Medical Report for Le Thi Lien, by promqueen
Content warning: emotional and psychological trauma, death by suicide, depression, sexism, family trauma
Patient Name
Le Thi Lien*
Patient pronoun(s)
she/her
Patient birthdate
03/10/1958
Patient deceased
04/10/1987
Patient age
29
Hometown
Saigon, Vietnam
Patient History:
Exploitation
X Objectified
X War and genocide
X Psychological abuse
Domestic violence and abuse
X Colonization
X Lack of marital autonomy
X Oversexualized
X Patriarchal values
X Economic deprivation and poverty
History of Patient Blood Relatives:
X Oversexualized - mother, great grandmother
X Objectified - mother, great grandmother, older sister, younger sister
X Patriarchal values - mother, great grandmother, older sister, younger sister
X War and genocide - all family members
X Colonization - all family members
X Economic deprivation and poverty - all immediate family members
X Exploitation - all immediate family members
X Domestic violence and abuse - mother, great grandmother, older brother
X Lack of marital autonomy - older sister, mother, great grandmother
X Psychological abuse - mother, great grandmother, older brother
Patient Medication History
Date
September 4, 1980 - March 9, 1985
Name
Recreational dance
Dosage
1 - 2x each week; 4 hrs each time
What is it for?
Spending time with patient’s brother, most importantly. Meeting men, having fun and getting out of the house away from patient’s mother.
Over the past two weeks, how often have you been bothered by:
Having little interest or pleasure in doing things you usually enjoy?
Nearly every day More than half the days Several Days Not at all
Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?
Nearly every day More than half the days Several Days Not at all
Do you often have trouble sleeping?
Nearly every day More than half the days Several Days Not at all
Surgical history
Heart removal - February 19, 1985
Immediately stopped all written communications between patient and long distance boyfriend as demanded by patient’s mother.
Love and happiness removed and disposed of without consent, prep or anesthesia.
Side effects included: depression, emptiness, repressed anger, feeling lost and powerless in everyday conversation, isolation
Patient Summary Update
On April 10, 1987, patient ingested an entire package of rat poison and was declared deceased upon arrival at hospital. Reasons for death: anxiety, being forced to marry against patient’s will, stripped of autonomy, psychological and emotional abuse by mother.
*Le Thi Lien is a fictional character based on true stories.
Photo credit: Faith Fonseca
Whenever AAPI heritage month rolls around, I feel excited and confused. Like a parade that rolls by where I’m wanting to shout and celebrate but unsure of what I’m shouting for. Each year, I find myself easing more into this strange tension between the search for my cultural identity and what it means for me as a queer second generation Vietnamese American woman. I sense the tension that something isn't quite right, that certain experiences haven’t been acknowledged. I convince myself my own experiences are not a big deal, that we aren’t a big deal and what happens to us should stay silent but they pile up and overtime, begin to choke us.
Over the past 10 years, I documented my family’s history from Vietnam to the United States. Along the way, I learned many traumatic stories about the women in my family. They told their stories so commonly, in the same tone as one would describe an everyday trip to the grocery store. Each microaggression and trauma stacking up little by little. These women were negatively affected in some form whether that’s being oversexualized, spoken over, objectified, overpowered, gaslighted, and/or affected by sexual and racial microaggressions. Le Thi Lien’s medical report was the best way I could express something so deeply close to me, objective yet personal, and more importantly, giving voice to these experiences.
My music project, promqueen, has been a space where I am able to process these feelings and experiences. On this subject, I wrote a song called Exotic. I wanted to take a historically negative word for Asian women/nonbinary folks, reclaim the power on my own terms and rediscovered my pride. The imagery in this song is purposefully epic and strong. I painted a picture of us as exquisite creatures rising up out of the jungle, proud, massive and commanding respect by our mere existence.
This song is dedicated to my mom, aunt H, the Asian women/non-binary folks in my life, AAPI mothers, aunties, sisters, nieces and cousins. I believe we are incredible and capable. I believe we are meant to share in the pressures, anger, happiness, dreams, and whatever else that is hidden beneath us. I believe we are meant to be as we are, powerful exotic beasts.