a generation for
empowerment & change
issue 10
staff
editor in chief Deborah Kwon copy editor Rahul Jain copy editor Srilekha Cherukuvada writer Adelaine Stanleigh artist Beatrice JosĂŠ artist Davendra Hassan photographer Harmanpreet Randhawa writer Jamie Abbott writer Kaitlyn Majkoski writer Kennedy Castillo artist Ria Mehra writer Tara Mehra
LUNE MAGAZINE
contents
INTERVIEW: SHOPGLO POLITICAL IDEOLOGY WE VOTED - NOW WHAT? THE RAINBOW WAVE NATIVE AMERICAN INFLUENCERS SILENCED - ART AT THE DINNER TABLE IGNORANCE OF THE FURRY TRANSGENDER ERASURE - ART
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by DEBORAH KWON
Zehra Naqvi: Behind the Inception of shopGLO As members of society in today’s day and age, we are constantly reminded of the way that the world is flawed, the parts that we may not have always questioned in the past. This motivates many of us to take part in ways to change our society, in ways small and big. There are various ways that people do this nowadays, through writing, public speaking, protesting, entertainment, and also, merchandise. Recently, I was afforded the chance to interview shopGLO co-founder Zehra Naqvi. ShopGLO is a startup founded by Naqvi and her sister, Sophia Naqvi, with the goal of “[embodying] the successes of minorities in our world today”. Essentially, they and their company intend to create change via fashion products such as t-shirts and sweaters. In the following interview, learn more about shopGLO’s aims, as well as some more about Naqvi herself: Before diving into specifics about your startup, tell me more about yourself and who you are, in the context of a young adult aiming to create change. My name is Zehra Naqvi. I’m a 19-yearold Pakistani sophomore attending Columbia University, born in Singapore and raised in Hong Kong! My multifaceted identity has been a driving force in my attempts to create change as a young adult. Being Pakistani in Hong Kong meant I was part of the largest ethnic minority within my community. It means that I don’t have the common facial features that are considered “beautiful” by East Asian
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Images provided by Zehra Naqvi
standards. More than that, my abilities were often questioned because of the way I looked and the country I come from. Realizing that I was being discriminated against in one of the places I called home deeply motivated me to create change. In regards to my larger identity (Asian), I realized that beliefs, like colorism, were so ingrained in Asian culture that they needed to be challenged and discussed in my community. Deciding the worth of an individual based on their skin color is highly discriminatory; yet, the dialogue about colorism had barely begun in my community and the rest of Asia. When did you create shopGLO? What was the inspiration behind it? Was there a specific event that especially pushed you and your sister to create this startup? My younger sister and I initially began shopGLO as teenagers to address a market gap we saw in Hong Kong. When we founded GLO, we noticed the increasing demand for fashionable clothing and frustration of teenagers about the lack of brick-andmortar clothing stores on the island. We created shopGLO as a response to this demand within our age group. At the time, producing our graphic tee’s was a very simple understanding of supply and demand, but we were highly motivated, and as we got older we began to understand the nuance of the fashion industry and market.
start a discussion about issues like sexism, colorism, racism, and islamophobia. Our objective is to create conversations and use fashion as a platform for change. What are some of the goals you have with shopGLO, moving forward? www.shopglohub.com was recently launched and is the new branch of the GLO brand. At the time of GLO’s inception, there weren’t any platforms supporting young entrepreneurs. Now that we’ve established ourselves, we wanted to create a platform that supports young creators and entrepreneurs in their dialogues and initiatives. Moving forward, we continue to see fashion as a platform for discussion. We hope to expand GLO to include more opportunities and initiatives to support women and people of color. In the context of both yourself personally and as a big picture idea, why is the idea of creating change and representing minorities so important? The world, as it is now, operates on levels of discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice. We’re able to fight these practices through dialogue, discussion, and activism, but we unfortunately have a long way to go before eradicating them
In creating shopGLO, what was your initial and/or current objective? In other words, what do you hope to achieve through shopGLO? We always knew that GLO would turn into something larger than just fashion. At ages 13 and 11, we weren’t really sure what that was. As the brand grew with us both in size and recognition, we came to realize that Asian culture was faced with a large inherently believed discriminatory practice: colorism. Realizing we had a platform of 18,000 people who believed in our brand, we saw the opportunity to use our large platform to
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completely. Diversity means inclusion and we, people of color, deserve to have our voices heard. What do you see as the role of shopGLO in the ever-growing and intensifying climate of U.S. politics? GLO began as a response to issues we saw in Asia and has now translated to the political climate we see in America. Discussion, education, and conversations need to be at the forefront of what we face right now in the world. GLO, using fashion as a medium for activism, contributes to this by encouraging dialogue. When you wear our shirts, you make a statement without making a sound. You’re forcing others to think and ponder the slogan that’s on your shirt. “Beauty has no skin tone”, “female future”, “dark skin is not a crime”, or even “melanin” -- you incite an inner dialogue for
someone else. Fashion’s functionality as a platform for awareness extends beyond people you talk to and moves towards people who may you see for a split second in a day. Do you have any words of advice for young entrepreneurs interested in creating a project similar to shopGLO? Create a vision or goals that you want your venture to achieve. Know that determination, motivation and perseverance will lead you to the point you aim to be at in the long run. Be smart about what decisions you make, and make sure you take care of yourself and your team. A healthy business is built upon healthy decisions made by the team. Stay true to your vision, and always aim to do the best you can as a business. Lastly, always reach out when you need help.
Shop for items from shopGLO at www.shop-glo.com and read more about other young entrepreneurs at www.shopglohub.com. Follow shopGLO on Instagram via @shopglo.
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by TARA MEHRA
It’s Time to Make Political Ideology A Protected Class
art | Davendra Hassan
When I was in fourth grade, I had just moved to Washington and was desperate to make friends. I tried all of my charming, or as I thought, tricks at recess -- I boosted myself atop the monkey-bars as if I were king of the world and jumped down heroically. I spun so fast on the tire swing that I almost threw up, garnering elementary clout. But nonetheless, a tragic day arrived. We took a break from English to celebrate my friend Alyssa’s birthday with cupcakes, and as she passed out these treats, she also passed out invitations to her birthday party. I was the only girl in the class who did not receive one. For the following weeks, I was posed with the agonizing question -- Why? What made me so much worse than the other girls in my class? I thought about my own trivial flaws-- was I not nice enough? Not funny enough? Was it something about my family or what I said in class? And now, you may be wondering what on earth some girl’s
fourth grade birthday party has to do with making political ideology a protected class. Here's the thing: They are opposite. See, my opinions, and how I expressed them, are what might have left me uninvited from a 4th grade birthday party. They are not, by any means, what should result in a denial of service to an establishment in American society. It is time to make political ideology a protected class. People being denied service from establishments is increasing, threatening to form an ideological schism in the American nation until it is beyond repair. Take Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Press Secretary for Donald Trump’s Administration. In June, she was dining at a small farm-to-table restaurant called The Red Hen in Lexington, Virginia, and was asked to leave the restaurant. According to the Washington Post, the owner cited the “inhumane
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and unethical” administration which she worked for as reason for her dismissal. And she does not stand alone: Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz, to name two, have had similar experiences. I’ll not the first to say that I’m not exactly Huckabee Sanders’ biggest fan. But to me, the reason for her denial of service felt blatantly toxic to our democracy, and further, unconstitutional. As an aspiring lawyer, the clear First Amendment violation necessitates the naming of political ideology as a protected class. Denying someone service for their political ideology inherently undermines the right to free speech; free speech and expression is clearly limited through someone’s dismissal. Further, this gives establishments power to pick-and-choose their customers based on their opinions, belief, and party has to do with making political ideology a protected class. Here's the thing: They are opposite. See, my opinions, and how I expressed them, are what might have left me uninvited from a 4th grade birthday party. They are not, by any means, what should result in a denial of service to an establishment in American society. It is time to make political ideology a protected class. People being denied service from establishments is increasing, threatening to form an ideological schism in the American nation until it is beyond repair. Take Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Press Secretary for Donald Trump’s Administration. In June, she was dining at a small farm-to-table restaurant called The Red Hen in Lexington, Virginia, and was asked to leave the restaurant. According to the Washington Post, the owner cited the “inhumane and unethical” administration which she worked for as reason for her dismissal. And she does not stand alone: Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz, to name two, have had similar experiences. I’ll not the first to say that I’m not exactly Huckabee Sanders’ biggest fan. But to me, the reason for her denial of service felt blatantly toxic to our democracy, and further, unconstitutional. As an aspiring lawyer, the clear First Amendment violation necessitates the naming of political ideology as a protected class. Denying someone service for their political ideology inherently undermines the right to free speech; free speech and expression is clearly limited through someone’s dismissal. Further, this gives establishments power to pick-and-choose their customers based on their opinions, belief, and expression. But does this mean that anyone can say anything, anywhere, and get away with it? Absolutely not! Limitations are in place to ensure that certain kinds of speech -- particularly hate speech -- can result in
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punishment, including a denial of service. This type of speech falls under "directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action" or is "likely to incite or produce such action" through Brandenburg v. Ohio. Thus, adding political ideology as a protected class is not an invitation for reckless, uncensored, and unregulated speech, but rather, a nod to the limitations set by Brandenburg and a protection of each residents right to speech. And Huckabee Sanders’ example demonstrates that establishments use not only speech as a defining factor of political ideology, but manifestations of free speech. The term “political ideology” is vague. Because most American residents don’t feel to need to exclaim “I’m a (insert party here!)” every time they enter an establishment, their ideology leaning could be inferred through a t-shirt with a rainbow flag, a Make America Great Again hat, or something a waiter overhears during a thoughtful debate. This clearly gives the owners of an establishment far too much broad power in determining who they serve -almost like inviting people to a birthday party. The ambiguity behind "political ideology" is a vehicle to unjust discrimination and segregation. History has shown us that people will take advantage of systems which can lead to discrimination. Take, as a broad example, the history of voting -- the 15th Amendment was passed, and grandfather clause, literacy tests, and poll taxes ensued, all systematically geared towards prohibiting people of color from voting. Even when the Civil Rights Act was passed, Title I was essentially useless at fixing the issue of disenfranchisement for people of color. It took an entirely different act -- The Voting Rights Act of '65 -- to make great strides in this issue. But even today, many Southern states still have systematic barriers that aim to disenfranchise underprivileged folks. Dismissing someone under the guise of their “political ideology” is a cover for hatred, hatred based on assumption. You cannot decide what somebody deserves based on assumptions made through the means outlined above — this is toxic in today’s democratic political culture. And further, hatred and subsequent denials of service by those who open themselves up to serve is simply not right. I don’t want to live in an America where establishment owners have the power to separate me into an echo chamber; I want my right to free speech. I want to see America’s division mend, not increase. And we can start to mend this by federally protecting political ideology, taking a stand against hatred, assumptions, and free speech violations. I want to see a world where each and every lawabiding citizen remains invited to society’s establishments, not juvenilely excluded. I want to see an America of peaceful coexistence. Taking this step is crucial to getting there.
by DEBORAH KWON
We Voted — Now What?
The end of the midterm election punctuates the end of our commitment to being politically active. The Blue Wave has succeeded in the House of Representatives, and we can now sleep peacefully.
“post-election lull”. We spent November 6th and 7th refreshing our browsers and live feeds, and we have had our celebrations about the Democrats’ control of the House. But, what now?
Our work, as American people, is finished. Well, until the next election, of course, when we will inevitably take our posters and lawn signs and charge through the streets once more, proclaiming our complete dedication to our country’s government. But, for now, we will stay content with having completed our job of being active during this year’s election season. This is the period of time titled the
Sure, we will share the occasional post about empowerment and current politics on our Instagram stories or as a Twitter retweet, but anything more than that? That sounds like a bit much. None of us really have the motivation to continue to advocate and get out there. The high of election season motivated us in October and November, but it is gone now. We can lay back and watch our
art | Davendra Hassan
representatives fix the mess for us.
our lives. And we repeat.
After all, why else did they get the candidacy? There is really nothing else for us to do.
Why would it change this year?
It’s a part of tradition, really. We march the streets (literally and metaphorically) in a huge, impassioned fire around the time of the election. Afterwards, we leave it in the back of our mind, and we live out
This year’s election wasn’t any different. This generation really is not all that different. So, we can continue to idly sit by, right?
by JAMIE ABBOTT
The Rainbow Wave Just recently, the U.S. midterm elections ended, and the turn out for voting was amazing, thanks to the celebrities and the mass of commercials publicizing and encouraging young people to vote. This impressed me so incredibly and made me so happy that people are putting more emphasis on the importance of voting. The results for the vote came in, and over 153 openly LGBTQ+ people won, according to the New York Times. When I read about this statistic (and others) and watched it happen on television, I was just so elated. This isn't just amazing for America; it's amazing for the rest of the world. These results are showing kids and adults alike that you can be openly LGBTQ+ and be a leader of America. As an example, one of the most publicized governors for LGBTQ+ awareness is Governor Jared Polis of Colorado. He is the very first openly gay man elected as governor of any state.
photography | Harmanpreet Randhawa
November 6th was a day of firsts for the better, for the LGBTQ+, for the women, for the people of color. I can't wait to see more of the changes the world will make in acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized identities.
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by KENNEDY CASTILLO
Native American Influencers Take Instagram By Storm November is Native American Heritage Month. In modern day, many Native American women have started using social media as a tool to spread their culture. The social media superstars or influencers use platforms such as Instagram to showcase their culture. Below are five examples of some of the great Native American influencers:
@J.OKUMA @JULIANABROWNEYESOFFICIAL Juliana’s Instagram feed is full of aesthetically pleasing photos that anyone would love to see on their news feed. In addition to cute makeup and style photos, she posts educational posts about her culture. She made sure to post when two Native American women were elected into congress for the first time and posted statistics about Native American women that went missing. Overall her feed is definitely worth checking out and I think her over sixteen thousand followers would agree.
@KAHARAHODGES Kahara’s feed features pictures of herself modelling. Not only is Kahara an Instagram influencer, but she's also a talented singer who was one of the artists featured in the song “Stand Up/ Stand N Rock”, which was dedicated to the Native American-led protest to stop the North Dakota access pipeline.
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Jamie’s feed is ultimate goals for any fashionista. Jamie is a fashion designer and visual artist. She is well known for her bead work and incorporating Native American culture into her designs. She even has a collection, which is called “Indigenous Couture” that was inspired by traditional Native American garments.
@TEMRYSSLANE Temryss is a Native American soccer player, who uses her Instagram and her star athlete status to raise awareness for Indigenous people. Her Instagram is filled with posts that show her in her day-to-day life and demonstrate her Native American culture.
@CAMISTEINN Camille’s Instagram feed features pictures that look like they were made for a magazine cover. She includes #NavajoPride in her bio as a nod to her Native American heritage. She also showcases some of her native pieces in a lot of her posts and makes sure to showcase her culture as best as possible through her pictures.
by RIA MEHRA
Silenced This work regards Thanksgiving and how the genocide of millions of Native Americans has been ignored, therefore silencing the history of millions of people and leaving their tragic story untold.
by ADELAINE STANLEIGH
While You Sat at the Dinner Table This Thanksgiving Thanksgiving time is a busy one with the U.S. Travel, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the largest event: the food. Thanksgiving has slowly turned into a commercialized time of Christmas shopping and turkey instead of thankfulness and being with your family. This Thanksgiving, understand the history; think back to to the classic tale of the Wampanoag Indians and the Pilgrims having the first celebration of the holiday. Think about the generosity of the Wampanoag to help and save the remaining Pilgrims from starvation in 1621. If it weren’t for these people, Americans would not have been successful in creating a foothold in the Americas and eventually colonizing it. In the grand scheme of things, America would be nonexistent without the Native American people. We should be thankful for them, but we aren’t.
appreciation for these people, but we don’t. Instead, we leave them on desolate reservations to fend for themselves, isolated from anything and everything. We forced them from their homelands onto reservations to use their land for our selfish benefits. We gave them the leftovers when we should have let them sit at the head of the table and have the main course. We must always remember where we came from. We are here because of the generosity of Native Americans, and this treatment is the 'thanks' they get. Not only this Thanksgiving, but every Thanksgiving, remember to be thankful for the people who helped us make it this far by giving us a great start. Respect the Native American people and remember to be eternally grateful for their involvement in the small beginnings this country is rooted in.
We live on stolen land and we farm with stolen techniques to survive. We should have an incredible
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by KAITLYN MAJKOSKI
Ignorance of the Furry A man frolics in the woods, but the reason how and why he is in the woods is entirely unclear. The fact that he is a man is information privy to only himself -- an identity that he shuns. Indeed, he is a man in only times of total shameful vulnerability: the shower, the dark crevices of his closet, the occasional naked sunbathing. At all other times, he is a red fox. His frolicking brings him towards the side of the road -- how he got there, he doesn’t know. He transforms every time he is in his most natural form: the red fox, of course. Right now, in his furry ‘costume’, as people who don’t understand call it, he feels the most at home. Comfortable as a ladle of a big bowl of chicken noodle soup on Family Feud night, he feels truly at home. Up ahead, he bumps into a crowd and decides to trot over to see what is going on. Upon reaching the crowd, one full of non-furries, ugh, he bumps into a woman. “A-ooooooh!” he howls, “What is happening around here?” The woman’s countenance has a mixture of sorrow, pride, and blissful comfort? And was that hunger for chile verde tacos he saw on the woman’s face? Probably. Being a furry, he has a keen sense of smell for these things. Oh, yes, and she looks very taken
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art | Beatrice José
aback, much how one would look if they were to sip a cup of milk, realize that it is glue whereas it is actually bleach. Visibly swallowing her own questions, she replies, “We’re observing Transgender Day of Remembrance.” Somehow reading the look of confusion through the red fox head gear, she continues, “It’s a day to honor those who died merely because they decided to be who they truly are.” The furry shakes its head so the ears flap slightly, “I’m confused. Are these people dying because they’re actually furries and they were oppressed for it?” His fist swiftly meets his chest twice. “I feel” he says. The woman raises her eyebrows, “What? No!”
The slight rise in voice level caused him to reach up at his ears and bend them down. He then proceeded to forcibly take his tail and try to put it through his legs, but his arm started to get tangled and now his tail was bent backwards and he couldn’t quite keep his balance and oh no he was falling, but his tail must be tucked between his legs as a sign of sadness and -“Um, are you alright?” Regaining his balance, he cleared his throat, “Huh? Yes, I’m-- I’m peachy.” “Well, actually, being transgender means that your gender identity is different from the sex you are assigned to at birth. For example, I was born with male body parts, but I identify as a woman.” The furry removes the head piece solely to shoot a look of disbelief at the lady, “Yeah, no, that isn’t real.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean it isn’t real? You’re parading around ‘identifying’ as some type of animal, a lemur or something, and you have the audacity to call being transgender fake?” The furry slammed its ‘real’ head onto the ground in anger, “I AM A RED FOX!” Calmly but clearly mad, the woman explains, “It makes no sense to discredit a group of people who have been highly discriminated against, pay mind, just because you do not identify with them.” “Stop attacking me!” “Uh-uh, son,” she did a perfect z snap, “In this house, that is called ignorance.” The red fox’s frustration started to sizzle as he stopped and thought about her words. It made sense, really. Sometimes, what our body shows and who we really aren’t always perfectly in sync. He looked at his own suit and --“NO, sir. Nuh-uh. You are not having that epiphany. We are NOT furries.” “But you have to admit that we are a little ----” "NO! Absolutely not. Being a furry is a choice, it’s a fandom. Being transgender is a part of my identity. Though it is not the only thing that defines me, it is who I am.” “But that is kind of how I also ---” “Nope. Do not say another word. That is, just, no,” she shook her head, “The most you can do is just as I respect your choice to do whatever this is,” she motioned at his whole lumpy suit, “you must respect other people’s decision to identify as whatever gender they feel best fits who they want to be.” “Now,” she motioned to the vigil up ahead, “Bow your head in respect for the lives lost.”
by RIA MEHRA
Transgender Erasure Issue 10 Cover Art. As many people know, one of the most recent policies that Donald Trump has proposed is a brutal attack on transgender individuals’ rights, which would determine one’s gender by genitalia at birth. As a result, activists and advocates protested this policy on the grounds of trans erasure that this policy would ultimately encourage.
Putting back on his furry head gear, he bowed his head in reverence. Looking over, he felt her take his tail and put it between his legs, and smiled.
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about
Lune Magazine is a youth-led publication composed of students aged 13 to 21. The goal of this publication is to push for social change starting at the youth level, getting younger people aware of various social issues and current events. The content on the website and magazine takes current events and ideas and puts it into the context of social criticism. Created in early 2017, this magazine is based in Seattle, Washington, but houses (past and current) staffers from numerous states in the U.S.. and countries like Pakistan, Canada, Turkey, Spain, Kazakhstan, India, Vietnam, and England. Currently, contributors write articles and create art and photography for the website and/or periodical magazine. Though, Lune is spreading its margins and is opening up more opportunities and mediums for teens and young adults to contribute.
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