Our Origin Story

In 2014, Naomi Ko was asked to do a poetry reading but with one caveat: no swearing and an emphasis on being “family-friendly”. That evening, Naomi stumbled through her performance as she continuously censored herself. Afterwards, she and writer/performers May Lee-Yang and Saymoukda D. Vongsay discussed how that performance is exactly what happens to Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) women again and again: We are asked to censor ourselves so we don’t make our communities “look bad”, to appease “elders”, to make sure we don’t reflect problematic stereotypes of the hyper-sexualized Asian woman or the submissive, oppressed one. That evening, we decided to create an uncensored space where Asian women could tell their truths without compromise. Since then, we have curated a monthly cabaret series at Indigenous Roots that offer a place for accomplished and emerging APIDA women to take the stage, which also means we have created an audience and cultivated a physical and metaphor space for community. We have been inclusive of folks from the whole spectrum of Asian American identities: East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, mixed-race, white-presenting Asians, LGBTQIA, and trans women.

Our Mission

Funny Asian Women Kollective (FAWK) was founded in 2014 by Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay, May Lee-Yang, and Naomi Ko to combat the invisibility and dehumanization of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) women using humor and comedy. Too often, we’re asked to censor ourselves so we don’t make our communities “look bad” or reflect problematic stereotypes of the hyper-sexualized Asian woman or the submissive, oppressed one. FAWK is an uncensored space where APIDA women can tell their truths without compromise. For us, “comedy” can exist as standup, sketches, storytelling, music, poetry, and videos and is powerful because it makes talking about controversial issues more accessible and engaging.

The FAWK Leadership Team has won 3 Bush Leadership Fellowships, 3 McKnight Art Fellowships, and 2 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowships.