representation
Megan Suri Loves Playing “Cool Indian Girl” Aneesa in “NHIE”
“I’m so stoked that I got to play a brown character like Aneesa who is something we don’t see.”
By Radhika Menon
Letter from the Editor: Our August 2021 Cover Star and the Joy of Brown Girl Representation
"[Maitreyi is] allowing us to see ourselves in a way that hasn’t really been depicted before."
By Versha Sharma
In "Never Have I Ever" Season 2, Flawed Brown Girls Are the Point
In this op-ed, writer Malavika Kannan unpacks the complicated relationship between two Indian-American teens in the new season of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever — and how it harkens to her experience as a teen.
By Malavika Kannan
Young, Progressive Congressional Staffers Want to Transform Capitol Hill
“We’re not looking to replicate the hierarchies that exist in Congress right now.”
By Chelsea Cirruzzo
There Were No Transgender Characters in 2020's Major Films
For the fourth year in a row, trans representation was missing on the big screen.
By Brittney McNamara
Colleges Need to Take Asian American Studies Seriously
Students and professors are fighting for major curriculum changes.
By Megan Cattel
Lin-Manuel Miranda Responded to "In the Heights" Colorism Discourse
"I hear that without sufficient dark-skinned Afro-Latino representation, the work feels extractive of the community we wanted so much to represent with pride and joy.”
By Sara Delgado
"In the Heights" Centers Latinx Joy Instead of Trauma
“I would love for Latinx stories to be portrayed genuinely, by Latinx people, and also with the same resources and marketing as big-budget productions."
By Marilyn La Jeunesse
Harvey Milk Brought LGBTQ Americans Into the Streets
“His whole point was that America had to see that we were everywhere.”
By Lex McMenamin
Designer Sheena Sood and Her Friends on Being Asian in Fashion and Finding Community
“We want to bring everyone up, make cool stuff, and incorporate our history and culture in a way that we can identify.”
By Aamina Inayat KhanPhotography by Louisiana Mei Gelpi
These CW Stars Celebrated AAPI Month With Advice for Their Teen Selves
"You dream of living in a million universes. The good news is: you’ll never stop chasing them down."
By Sara Li and Teen Vogue Editors
BTS Owns the Stage — and They Taught Me I Could, Too
BTS has proven time and time again that Asians unequivocally do belong on stage, which I no longer see as a place of scrutiny, but of celebration.
By Katie Li
Justice Smith on Finding Authenticity as a Black Queer Actor
The 25-year-old talks about his boldest role yet.
By Mathew RodriguezPhotography by Emman Montalvan
Asha Bromfield's New Book Will Be on Our Summer Reading List
The actress debuts her first novel this month.
By Mariette Williams
How Running a Popular Instagram Helped Launch a Political Career
Tony Eldon says his Black history account helped prepare him to get into politics.
By Elizabeth Djinis
Why Has There Never Been a Black Woman Governor?
“[I] still have to convince people to see me in a role that wasn’t built for me.”
By Jewel Wicker
The Democratic Party Has a Feminism Problem
“A party that claims progressive feminist politics must actually practice them.”
By Lex McMenamin
This Is the Real Meaning of Identity Politics
The term was never meant to be exclusionary.
By Marian Jones
On Racebending and Seeing Yourself in Fandom
At what point do you remember seeing yourself in fandom for the very first time?
By Stitch