality; a key distinctive difference.  However gender expression is such a crucial and HISTORIC piece of the queer rights movement, and safeguarding gender identity is not just protection for Trans* people.  It’s protection for everyone who does not fit the image of Suzy Homemaker of John Q. Public.  It protects butch lesbians and effeminate men and everyone who isn’t David or Victoria Beckham.

So as we go forward and divide up among our respective Ls, Gs, Bs and Ts, let’s try to remember that it was once “us” verse “them”.  And as I sit here wrapped in the comfortable blanket that those brave souls fought to provide for me, I ask you to remember the cataclysmic movement where we defined our spirit of unity and defiance TOGETHER in the face of opposition.

Having a snake in your house is a good omen, because it means you’ll never starve.

Come celebrate with QAPA at Chow Chau City at our annual Lunar New Year Dinner!  We’ll eat, drink, and be merry together.

OR

For the first time, QAPA will have a presence at the Quincy Lunar New Year festival on Sunday, Feb 24th.  We would love some volunteers to help us table, give out information and be out!

Both of these events are listed on QAPA’s Meetup, your source for all events, good times and Gaysians in New England.

www.meetup.com/qapa-org

Our hearts and condolensces to his family.

Senator Inouye was the highest ranking Asian American member of the US Government.

http://www.nqapia.org/wpp/nqapia-statement-on-senator-daniel-inouye/

Rita Hester was murdered in Allston
just for being who she is

When I was still a baby queer, I like so many others trying to figure out identity, searched high and low for community.  I had been exposed to the lesbian and gay community; a community that has become it’s own culture, complete with genre music, media icons and cruise ships.  As compelling and as shiny as this world of unicorns and rainbows is, it was not where I belonged.

What I found instead, was TDOR, and let me say, it was a stark difference.  TDOR is not a glitter clad parade down Main Street USA.  There are no Dykes on Bikes or Go-Go boys.  It is NOT a celebration.  It is a somber, solemn event, where the names of murder victims are read from a frighteningly long list.  And as dark as this event can be (there is often weeping involved) it continues to be one of the largest events for the Trans community: a time to be with friends and loved ones, and time to recognize our fallen.

TDOR is not a glitter clad parade down Main Street USA.

I like to remind people that gay pride in the USA was catalyzed by the Stonewall Riots in NYC.  On that fateful night in June of 1969, a group of drag queens and butch dykes had the gall to fight back.  They took a stand and said they would not be targeted any longer for their gender presentation or identity.  The modern gay civil rights movement owes it’s start to Trans and gender non conforming people who were getting abused, killed and persecuted.

They took a stand and said they would not be targeted any longer for their gender presentation or identity. 

TDOR is in all our roots.  Please remember.  To find a TDOR event in your neighborhood, please visit http://www.transgenderdor.org/.

Maxwell N. is an American Asian transman who has lived in Boston for almost 15 years. He is the Vice-Chair of the Massachusetts Trans Political Coalition (MTPC), a founding member of the Trailblazers, the Boston based softball team for trans and gender variant people, and serves on the Steering Committee for QAPA (Queer Asian Pacific-Islander Alliance). He is passionate about visibility for Queer Asians, and strives to bring the issues that impact our enriched communities to the forefront. In his professional life, he works as an architect.

I thought bullying was natural, a part of growing up. Simply being Asian American living in Tennessee, I thought I would never belong. When the school forms only have three bubbles: white, black, or mixed – you start to wonder why you are so different. Why can’t I just fit in?

The kids always told me to go back to my home country. If I walked by them in the halls, they would say derogatory things like “Ching ching chong.” I’ve gone to countless teachers and the only advice I was offered was to ignore them. One time I wore a shirt with a bald eagle, my idea of what is distinctly American, and I approached my teacher, “If I show them that I’m American, will they leave me alone?” She just looked at me with a sad look and carried on.
The system let me down. My family didn’t understand. The greater burden was that I had let myself down. I believed them – all the insults and sad looks; I thought I had no hope to ever be normal. I won’t pretend that what you are going through is easy, and that there is a magical solution. I have been there, and  I know it doesn’t suddenly just “get better.” There is not an age or geographical boundary that you cross – it is something inside of you. Things don’t just get better. You want better. You make better.

More importantly, you need to find someone to talk with, someone who can relate, someone who understands. You are never alone, and you need to grasp that. We are all struggling to find our place in the world, and there is a place for you. You belong somewhere – you mean something. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You are so much more than a bubble on a form, a stereotype, or  an insult.

http://www.glaad.org/spiritday Stand against bullying!

I was fortunate to have a support system by the time I was outed in high school. When I realised my sexuality in middle school, I desperately sought out someone that would understand. I found a LGBT student forum at Student Center Network (now located at student.org). Suddenly, there were many struggling like me. Most of us were small-town teens just looking for a friend. My friends in middle/high school were important too, but I wanted to emphasize how influential and important that LGBT support was – even if it was online. My “internet” friends spanned from the UK to Australia, and we’ve met up and kept in touch to this day. They gave me the strength to just be who I am because I’m not alone.
Now there are support and social groups that you can find everywhere on the internet. QAPA is proudly a community of resources, a community you can reach out to. We have members that have struggled like you have or maybe have overcome obstacles that you will have.

Reach out. Talk with someone. You don’t have to deal with this alone.

Please also consider the Trevor Project: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/