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A LOOK AT AAPI

representation in tech with Kyla Zhao of ‘Valley Verified’
ILLUSTRATION: AMREETA LETHE
TASHNUVA SUMAIYA ISLAM
This week, Kyla Zhao, the author of Valley Verified (Penguin Random House, 2024), graced us with an exclusive interview to give us insights into the changing trends in Asian American literature. It follows the story of Zoe Zeng, a modern Gen Z woman navigating career challenges when she switches from being a high-end fashion columnist to a tech employee in Silicon Valley. As the story unfolds, the readers get to know more about women in the tech industry and the difficulties they face behind the glitz of Silicon Valley.
As a woman in the tech industry herself, Kyla shared her experience as a young employee and the challenges many women face in the workplace and the changing tides in Asian American books.
In this part of the world, a lot of people don’t know about the Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Month. Can you brief our readers on this event and its significance?
This lasts throughout the month of May, and is more of a concept in America. I’m not sure if it’s much of a concept in other western countries. Basically, it celebrates the AAPI community, our contributions to the world, and representation in the media. There wasn’t a lot of diverse representation in the past, and whilst it’s still not an ideal situation, we are starting to see a lot more coverage in the media of the AAPI community. That’s really heartwarming.
Has the statistics for Asian representation changed over the years or is it still lacking in many ways?
We’re definitely still in the minority. I think there has been a slight improvement in the numbers over the past decade, but we’re nowhere close to where we should be yet.
However, one thing I’ve started to see is that we are creating a variety of AAPI stories. In the past, one well-known work of Asian-American literature was The Joy Luck Club (1989) by Amy Tan. I adore the book and think everyone should read it. But many people started to think that’s the only kind of Asian story that could be told–it has to be an immigrant story which is quite sad and focuses on family trauma. For sure, those stories are valid because they speak about a very important part in a lot of Asian people’s lives. But we’re seeing Asians can also be part of joyful, uplifting, and upbeat stories. I think having variety in representation is incredibly important.
A lot of your audiences are Gen Z right now. How is the Gen Z female reader diaspora different from the readerbases we used to see while we were growing up?
I think Gen Z has invented the phenomenon of ‘girl boss’. Right now, there’s a trend on TikTok and social media to reclaim your girlhood. There’s a lot more willingness to move past the traditional roles of what women are supposed to look like and what they’re supposed to do. It’s still far from the ideal situation because I think a lot of Gen Z feminism is eurocentric. But, I think we’re starting to realise women can do whatever they want. If they want to go into the workforce, they can. If they want to be the girl boss, they can. They also can stay home and be a homemaker. Each approach is equally valid.
This is an excerpt. Read the full interview on The Daily Star and DS Books’ websites.
Tashnuva Sumaiya Islam , when not reading, loves to paint, write, and share her photography on Instagram! Follow her @tea_tae93 or email her at tasnuva.i93@gmail.com.