In celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month in March, TACL pledged to showcase the awesome women in our community. In this blog post, Kelly Shih, former PIP intern, PIP Director, and TACL Alumni Director, interviews Kathy Tu, the Co-Host and Co-Managing Editor for the radio show and podcast, Nancy, from WNYC Studios.
Kathy Tu is currently the Co-Host and Co-Managing Editor for the radio show and podcast, Nancy, from WNYC Studios. With co-host and best friend, Tobin Low, she explores what it means to be queer today, spotlighting stories from queer voices themselves. She has previously worked as a freelance producer for shows including Radiolab and Masterpiece Studio. Kathy immigrated from Taipei to Los Angeles with her family when she was 5 years old and is a graduate of the Transom Story Workshop and law school. She shares her story of coming out to her very Taiwanese mom in “Hello, Hello”, the first episode of Nancy. Find out more at www.kathytu.com.
- How would you describe your show, Nancy, and what are your goals in creating it?
Nancy is a show about who you are and the journey it takes to get there. We’re a show about the queer experience today. And I would say our goals for the show were to spotlight queer voices. Frequently, it seems like we’re not the authors of our own stories, and we wanted Nancy to allow people to do that. And we wanted it to be a companion for people who may not have a community of queer folks to engage with on the regular.
- You went to law school, a more traditional “Asian-parent-approved” career, before switching to radio. How did you make the decision to change paths? Was it tough to do?
I’ve always been someone who, when I decide that I want to do something, jumps in 100 percent. So I did that with law, and when I figured out that it wasn’t necessarily the career path that I wanted, I changed it. It was a tough decision in that I had student loans, but it also wasn’t tough because I recognized that I had the privilege of being able to take on those loans. It also wasn’t tough in the traditional sense because I was the one who decided that I wanted to go to law school. My parents never pushed me into it. And when I decided not to pursue law after I graduated, it was difficult to handle my parents’ disappointment, but at the same time I was embarking on this new podcast journey, so I felt like I didn’t have time to dwell in that disappointment for very long.
- You and your co-host, Tobin, have talked in Nancy’s “Out at Work” segments about your current opportunity to have queer identity be a central part of your job, in contrast to others who may not be comfortable being out at work or face discrimination. As a queer woman, have you faced any challenges in your career because of your identity?
I’ve been fortunate in my career thus far that I haven’t had to face any real challenges due to my queer identity. And I think that’s because I chose the attitude of, if I suspect the company I want to work for would not accept me, then I wouldn’t work for them in the first place. There’s a real privilege to be able to choose my workplace like that. I’ve also mainly lived in coastal liberal cities, where these things aren’t really an issue. But I do remember for a year in my life when I worked as an EMT when I felt like I didn’t need to be out to my coworkers. At the time, I felt like I had other disadvantages working against me, being a small, Asian woman in a large, male-dominated role, that I didn’t want to attract more attention. If I had to go back and do it again, I’d definitely be freer about the way I spoke about my partners, but at the time I don’t think I was confident enough in my queer identity to be as out as I would have liked to be.
- How has being Taiwanese American influenced your life, both in your personal identity and professional career?
This is both a difficult and easy question to answer. It’s easy because I’ve always been Taiwanese American, so really my identity has influenced my personal life and career whether I want it to or not. The difficult answer is figuring out to what degree it’s had an influence. What I love about being Taiwanese American is that I am well aware of the political differences between Taiwan and China, and I grew up eating the BEST food in the entire world (I just got back from a trip to Taiwan and I basically ate the whole island). I am also proud of being from a country that is one of the most progressive in Asia (e.g. we’re the first to legalize same-sex marriage, we don’t suffer as much as other countries from toxic masculinity, etc). Professionally, I guess I am always just seen as Asian. Most people don’t know that I’m Taiwanese, or get what the difference is.
- Who are your female role models? Did you have any Asian American role models?
I loved movies and television shows as a kid so my female role models have always been movie stars that I looked up to when I was a kid. Angelina Jolie and Sandra Bullock were some of the strongest women I saw on the big screen, and I still love them both dearly. I think when you’re not well-represented in the media, you tend to hold onto the ones you identify with in other ways, and both Angie and Sandy played characters who I wanted to be. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a cross between Lara Croft and Miss Congeniality? (Okay, maybe a lot, but you get my point.)
My current Asian role model is Constance Wu. I talk about her so much I feel like she probably thinks I’m a stalker. But I love seeing her on Fresh Off The Boat, and I love how active she is in speaking out about representation in Hollywood. I know that Hollywood is a skewed view of our society, but it also has so much reach, so it’s important for that reach to be used in the right way, with proper representation.
- What are your thoughts on the #MeToo and #TimesUp movement, especially for the Asian American community?
As a supporter of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, I’d say my main thoughts on this is that the Asian American community cannot forget that there were people speaking out loudly against sexual harassment before this movement came along. We are complicit in ignoring black and African American voices who have laid some of the groundwork for this movement, and we should seek to listen and amplify those voices since we also know what it’s like to be ignored. We need to continue to make sure their stories, as well as our own, are not being dominated by purely white voices.
- Do you have any advice for young women looking to get into the radio industry?
The podcast industry is exploding right now, and many outfits are looking to hire good producers. I say know your way around basic storytelling structures, teach yourself some Pro Tools basics (unfortunately it’s the main tool used in most shops), and start making your own stuff while you’re looking for your first gig in the industry. Find a show that you admire and see if you can help them in some way. Apply to internships that pay and will teach you skills. Read all of transom.org and listen to HowSound. Figure out what kind of producers there are and what roles they play in the programs you want to work for. And keep making things that make you happy.