(Photo by Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
"I am not your fetish." This single sentence, boldly inked in red on a protester’s disposable face mask, sends a clear message: The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and their allies are rallying against anti-Asian hatred by calling it out and showing how this racism is compounded by xenophobia and misogyny.
The protester featured in this photo participated in a rally in New York City on March 21, 2021, less than a week after a 21-year-old white male opened fire on three massage parlors in metro Atlanta, killing six Asian women and eight people in total.
In the United States, the spike in anti-Asian violence has been exhibited not just by the Atlanta murders but also by the recent attacks on Asian people in San Francisco and New York City. The stereotyping and scapegoating of Chinese Americans and Asian Americans more broadly have stemmed from the targeted rhetoric of former President Donald Trump and his supporters, who have blamed them for the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically through the racist language of “China virus” and “kung flu,” rather than understanding it as a global health crisis.
Read more stories by Marcie Bianco.