All posts tagged: Writers

She/They

Written by: Janit Von Saechao In pristine-white Portland, I am seen as progressive for being a person with brown skin yet privy to this piece of my identity. What they don’t know is that when I say, “My name is Janit Saechao and my pronouns are she/they.” I mean She, as in We We, the ones assigned women while given no words for otherwise. We, as in all the non-men who have wondered which is the better way to survive– to silence ourselves for centuries of tradition or to speak our truths and risk our lives. They, as in Us They, as in those who came before me. They, as in all my ancestors who listened to Their own hearts and trusted Their own beings. They are my chain smoking Khmu aunties in Laos who puff tobacco through hand rolled cigarettes, laughing on the sides of dusty Luang Prabang roads at the colonizers with cameras who won’t leave Them alone. They are my single Mien femmes in America making more money than all the men …

Staff Favorites: June – Who Is Your Favorite Fictional Father?

There are so many events and holidays that June brings around, but because we celebrated Mother’s Day (in our Little Laos way)…we felt it was only fitting that we also celebrate Father’s Day…with one twist. So, we asked our staff, “who is your favorite fictional father?” It goes without saying that, while mothers seem to instinctively know how to heat our tempers up, fathers are more of an X factor. Roll that dice! Is it a 5 hour long lecture where you become comatose and need mom to come give you a heart attack to revive you or did you roll a 6? Six is no good–that’s “do not pass go, do not collect $200” territory. Oh, a 3? Insert a sibling as a means of torture. Rolled a 4? BAM! Didn’t see that one coming, didya! Got a combo of any of the previously mentioned consequences? That’s lucky roll number 5. None of us have ever rolled a one, though. That’s territory I hope no one has ever found out the hard way. My …