Katie Phang discusses Asian American representation and her MSNBC special, ‘The Culture Is: AAPI Women’
As Women’s History Month comes to a close, I had the chance to meet with MSNBC’s Katie Phang, a Korean American attorney and host of The Katie Phang Show. She’s one of the few Asian women to host a show that bears her own name. “When we were planning the name of the show everybody landed on the same idea that it should be The Katie Phang Show,” Phang says. “For me to say this is my name, to have it be Phang, where people are forced to learn it and to know how to spell it, and you know it is decidedly Asian when you hear it, that’s a big deal.”
Even Hollywood legend James Hong recognized the importance of Phang’s representation. “I’m sure your father and, I being a father, we would be very proud of our children stepping forward, carrying our name forward.”
Phang’s father came to the United States from Korea by himself at the age of 19, spoke little English, and only had $2.43 in his pocket.
The Katie Phang Show focuses on the intersection of law, politics, and culture, but Phang is also using her national platform to shine a huge spotlight on Asian women. On April 2 at 10p ET, Phang will host an MSNBC special, The Culture Is: AAPI Women. The special features Phang with seven AAPI women who discuss raw and candid topics that range from Asian American stereotypes to family honor and shame. Phang also sits down with comedic icon and LGBTQIA+ activist, Margaret Cho.
I asked Phang why this special was so important to her and she said, “For exactly the reason you started Very Asian. The underrepresentation of our community has had profound impacts, generationally. We needed to have a special like this because raising awareness through visibility is the way to get things done. You and I could sit and have a conversation ad nauseam about how important our communities are and where we come from and how important it is for us to find where our next futures are going to be, but if you see it, if you actually see something, you experience it on a deeper level.”
And although much of the conversation around #StopAsianHate has become quieter over the last several months, Phang stresses that anti-Asian hate is still an ongoing threat to our community. “I remark in the special how just looking Asian has become a physical safety liability,” Phang says. “What gets emphasized the most when you look at someone when they’re wearing a mask? Their eyes.” Phang tells me that even her own mother was once physically accosted.
“I feel like the amplification of fear is legitimate and credible when you’re an Asian, period. Whether or not you’re a man or a woman. But Asian women have always been looked at as petite, submissive, quiet, not speaking out, not yelling, not shouting, not asserting themselves. So it’s almost like we were moving targets to begin with,” Phang says. “But now AAPI women are saying “enough is enough.”
Phang hopes her MSNBC special helps showcase strong and successful women for all Asian girls, including her own eight-year-old daughter. Phang is also optimistic that the special invites non-Asian communities in to learn more about the Asian community and our unique stories.
The one-hour special, hosted by MSNBC’s Katie Phang, features Phang’s exclusive one-on-one interview with Comedian and LGBTQIA+ Activist Margaret Cho and an honest and thought-provoking roundtable discussion with trailblazing AAPI women including Min Jin Lee, Amanda Nguyen, Huma Abedin, Julia Cho, Anne Chow, Chloe Dao and Mona Shaikh.
Parts of this interview have been edited for clarity.
