Secret Asian Woman, a half-hour personal exploration of identity and mixed race produced by Dmae Roberts. Throughout her life especially living in Oregon, Dmae has had to bring up her ethnicity especially when it comes to the question: "What Are You?" This piece was originally produced in 2008 and re-edited for 2020.
Through her personal story, Dmae charts four decades of a search by multiracial peoples for a name for their identity. The politics of calling out racism has changed through the years as has identification. In this half-hour documentary, Dmae talks with other mixed-race Asian American women with identities not easily recognized by the general public. This fast-paced documentary addresses with humor the complexities involved in even discussing race.
See a 5-min short film version of Secret Asian Woman at: https://vimeo.com/73263318
Or read the full-length memoir "The Letting Go Trilogies: Stories of a Mixed-Race Family" by Dmae Roberts available on Amazon and Kindle. https://www.amazon.com/Letting-Go-Trilogies-Stories-Mixed-Race/
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And always browse our archive of shows at the official Stage and Studio website.
Secret Asian Woman was produced by Dmae Roberts, with editorial consultation by Catherine Stifter and damali ayo.
Original music by Clark Salisbury. Additional music by Teresa Enrico and Portland Taiko.
Interviews with Velina Hasu Houston, Renee Geesler, Julie Thi Underhill and Patti Duncan now a professor at Oregon State University.
Funded by the Regional Arts and Culture Council Individual Artist program. You can learn more by going to Dmae Roberts' website or reading an essay version of this radio piece on StagenStudio.com.
You can also learn more about Dmae's work with"What Are You: Mixed-Race and Interracial Families in Oregon's Past and Future?" facilitating discussions on mixed-race identity for the Oregon Humanities' Conversation Project.
- KBOO