Julia Kong
Julia Kong (she/her) is a Burmese Chinese American multi-hyphenate. Kong balances her life as an artist, model, “human on the internet” and aspiring actress with being a full-time marketing student.
Although she was initially unsure where her career would take her, Kong knew she’d dedicate her life to working at the intersection between art, social justice & entrepreneurship. While sharing her story of “accidentally becoming a model” online in conjunction with her writing, style and photography, modeling naturally became a tool to not only express herself creatively, but also to represent Asian Americans in a mainstream medium.
While sharing her experience navigating becoming a model online, Kong has built a strong community that openly discusses topics from navigating the Asian American identity to destigmatizing therapy to exploring sexuality to discovering life purpose— the list goes on.
In the future, Kong aims to become a working actor and also tell her own stories by writing and directing her own films. A deep entrepreneurial spirit lies within her, and she plans to one day to start her own business that can empower people & women of color.
March 21st Day 2
WOC in Media
With social media in all forms having the innate ability to reach millions of users across the globe, it is imperative that the term ‘influencer’ is more frequently applied to women of color. Diversity in the influencer industry conveys that women of color have a voice, that they represent beauty and intelligence and talent and power.
In which, a young Black girl scrolling through her phone can see a sponsored Instagram post of 4C hair products, where a South Asian teen can watch a TikToker gain popularity by displaying her cultural garb, dishes, and traditions, where any girl, regardless of if they conform to Eurocentric beauty standards, can feel represented and seen.