Tingwei Lin (Six Days of Mr. Hyphen 2007)

Rebecca
May 24, 2007

tingwei.jpg

Mr. Hyphen 2007 contestant Tingwei Lin will represent the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, which develops affordable housing and community facilities with integrated services, focusing on Asian and Pacific Islander communities and diverse low income populations in the East Bay area of California.

About Tingwei:

I hope to be a positive representation for Asian American males and the Asian American community as a whole. I guess I'd like to help that one awkward kid struggling with his identity by perhaps giving him an alternative archetype of Asian-ness than is typically presented. Damn, I know i struggled with it a lot growing up.

For Tingwei Lin, pride and humility comfortably coexist. A champion swimmer, he credits his humbleness to his years spent a la Speedo in the public eye. Although he still maintains that coveted swimmer physique, Tingwei now channels his efforts into helping those in the APA and low income community buy their first homes, save for college and start their own businesses. With that athletic build and heart of gold, you'll agree there's not a "Ting" wrong with him!

As a friend observed, I have been growing more and more into my Asian-ness, my Asian identity, since I moved to California almost 2.5 years ago. Envisioning myself as Mr. Hyphen is a culmination of all of that self-acceptance.

--
Mr. Hyphen 2007 will take place on Saturday, June 9
at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.
Buy tickets here.

Categories: 
Mr. Hyphen
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Comments

Comments

sara h wrote on Thu, 05/24/2007 - 9:44pm
This event is a great idea, but shouldn't there be a ms hyphen as well?
Melissa wrote on Fri, 05/25/2007 - 10:37am
Sara H, though Hyphen chronicles the achievements of both men and women (as a glance at the print magazine will show ya), the staff felt it was especially important to recognize men because Asian American men get no love in American society. We wanted to counter the stereotypes in mainstream media by celebrating Asian American men who are talented, sexy, articulate, and contributing greatly to our community. So in a very Hyphen move, we took something that is typical and put a new twist on it, and that's why there's a Mr. Hyphen contest, but not a Ms. Hyphen.
rebecca wrote on Fri, 05/25/2007 - 11:47am
Sarah H, another thing to consider as far as event parity goes, or any event for that matter, is that Hyphen is staffed entirely by volunteers. We all have day jobs, we meet at nights and on weekends, we produce our magazine mostly over email.Would you like to join our event staff? We sincerely would love to have you. Email your resume and cover letter to ben[at]hyphenmagazine.com. See http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/about/joinhyphen.php for more details.