Asian American indie rock singer Queen Kwong has said she had to deal with sexism more than racism.
In an interview with the Independent, Queen Kwong AKA Carré Callaway discussed her experience as an Asian as well as promoting her second album, ‘Love Me To Death’.
A few days before the interview, Kwong revealed on Facebook that she had cystic fibrosis, which said was a rare condition amongst Asians.
“Turns out that I am one of very few people in the entire country who is Asian and has CF,” she said in the Facebook post. “It’s a rare disorder in general, it’s extremely rare in Asians, and it’s rare to be diagnosed as an adult. I’ve always been told that I’m a “rare bird””
However, this won’t stop her from touring. Instead, she said she will be going “full Asian” by “wearing a mask on the plane”.
“Making pictures with me all the more fun,” she added.
In the interview, Kwong recalled an incident where a band at a festival took a particular disliking to her. “They decided to make it their mission to rip me apart in every way possible,” she said. “There was a blog that seemed dedicated to it.
“These were grown men, not teenagers. And they wrote the most vile stuff about me, which after so many years being in this business I’m kind of used to… but it’s one thing when it’s people commenting on YouTube, and another where the people involved know where you live.”
As well as finding topless photos of her “as proof that I was just a slut and that’s how I got to where I was”, the band also racist towards her.“I kept blocking them and they made fake profiles, it was absurd. And then they started saying some racist stuff,” she said.
Despite this, Kwong revealed that her experience with racism has not been too bad. “I’m Asian, and I’ve never really had to deal with racist stuff like that,” Kwong said.
However, Kwong said sexism was more of a problem for her. “As a woman, I deal with sexism non-stop,” she said. “Forever. My entire life I’ve dealt with that, and I think all women do, especially when they’re in a male-dominated industry.”
The singer said that whilst she was appalled at misogyny in society, she is no longer surprised by it. “It’s really hard for me to comprehend how this can be an ongoing thing in society, but at the same time it’s not surprising at all, “she said. “When the #MeToo stuff started happening, most women were like, ‘well yeah, duh’. Everybody was shocked by this behaviour, except women.””
‘Love Me To Death’ will be released on 13 April, click here to buy.
