Cultural appropriation has long been an issue in food media, especially since the majority of gatekeepers and food writers on mastheads are white and come from similar backgrounds. With heightened xenophobia related to Covid-19, there have been increased efforts by several publications to mitigate some of the bias by amplifying AAPI voices, but how can this be done without tokenization?
For the third event in our series The Takeout, we'll be discussing what tokenization looks like in food media, how it specifically impacts Asian Americans and Asian American food culture, the inherent rewards system in tokenization, the difference between tokenization vs. appropriation and ending with what we can do to stop tokenization in our industry.
JENNY DORSEY
Jenny Dorsey is a professional chef, writer, speaker and founder of Studio ATAO, a nonprofit community organization that creates interdisciplinary content + experiences at the intersection of food, art, technology and social impact. She writes and speaks often about food as identity, and recently delivered a TEDx on that topic titled "How Food Can Be A Source of Identity, Intimacy and Vulnerability". Her full biography and bylines are available at https://www.jennydorsey.co
ERIC KIM
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia to Korean immigrants, Eric Kim is a writer, recipe developer, and the Table for One columnist at Food52. Formerly the digital manager of FoodNetwork.com and a writing instructor at Columbia University, he has written for Saveur, Bon Appétit, and The Kitchn and is working on his first cookbook to be published by Clarkson Potter in Spring 2022.
PRIYA KRISHNA
Priya Krishna is a food writer who contributes regularly to the New York Times and Bon Appétit. She is the author of the best-selling cookbook, Indian-ish.
BETTINA MAKALINTAL
Bettina Makalintal is a staff writer at VICE’s MUNCHIES, where she writes about food and culture.
JENNY G. ZHANG
Jenny G. Zhang is a culture writer and critic. She currently writes about food as a staff writer for Eater.
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