Kat Chow

(yes, she is familiar with what her name means!)

Many of us find our identity in question at some point. Some more than others; this alludes to those who haven’t been racially marginalized explicitly. We have black and white. Somewhere in the middle we find “yellow” (https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/09/27/647989652/if-we-called-ourselves-yellow) and “brown” and yet, this leaves room for much to be answered, or questioned.

Kat Chow, founding member of NPR’s Code Switch (https://www.npr.org/people/177498105/kat-chow), is an award-winning Asian-American writer (blogger) who deals with topics of race, ethnicity, and culture. At the core of it all, labels, in regard to these three topics, is what drives her most. Her Asian point of view on these topics provides for a new perspective for readers to hopefully ponder and discuss further.

Her latest article “If We Called Ourselves Yellow” (https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/09/27/647989652/if-we-called-ourselves-yellow) discusses the Asian-American dynaminity and divulges into historical origen, pop-culture references, and personal experience. Chow goes into political aspects of the term. Overall, she actually appreciates and embraces the term as an “arsenal” which can only empower her more.

Her podcast “Pop Culture Happy Hour: ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’” (https://www.npr.org/2018/09/04/644605030/pop-culture-happy-hour-to-all-the-boys-i-ve-loved-before) is more for food for thought (which she actually is based as a food blogger in her earlier years) but nevertheless, no less important. She, and fellow bloggers, discuss the importance of representation in a widely popular teen film. She keeps the conversation light-hearted yet deep. She is able to balance dualities of serious topics with a twist.

Chow tackles these topics through various mediums on her blog, whether they are written or spoken about in podcasts. Viewers can enjoy her blogs at least twice a month, if not, more. Due to race, ethnicity, and culture being a part of our everyday lives, Chow is able to make social and pop-culture commentary in an entertaining yet prominent way. Readers are able to see the importance of these discussion that are brought up.

The accessibility of her readership through twitter (https://twitter.com/katchow) allows for a real community conversation to be had, with the addition of her approachable personality. Chow engages with each and every one of her readers which illustrates her passion for the job and its topics.

She has established and earned quite a following, over her 6 years as a writer in profession, and wishes to write her first book which she announced on twitter, “As Deep As The Ocean. It’s about grief, family and all the questions about racial identity — and identity in general — that my mom’s death triggered.”

A photo of the Author’s mother, who passed away 14 years ago, and for the first time a publisher is interested in her work. Chow feels as if the “stars have aligned.”