Mochi (magazine)

Last updated
Mochi
Mochi-Magazine-black.png
EditorGiannina Ong (2021-present)
Former editorsJennifer Duann Fultz (2019-2021), Stephanie Wu (2008-2018)
Categories Lifestyle, Fashion, Entertainment, Beauty, Career, College, Relationships, Politics
First issueFall 2008
Country United States
Based in New York City
LanguageEnglish
Website www.mochimag.com

Mochi Magazine (also known as Mochi or Mochi Mag) is an online magazine that serves as a destination for Asian American women to share their stories, experiences, and passions. Mochi's mission is to amplify Asian voices and support the growth and inclusion of Asian American women.

Contents

Mochi was founded by Maggie Hsu, Stephanie Wu, and Sandra Sohn in 2008. [1] [2] The magazine's conceived goal was to "provide a community for Asian American teenage girls to access sisterly advice and gain self-esteem", with articles written from a range of perspectives, including high school students, college women, young professionals, and other role models. [3] The magazine was originally intended to be a print publication, but transitioned online to appeal to a younger audience, overcome printing costs and reach a wider geographic range of readers. It is entirely run by an all-volunteer staff. [4]

Current members of the executive board include Giannina Ong, Sarah Jinee Park, Melody Ip, and Adelina Sun. [5]

Features

Mochi has served as a catalyst for conversation on the Asian American identity in the film, music, politics, fashion and everyday life. [6] [7] The first issue had actress Brenda Song as a cover girl, which was arranged through the founders' connection to the entertainment industry. [8] Since then, Mochi has interviewed multiple prominent role models in the Asian American community, including YouTube beauty vlogger Michelle Phan, Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang, The Bling Ring actress Katie Chang, comedian Margaret Cho, professional golfer Michelle Wie, Bay Area politician Evan Low, Big Hero 6 actor Daniel Henney, Mandopop singer Wang Leehom, and K-pop group f(x)'s Amber Liu, among others.

In 2010, Mochi released the first and only comprehensive college guide for Asian American teens. [9] A year later, Mochi compiled a list of twenty-five influential Asian American youth in an article called "The Ultimate 25 under 25", published in the Spring 2011 issue. Although entertainment and beauty articles have attracted the majority of site hits, Mochi has also published a diverse collection of articles pertaining to health, mental well-being, relationships, food, travel and culture.

Over the years, Mochi writers have addressed hard-hitting issues in the Asian American community, such as the Asian American body image, the model minority myth, the "bamboo ceiling", and stigma surrounding LGBT identity and interracial dating. Since 2011, Mochi has published a series of articles on safe sex and protection against STDs. [10] With the rise of the digital age, there has been an increasing focus on articles guiding young women interested in pursuing technology careers. [11]

Events and Partnerships

Live Networking

In October 2011, Mochi hosted its first live networking event called "Faces of Mochi" in New York's Folli Follie store, [12] celebrating the launch of its Fall 2011 issue, thus gathering young Asian Americans all across the country for a night full of fashion and fun. [13] In September 2012, Mochi hosted its first open model call at the Work Gallery in Ann Arbor, Michigan. [14] In the following years, Mochi continued to hold special events, including wine socials, shopping experiences at BaubleBar (March 2013) [15] and Club Clio (May 2015), [16] chocolate tastings with ROYCE' Chocolate (June 2013) [17] [18] and movies screenings (November 2013). [19]

Panels and Workshops

Mochi has a growing presence at journalism workshops and Asian American community events. Executive board members and staff members have presented at the Midwest Asian American Students Union (MAASU), the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU), [20] and the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association (ITASA). [21] In November 2013, co-founder Maggie Hsu visited several East Coast collegiate organizations including the Chinese Students' Association, Sangam and Taiwanese Society at UPenn [22] and Kappa Phi Lambda sorority at University of Connecticut. [23]

Collaborations

Mochi has partnered with various Asian American interest groups such as the Banyan Tree Project, Audrey , NYU-based Asian American publication Generasian, Kollaboration, ITASA, Harvard University's Identities Fashion Show, Amp Music Festival, [24] Lunar New Year Festival by Xi'an Famous Foods, and others, through co-hosted events and sponsored posts.

Recognition

Mochi earned recognition as an up-and-coming business venture at the Harvard Asian American Alumni Summit in 2010, reaching the semi-finalist stage of the Elevate Pitch Competition. Semi-finalists were chosen by a panel of judges "based on the creativity, integrity and originality of their ideas, as well as worthiness of funding." [25]

"Diagnosing the Asian American Eating Disorder," an article written for the Winter 2010 issue, was later republished in the 2012 edition of Eating Disorders (Opposing Viewpoints), a Cengage textbook. [26] Other articles by Mochi have been cited by major media outlets in the past, including New York Magazine, [27] Complex, [28] XoJane, [29] and VICE. [30]

Past issues

Mochi released 33 issues since 2008. [31]

Issue TitleDateCoverNotable Features
PremiereFall 2008 Brenda Song Romi Dames, Justin Nozuka, James Kyson
TechnologyMidyear 2009 Yin Chang Jerry Yang, Tao Lin
GreenFall 2009 Susanna Lau Tim Be Told, Afterschoolspecial
CollegeSpring 2010 Harry Shum Jr. Nikki SooHoo
TravelSummer 2010 Michelle Wie Lindy Tsang, Justin Chon
InfluenceFall 2010 Margaret Cho, Evan Low, Lela Lee, Zee Avi, Eva Chen, Jon Chu, Janet Hsieh, Chang-Rae Lee, Shaun Evaristo, Hannah Song
BodyWinter 2010 Marié Digby Karla Garcia, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle
YouthSpring 2011 Kelsey Chow Eddie Huang
OopsSummer 2011 Priscilla Ahn Lisa See, Lynn Chen
PioneerFall 2011 John Cho, Kal Penn Phil Yu, Joseph Vincent
RelationshipWinter 2011 Far East Movement Jay Chou, Toni Ko
UnderdogSpring 2012 Jeremy Lin Clara Chung, Aziatix, Jubilee Project
ReinventionSummer 2012 Jamie Chung David Choi, Jane Lui, Jason Jean
Style [32] Fall 2012Marissa Webb Daniel Henney, Steve Byrne
RomanceWinter 2012 Katie Chang Munemi Imai, Victoria Tsai
Self-MadeSpring 2013 Ellen Wong Khalil Fong, D-Pryde, Jessica Yu, Claudia Chan, Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani
FearlessSummer 2013Dara Shen Christine Ha
DreamerFall 2013 Michelle Phan Evan Jackson Leong, Rie Tsuji, Nicki Sun
SpiritWinter 2013 Nicole Gale Anderson Tao Okamoto, Anna Akana, Hollis, Kevin Kwan
OutspokenSpring 2014 Katrina Law Arden Cho, Yen-j, Cassey Ho, Maya Erskine, Cole Horibe
AdventureSummer 2014 Jessika Van AGNEZ MO, Peter Adrian
AmbitionFall 2014 Kimiko Glenn Ki Hong Lee, Reshma Shetty, Linda Cho
CelebrationWinter 2015 Kina Grannis Diana Bang, Awkwafina
PowerSpring 201525 Influentials Leehom Wang, Amber Liu
MenSummer 2015 Eugene Lee Yang Wong Fu Productions, Ross Butler
FutureWinter 2016 Samantha Futerman and Anais Bordier Daniel Wu, Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, Michelle Tan
SelfishSummer 2016 Krista Marie Yu George Young, Kristen Li, Run River North
UnityFall 2016Vanessa Lee Rachael Yamagata, Karen Fukuhara, Yul Kwon, Miki Agrawal
ResilienceSpring 2017 Hayden Szeto Manny Jacinto, Eva Noblezada, Tammy Duckworth, Kamala Harris, Mazie Hirono
VisibilityFall 2017 Sonya Balmores Filharmonic, Melissa Polinar, Kevin Yee, Jae Jin, Shei Phan
AnniversarySummer 2018 Liza Koshy, Nadya Okamoto, Schuyler Bailar, Auli’i Cravalho Lana Condor, Hailee Steinfeld, Elizabeth Ho, Jessica Nguyen, Broti Gupta
FamilySummer 2021N/AParents Are Human, Elizabeth Miki Brina, Quincy Surasmith, Mai Nguyen
Very SuperstitiousFall 2021N/APeter Chan, Suttirat Anne Lalarb, Ashly Burch, Kat Chow, Jenny Qi
Cultural CapitalWinter 2022 Eva Chen, Sophie Diao
Everyday Asian AmericanSummer 2022Darrell Fuentes
PoliticsFall 2022
HolidayHoliday 2022
EnvironmentWinter 2023Jenny Nguyen
ArtSummer 2023Jo Bulaong
FriendshipWinter 2024

Related Research Articles

<i>Cosmopolitan</i> (magazine) American fashion and culture magazine

Cosmopolitan is an American quarterly fashion and entertainment magazine for women, first published based in New York City in March 1886 as a family magazine; it was later transformed into a literary magazine and, since 1965, has become a women's magazine. Cosmopolitan is one of the best-selling magazines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taiwanese Americans</span> Americans of Taiwanese birth or descent

Taiwanese Americans are an ethnic group in the United States consisting of Americans with full or partial ancestry from Taiwan, including American-born citizens descended from Taiwanese migrants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soochow University (Taipei)</span> Private university in Taipei, Taiwan, originally founded in Suzhou, China

Soochow University is a private university in Taipei, Taiwan. Soochow University maintains a church and a Methodist minister in residence, though it may be considered a secular institution. The university is noted for studies in comparative law and accounting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Pratt</span> American journalist

Jane Pratt is the founding editor of Sassy, Jane and xoJane. She is the host of the talk show Jane Radio on Sirius XM Radio.

<i>Nylon</i> (magazine) American fashion magazine

Nylon is an American multimedia brand and publishing company, which produces a lifestyle magazine that focuses on pop culture and fashion. Its coverage includes art, beauty, music, design, celebrities, technology and travel. Originally a print publication, it switched to an all-digital format in 2017. Its name references New York and London, and it is currently owned by the Bustle Digital Group. The magazine will return to print in 2024.

<i>Essence</i> (magazine) US magazine for African-American women

Essence is an American monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women.

Elle Girl was the largest older-teen fashion and beauty magazine brand in the world with twelve editions. Launched in August 2001, it was the younger sister version of Elle magazine, and similarly focused on beauty, health, entertainment and trendsetting bold fashion—its slogan: "Dare to be different". The magazine was published monthly and was based in New York City.

<i>Allure</i> (magazine) American womens magazine

Allure is an American women's magazine focused on beauty, published monthly by Condé Nast in New York City. It was founded in 1991 by Linda Wells. Michelle Lee replaced Wells in 2015. A signature of the magazine is its annual Best of Beauty awards—accolades given in the October issue to beauty products deemed the best by Allure's staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plus-size model</span> Type of model

A plus-size model is an individual size 12 and above who is engaged primarily in modeling plus-size clothing. Plus-size clothing worn by plus-size models is typically catering for and marketed to either big, tall or overweight men and women. Plus-size models also engage in work that is not strictly related to selling clothing, e.g., stock photography and advertising photography for cosmetics, household and pharmaceutical products and sunglasses, footwear and watches. Therefore, plus-size models do not exclusively wear garments marketed as plus-size clothing. This is especially true when participating in fashion editorials for mainstream fashion magazines.

The East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU) is a left-of-center 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes awareness of Asian and Pacific Islander social issues. Run by volunteers, ECAASU's advocacy work is conducted through outreach to AAPI student organizations across the United States and by educating individuals through various programs throughout the year. ECAASU hosts an annual conference, currently known as the largest and oldest conference in the country for Asian American students. The organization's membership is primarily composed of universities from the eastern United States, while its annual conferences draw students and activists from throughout the United States. ECAASU was originally established in 1978 as the East Coast Asian Student Union (ECASU) before changing its name at a 2005 conference. It currently attracts over 1,500 students to its annual conference. The largest ECAASU was held at the University of Pennsylvania which was attended by almost 1,700 students. Likewise, the 2013 ECAASU conference held at Columbia University drew in over 1,500 students from over 200 different colleges.

<i>Thirteen Minutes Magazine</i> US magazine

Thirteen Minutes Magazine is a magazine published by in the United States which covers high fashion, Asian women's beauty, movies/TV, food, and popular culture. The magazine was started in 2005. It is a magazine about bicultural Asians and those interested in Asian culture. Its headquarters is in Orange County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Subways</span>

"Miss Subways" was a title accorded to individual New York City women between 1941 and 1976. In the early years, the woman named Miss Subways appeared on posters in New York City Subway trains, along with a brief description of her. In 1957, with 14,000 placards within trains, it was estimated that 5.9 million people viewed Miss Subways, daily. Around 200 women held the title during the 1941-76 program run by the New York Subways Advertising Company.

<i>Yoga Journal</i> American magazine on yoga as exercise

Yoga Journal is a website and digital journal, formerly a print magazine, on yoga as exercise founded in California in 1975 with the goal of combining the essence of traditional yoga with scientific understanding. It has produced live events and materials such as DVDs on yoga and related subjects.

<i>Look</i> (UK magazine) Defunct British glossy fashion and celebrity weekly magazine

Look was a glossy high street fashion and celebrity weekly magazine for young women that ran for eleven years (2007–2018). It was published by TI Media, and edited by Gilly Ferguson. The magazine focused on fashion, high street shopping advice, celebrity style and news, and real-life stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Macklowe</span> American socialite and entrepreneur

Julie Macklowe is an American socialite, philanthropist and entrepreneur, who married into the Macklowe family.

Jameson Hsu is a Taiwanese-American executive who is the CEO and co-founder of Mochi Media, a technology company that builds tools and services for content developers and distributors. Prior to Mochi Media, Hsu co-founded the interactive advertising agency, WDDG.

<i>xoJane</i> American online womens magazine

xoJane was an American online magazine from 2011 to 2016 geared toward women and founded by Jane Pratt and co-published by Say Media. Pratt was the founding editor of Sassy and Jane magazines.

Bustle is an online American women's magazine founded in August 2013 by Bryan Goldberg. It positions news and politics alongside articles about beauty, celebrities, and fashion trends. By September 2016, the website had 50 million monthly readers.

Allan Gregorio is a Brazilian visual artist and portrait photographer. His work has been featured internationally in magazines such as Vogue, Attitude Magazine, The Face and Dazed.

References

  1. "Five Questions with Maggie Hsu and Stephanie Wu". Changing Faces of America. February 19, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  2. "Maggie Hsu – Co-Founder of Mochi Magazine and "Older Sister"". 100 Passionate People. TaiwaneseAmerican.org. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  3. "About Us". Mochi Magazine. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  4. Nelson, Lani (2015). "Mochi Magazine". Sinovision Journal.
  5. "Mochi's Team". Mochi's Team.
  6. Harper, Yi (July 2013). "Mochi Magazine: A Voice for Asian American Girls". Her Campus.
  7. Johnson, Torri (January 2015). "15 Awesome Feminist Reads for the New Year". Hello Flo.
  8. Tsai, HoChie (May 2015). "Maggie Hsu – Co-founder of Mochi Magazine for Young Asian American Women". Taiwanese American.
  9. "Mochi Magazine to Launch First Comprehensive College Guide for Asian American Teens". Foundasian. April 6, 2010.
  10. "Relationship Issue, Winter 2011". Mochi Magazine. 2011.
  11. Hu, Tiffany (Spring 2014). "Want a Career in Tech? Here's How Three Women Did It". Mochi Magazine.
  12. Nguyen, Derek (October 28, 2011). "Mochi Mag". Popstyle Cle.
  13. "FACES OF MOCHI, OCTOBER 22". Angry Asian Man.
  14. Huang, Stephanie. "Open Model Call for Mochi Magazine". Taiwanese American Professionals - Chicago. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  15. BaubleGLAM (video). New York: Mochi Magazine. 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  16. Mochi x Club Clio NYC Beauty Event (video). New York: Mochi Magazine. 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  17. Mochi Magazine Presents: A Taste of Royce Chocolate (video). New York: Mochi Magazine. 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  18. "Event With Mochi Magazine". Aromaflage. Jun 25, 2013.
  19. Mochi Mag http://www.mochimag.com/events/linsanity-screening.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. "Saturday Session - Workshop Tracks". ECAASU - East Asian American Student Union. Washington DC. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  21. "ITASA NYC 2013-Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Student Association East Coast Conference". ITASA NYC. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  22. "Mochi Madness!". Penn Chinese Students' Association. October 30, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  23. "Events". Mochi Magazine. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  24. "Media Partners". Amp Music Festival 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  25. "Harvard Asian American Alumni Summit 2010". 2010.
  26. Low, Elaine. "Elaine Low (Clips)".
  27. Pressler, Jessica (November 8, 2011). "Gossip Girl Recap". New York Magazine.
  28. Aquino, Tara (March 11, 2013). "25 Breakout Actresses You Need to Know". Complex.
  29. Duan, Noel (August 12, 2012). "'Fat for an Asian:' The Pressure to be Naturally Perfect". xoJane.
  30. Lui, Samantha (October 7, 2016). "How Young Asian Makeup Artists Are Challenging Beauty Industry Norms". VICE.
  31. "Past Issues". Mochi Magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  32. "Mochi Style for young Asian American women". Asian American Press. 5 November 2012.