By James Griffiths
It’s a card game that tackles microaggressions Asian Americans encounter and pressures within their own communities with a snappy twist: Draw a card from the “deck of oppression” that says something like, “If you’re more feminine, you’ll get a man” or “Me love you long time, LOL” — awkward, ignorant lines a woman of Asian American heritage might hear to her dismay.
How to respond in a way that might shut down clueless or racist comments?
Similar to Cards Against Humanity or Apples to Apples, players of the new Clapback game have plenty of ideas. And the cards they’re holding challenge unwanted comments with enlightening — and funny — responses.
Twin Cities Hmong artist May Lee-Yang, who developed the Clapback game, is best known for her work as a playwright, performance artist and educator. Her projects, often infused with humour, pop culture and sharp social commentary on gender, sex and race, have appeared in numerous publications and been featured at Theatre Mu, Illusion Theater and festivals across the country.
Now she’s moved into an unexpected new venue: card and board games. But once you learn more about Mayhem Games, it becomes clear how it represents an extension of her creative vision of more than 20 years. Mayhem Games, once suggested as a spoken-word stage name for her, has become a memorable name for her venture.
Clapback, her first game, created in collaboration with FAWK (the Funny Asian Women Kollective), aims to empower Asian Americans.
“When creating a board game company, I wanted it to center on Asian American stories, and something based on clapbacks was the easiest thing for me to start with,” she told Sahan Journal. “It uses comedy to speak back to your haters and stand up for yourself.”
Lee-Yang is a founding member of FAWK, along with Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay and Naomi Ko. The group uses comedy and improv to combat the invisibility and dehumanization of Asian women.
Houa Moua, a comedian, actor, and advocate for disability justice who also performs with FAWK, says she loves the game.
“In our community, we were raised not to make waves [or] rock the boat,” she said. “So when people say this stuff to us, we’re not used to clapping back. When someone does say something completely bonkers, you’ll remember this game and things that were said.”
(By The Globe and Mail)