Laotian Daughters and Monkey Dance

In Laotian Daughters, the experiences of the girls involved in AYA are counter to portrayals of youth of color "at risk" of various social problems (e.g., pregnancy, gangs, etc.) and the model minority myth. Expanding on Shah's argument, I also wanted to highlight the ways in which the youth's identity as females is just as important as their racial/ethnic identity since their political acts deviate from cultural norms surrounding females. Even in today's society, we see the lack of representation of females in the political sphere, more specifically electoral politics as focused on in the reading - although it is gradually progressing. Through the environmental justice movement, communities with various identities were able to come together to fight for their basic rights, which highlights the importance of solidarity across ages, gender, ethnicity, and race. In regards to the students' experiences with lack of resources, it resonated with my own experience as a high school student as college counselors were no longer available due to budget cuts and largely the economic crisis in 2009 that hit the city of Stockton hard. I found that these students' voices and political participation was empowering because as previously stated, many youths of color are often silenced and not taken seriously.

This reading highlights other avenues for people to engage in acts of resistance, contrary to the subtle "everyday acts of resistance" demonstrated in Monkey Dance, a term from Weapons of the Weak. Although those in the film are not taking part in electoral politics, their acts are just as meaningful and creates social change even without their awareness.