#16 Navigating media, dating apps, and finding love with ONCH

For the month of February, we sit down with queer Asian Americans to learn more about how they navigate finding love here in America.

 

This episode, we chat with ONCH, a nonbinary first-generation Taiwanese-American designer in LA about gaysian representation in media, racial fetishism, navigating finding love as a queer Asian, and the impact of social media and dating apps on today's culture.

 

ONCH is a non binary first generation Taiwanese American, the creative force behind the "ONCH" brand (previously known as Onch Movement), designing 'wearable art' for a discerning VIP client list that includes Kate Moss, Kim Kardashian, and Nicki Minaj. ONCH subsequently launched a long term relationship with cult fave Hello Kitty, which culminated in a recent role as designer for the brand's second collection at Forever21, The Hello Kitty Forever jewelry collection. The trend-setter whose work was even featured in a bio-technology textbook and Italian Vogue has also made headlines for daring & unique designs, from "Meat-Lace" meat necklace which was featured by the NY Post, LA Times, Huffington Post, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and In Touch. Summer 2016 ONCH was selected by LAPRIDE as the featured artist to create public art for the main instagrammable moment. Spring/ Summer 2019 six pieces of ONCH designs are on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY) for the exhibition "CAMP: Notes on fashion".

 

On this episode we over:

• How ONCH got started in designing jewelry.
• Being one of the only gaysians on reality TV.
• Immigrating to Los Angeles and finding oneself.
• Stereotypes of gaysians and racial "preferences". 
• Dealing with racial fetishism.
• Understanding the new era of dating apps.
• Social media how distant it has become from reality.
• Advice on finding love.

 

You can reach ONCH at:

• https://www.instagram.com/onch
• https://twitter.com/onch
• https://www.facebook.com/onchmovement/

 

You can follow me at:

• Instagram (instagram.com/stevenwakabayashi)
• YouTube (youtube.com/stevenwakabayashi)
• Weekly Newsletter (mindfulmoments.substack.com)