Reflecting on Racist Femicide
Our channels have been quieter over the last week, as our staff mourn and process the murders of Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, and Yong Ae Yue in Atlanta.
We honor their names, their lives, and the loss experienced by their families and communities. We also stand with our Asian-American friends and neighbors in Maine who may feel less safe now - because we know that racist attacks aren’t confined to any one area of the country, and Maine is not exempt.
We also call out some of the forces that were part of this event:
White supremacy created the conditions for this attack, which resulted in the racialized murder of primarily Asian-Americans. Racist rhetoric from the highest levels, including the last Presidential administration, fanned these flames.
Toxic masculinity creates an environment where white men believe they have the right to control women’s lives, bodies, and experiences; in this case ultimately controlling the time and manner of these women’s deaths.
Unfettered access to guns (also a product of patriarchal thinking) has created systems where a person can purchase a gun in the same day he plans a killing spree, in the same state where he would not be able to register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day. Refusal to implement common sense gun control has meant that 2020 saw a dramatic increase in gun violence, overwhelmingly affecting poor and Black, brown, Indigenous, and communities of color. It also significantly increases the homicide of women by male abusers.
The marginalization and criminalization of sex work makes it harder to address the nuances of these attacks. Sexual massage may or may not have been available at these businesses (though it is at some), though the murderer indicated that the crimes were sexually motivated. Regardless, all humans have a right to life and work with dignity whether their labor involves sexual activities or not. Criminalizing and policing sexualized labor dehumanizes these workers, creates unsafe working conditions, increases exploitation, and creates barriers to legal remedies. It also creates an environment where police (or those posing as police) can exploit and sexually assault sex workers rather than protecting them (see here, here, here).
We continue to grieve and process in our organizational team and community. And we continue to renew our commitment to work against the forces of patriarchy and white supremacy. The Maine Women’s Lobby was founded to address the policies, systems, and structures that create gender inequity. Events like last week remind us how much more work there is to do - but also remind us of the powerful movements we belong to. While we mourn, we are also connecting to the web of changemakers across the globe, working for a world where people of any gender, any race or ethnicity, engaged in any kind of labor, are valued, safe, and respected.
For support or resources for Maine’s Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, this list was thoughtfully shared by Dania Feleo, our Communications and Development Coordinator, who is Filipino-American. Feel free to reach out to them at dania@mainewomen.org for more information about an AAPI solidarity circle in Maine if you identify as an Asian American or know anyone who would like to find community at this time.
subtle asian mental health Facebook group
1:1 listening sessions - Free resource offered by the Asian Mental Health Collective (not a replacement for therapy and other professional healing counseling)
Black and Asian Network Alliance Facebook group
Free healing circles being led by an AAPI mental health counselor
Support group for WOC in Maine facilitated by Dr. Yun Garrison at Psychology Specialists of Maine
The Root Causes of Anti-Asian Violence- Melinda Chu Resource List
