Hyphen (magazine)
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Hyphen is a nationally-distributed, independent Asian American magazine aimed at 20 and 30-something year-olds. The name of the magazine comes from a debate over the use of hyphens in denoting ethnic Americans. (Contrary to its name, it is Hyphen magazine's stance not use the hyphen in such denotions.)
Hyphen is produced tri-annually by a volunteer staff and is a not-for-profit organization. It was founded in 2003 by a group of San Francisco Bay Area journalists, activists, and artists; including Melissa Hung, a former reporter for the Houston Press and East Bay Express; Claire Light, former program director for Kearny Street Workshop; Yuki Tessitore, of Mother Jones Magazine, and Stefanie Liang, a graphic designer from Red Herring magazine. Its advisory board includes notable Asian American journalists such as Helen Zia and Nguyen Qui Duc, the host of Pacific Time. The first issue was released in June 2003 (article in the San Francisco Chroniclearticle in AsianWeek article in Kron4 News article in New American Media) Hyphen is one of several Asian American media ventures created in the wake of A Magazine's demise.
Shortly after its release, the upstart publication was sharply criticized by AsianWeek columnist Emil Guillermo who theorized that Hyphen's young editors were arrogant, ashamed of their Asian heritage, and disrespectul of existing ethnic media in his weekly column.
The magazine's first issue contained a story package on the history of Asian American community activism. Its content is decidedly to the left, feminist, and non-mainstream. Its coverage includes politics, arts, and pop culture.
In 2004, the magazine was nominated for an Utne Independent Press Award for Best New Title. In January 2006, Hyphen's Body Issue won the Independent Press Association's Best Cover award for an image of a Asian American man partially submerged in a bathtub full of edamame. Mr. Hyphen, a pageant created by the magazine to showcase more positive images of Asian American men, debuted in May 2006.
