In a world that tells women of colour they are either too much or not enough, Rachel Phan asks: What if being a “problem” is actually the point?
That Asian Girl Is a Problem is a bold, witty, and uncompromising collection about what it means to live as a racialized woman in spaces that were never built for you. Drawing from her own experiences, Phan dives into the contradictions of being the “problem” woman in the workplace, in family, in faith, in marriage and even in her own body. With sharp humour and unflinching honesty, she exposes the absurdity of a society that demands gratitude, silence and smallness from women of colour—and explores what happens when they finally refuse.
From a court transcript satirizing how racialized women are “tried” for being too much at work, to a tongue-in-cheek recipe for the perfect Asian female body, to searing reflections on filial piety, interracial marriage, queerness and imposter syndrome, That Asian Girl Is a Problem blends memoir, cultural critique and playful experimentation to expose the pressures racialized women face—and the thrill of living on your own terms.
Part social commentary, part coming-of-age, part rebellion, this book transforms every insult and “flaw” into an act of resilience and defiance. For anyone who’s ever been called difficult, too much, or simply a problem, Rachel Phan offers both recognition and a rallying cry: being a problem might be the most honest and freeing way to live.
Rachel Phan is a Chinese Canadian author who was born and raised in a small town in Southern Ontario, where she was one of only two racialized people in her class. A graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Master of Journalism program, she’s shared her stories on CBC, HuffPost, the National Post and Maclean’s. She now lives in Toronto, ON.
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