Grace Ly (born in 1979) is a French writer, podcaster and anti-racist and feminist activist.

Early life

Ly's parents are Cambodian Chinese. They fled the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

regime and arrived to France in the 1970s. In Grenoble, her father initially ran an Asian food restaurant. Ly and her family were the only Asians in their neighborhood. When Ly was 6 years old, her family moved to Paris. Ly studied law and subsequently worked for eight years for an entertainment company, in France and in London. She however did not find the corporate job fulfilling.

Focus on stereotypes about Asians

In 2011, Ly launched the blog ''Petite Banane'' (''Little Banana'') dedicated to food. The blog evolved from food to also discuss racial stereotypes that are associated with Asian food and Asian communities more broadly. This led Ly to launch the web-series ''Ça reste entre nous'' (''It Stays Between Us''). In her work, Ly denounces the

model minority A model minority is a minority demographic (whether based on ethnicity, race or religion) whose members are perceived as achieving a higher degree of socioeconomic success than the population average, thus serving as a reference group to outgroup ...

myth and the corrosive effect of positive stereotypes often associated with the Asian community in France. Imitating accents is one form of casual racism that Ly considers as offensive. Ly's first novel ''Une jeune fille modèle'' (''A model young girl'') was published in 2018. The book is a work of fiction inspired by her personal story.

Anti-racist work

In 2018 Ly launched the podcast ''Kiffe Ta Race'' (''Love Your Race'') together with the French journalist

Rokhaya Diallo Rokhaya Diallo (born 10 April 1978), is a French journalist, author, film-maker, and activist for racial, gender and religious equality. According to ''The New York Times'', she is “one of France's most prominent anti-racism activists.” She ...

. Ly cites among her influences author

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ( ; born 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian writer whose works include novels, short stories and nonfiction. She was described in ''The Times Literary Supplement'' as "the most prominent" of a "procession of criticall ...

References

External links

Official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ly, Grace 1979 births French anti-racism activists French feminist writers 21st-century French novelists French women novelists 21st-century French women writers Living people