Posters celebrate Asian American Masculinity, from George Takei to Jeremy Lin

Although we've come a long way as a society in terms of racial tolerance, depictions of Asian Americans in the media seem to be stuck in a 1950s understanding of what "Asian American" is. Companies find it humorous to poke fun of Asian accents, and people of Asian descent are portrayed in films frequently as either effeminate (men), sex objects (women), or nerds (both). If you depended on the media to tell you what Asian Americans were like, you'd think we'd speak broken English at best.

Deborah Lao's "Manhood" poster series is part of an effort to combat this perception. Lao says in her artist's statement:

"This piece challenges the unkind, one dimensional portrait of Asian American men in mainstream Western media. By exuding strength, creativity, leadership and masculinity, these five icons buck characterizations of Asian American men as meek nerds who never get the girl (or guy). Bold paper colors and a minimal illustration style reclaims the one dimensional space into one that portrays these men as “superheroes” that young boys and men can aspire to be like."

And because you know I'm all about psychology in entrepreneurship, I love to read about the inspiration behind a particular piece. Lao explains in an interview with Colorlines:

"I had just finished an advanced screenprinting class which pushed me to explore and experiment with my personal ideas. I have a young brother—he was an inspiration behind creating the posters. I wondered about how the younger generation of Asian American boys would feel when they grow up, who do they have to look up to? So I came up with the “superhero” concept using primary colors and simple faceless outlines. I want people to be able to see themselves in these icons. The posters represent the ideals behind the people more than just the people themselves. And it started with Bruce Lee." (Source: Colorlines via Angry Asian Man)