Growing up as a half Japanese, half Scottish girl, it always surprised/saddened me a little that there weren’t many Asian faces in films, books and TV. When I was a teenager I came across just one character in the books I read who was Asian, and that was Claudia from The Baby-Sitters Club (she was arty and fashionable and loved junk food, so naturally she was my favourite of all of the Baby-Sitters).

BUT it seems that the tide is changing and that Asian women are finally having their moment. Here are just four reasons why … feel free to add more.

The Film {Crazy Rich Asians}

I took Jenson to a baby screening of this at the Everyman Cinema last week and it was one of the few times I’ve seen a cinema packed to the rafters (I think the last time was when I watched Jurassic Park).

It was a FAB feel-good romcom (the dresses! the mash ups of Chinese and Western music! THAT wedding scene!), it made me want to eat dumplings and visit Singapore and for Gemma Chan to be my best mate. (Hence the Gemma-obsessed header above). It’s the first film in 25 years with an all Asian cast but I’d put money on the fact that it’s less than 25 years before we see the next.

The Sports {Naomi Osaka}

At the start of the month, 20 year old Naomi Osaka made history by defeating Serena Williams in the US Open final, and becoming the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam. Naomi’s victory was somewhat overshadowed by Serena’s mid-match tantrum, and the inevitable media storm that followed (did anyone see the cartoon that the Herald Sun newspaper published showing Serena jumping up and down on her racquet, and depicting Naomi as a blonde white woman?!), but she handled the whole situation with grace, and I predict big things for this woman.

The Book {Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng}

The opening line to Celeste Ng’s debut novel is ‘Lydia is dead’. Lydia is the adored middle sister in a mixed race family (the dad is Chinese, the mum all-American), and it’s the story of how this 16 year old girl ended up at the bottom of a lake. It touches on racism, secrets and lies, cool kids and ‘outsiders’, and parenting (should you place expectations on your children? should you have a favourite child?). It was so thought provoking and so different to anything I’ve ever read that naturally I downloaded Celeste Ng’s second book, Little Fires Everywhere, straight after I’d put down her first. Also on my to-read list is The Leavers by Lisa Ko.

The TV {The Great British Bake Off}

Now that Bodyguard’s over (what did you think?!), it’s ALL about Bake Off. Whilst I’m rooting for Rahul to win (what a sweet humble guy! And his CAKES!), I’m also tuning in to check out what Ruby is wearing and what crazy colourful animal-themed creations Kim-Joy is going to serve up.

Have you come across any bits of pop culture recently that feature inspirational Asian women? Have you seen Crazy Rich Asians and what did you make of it?