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Stephanie Mei-Ling

@stephaniemeiling

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Photographer
Scorpio
Angeleno 🌴 in NY🗽
🇹🇼🌍🧿👽
Contact: [email protected]

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In big-business Manhattan and in the era of retail-chain ubiquity, the overwhelming majority of commercial venues in Chinatown—some 94%—remain small businesses. But today, this historic neighborhood faces the gravest threat to its existence since September 11, when its economy was crippled and its garment-factory industry decimated. Chinatown was walloped by 2020’s one-two punch: First, xenophobia and coronavirus-driven fears kept shoppers, diners, and tourists away at the start of last year, many weeks before the economic impact of the coronavirus was felt in the city’s other parts. (Chinatown reported profit losses of up to 70% as early as February 2020.) And then came the statewide shutdown orders that forced the vast majority of Chinatown businesses (including 85% of the 270-plus eateries) to quickly close their doors for many months on end. There has also been a rise in anti-Asian violence, motivated by racist misperceptions of COVID-19’s origin.

The families who work and live in Chinatown are the engine of this special corner of the city. But the achievements and tribulations of the community’s women have too often been under-recognized.

To shine a light on this neighborhood, Vogue visited four Chinatown mom-and-pops. We spoke with the women at their helms about weathering this exceptionally difficult period, managing the blurring of work and home innate to a family business—and, in honor of Mother’s Day, their mothers and deftly navigating the delicate mother-daughter relationship through it all.

Tap the link in our bio to see more.

Above: @wingonwoandco, said to be Chinatown’s oldest store, was founded in 1890. “I might be the fifth-generation owner, but my grandmother will always be the boss,” says Mei Lum (right), here with her mother, Lorraine (left), and grandmother, Nancy Seid. @wingonwoandco began as a general store selling Chinese staples, canned goods, and a small collection of porcelain. The shops were also hubs for people to gather and keep track of each other amid the anti-Chinese sentiment that fueled the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

Story written by Lisa Macabasco (@macabasco) Photographed by @stephaniemeiling

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This article in @voguemagazine is wonderful.
You can find it on @voguemagazine link in their bio
Titled The Mothers and Daughters Fighting to Keep Chinatown Alive.
Like so many New Yorkers Chinatown is one of my most favorite destinations in NYC. Has been since I was a very little girl.
My love of this community is no secret and I know I'm not alone.
As NYC opens up again and we all start making plans, I hope everyone will keep Chinatown and it's restaurants, businesses and lively streets on your list of places to visit, explore, enjoy and eat well!!!!
X,
SJ

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June 11 ! @bettyhbo @hbo @theskatekitchen Let’s do this ! Can’t wait to share this season with you. Such an incredible group from the writers room to production to my edit crew in Belgium. I would say this season things get weird. 🐙🐱

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It was @Chanel_Porchia’s first pregnancy that changed her path in life. After experiencing what she describes as a “sterile” experience in the traditional medical system, she knew that wasn’t the experience she wanted. She quickly enlisted a Black doula to support her through birthing and postpartum. “It was very fluid, I was able to do what I needed to do without any restrictions,” says Porchia-Albert. “It was like the freedom to just be free, to be in your body, to be in your emotions.”

Porchia-Albert went on to found @AncientSong in 2008 at her home in Brooklyn, New York. At the time, it was still normal to ask, “What even is a doula?” Porchia-Albert wanted to make birthing support available and accessible to women who needed personalised care the most. (Research has found that maternal morbidity rates for Black women are more than three times higher than their white counterparts, while other statistics reveal that a saddening 60 per cent of deaths among Black women during childbirth may have been avoidable.)

Over the course of her career, Porchia-Albert’s work would reveal the inequality of the medical system, the strength it takes to advocate for women and babies, and the importance of teaching autonomy.

Tap the link in our bio to learn more via @VogueMagazine.

Photographed by @StephanieMeiling

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“Mei-Ling is a combination of my mother's name, 玲玲 / Ling Ling, and my auntie's name, 美美 / Mei Mei. My grandfather named my mother after a famous actress at the time, and the name Ling means the sound of jade or the tinkling of jade. My auntie's name, Mei, means beautiful. According to the 2010 Taiwanese census, Mei-Ling was the third most popular name for women.”

Self-portrait, BK 2022
📷 @stephaniemeiling

Shoutout to @ari.mejorado for spotting & thanks to @stephaniemeiling for this beautiful photo & story.

#documentingthenameplate

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Tender tendrils

“El Grito” by Stephanie Mei-Ling and “Looking Up” by Carmen Chan, Issue 11

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I wonder if my mom knew when she named me her Jr. how beautifully all the plans The Creator already had for us would unfold.

Black Women embracing each other, and focused on being the brightest example of light we can be with the time we have on this 🌍. Only right that we shot this magazine spread in our truest state — grounding in nature, giving thanks for life and community.

Thank you @coltranecurtis @mslisachu and my @teamepiphany fam for providing the training grounds, guidance, and culture that have given me irreplaceable tools for success. Always have to give flowers where they’re due💐

@broccoli_mag issue 16 is now available shot by the divine @stephaniemeiling 📸

Thankful —
🎽 @s_weleh + @auntsetuncles
👖 @smalls_studio
👟 @unionlosangeles
🧢 @supervsn

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Photo by @stephaniemeiling a portrait photographer based in Los Angeles, CA | New York has the second largest Carribean population in the US next to Florida, and on Labor Day, the West Indian Day parade has become a celebration that honors the heritage and traditions brought to the US by those that immigrated here. It's a beautiful celebration of the Carribean culture that makes New York such a unique place. Spending Labor Day in Brooklyn on the Parkway is one of my favorite NY things.
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Hi this is @whitneyhollingtonmatewe, Digital Photo Editor for @newyorkermag, curating the Women Photograph Instagram feed this week spotlighting the work of Black and African-American women and non-binary photographers.

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Photo by @stephaniemeiling a portrait photographer based in Los Angeles, CA | "Slauson" explores themes of culture, identity, erasure, history and community. As gentrification is aggressively reshaping physical and cultural landscapes, this project is part of a larger series that aims to preserve the rich history of Black communities by documenting the citizens that still live there.
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Hi this is @whitneyhollingtonmatewe, Digital Photo Editor for @newyorkermag, curating the Women Photograph Instagram feed this week spotlighting the work of Black and African-American women and non-binary photographers.

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Stephanie Mei-Ling (@stephaniemeiling) is a freelance photographer based in NY and LA. I began taking self portraits a week after stay-at-home orders were enforced here in Los Angeles. These sessions have not only been an outlet for creativity, but on a deeper level it allows me to explore (and document) the feelings and emotions that come up for me week after week of being self-isolated. Each day presents an opportunity for self-discovery.
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This week we are sharing photos from our members currently in North America participating in the collaborative project @wpthejournal, which gives a unique look into the current pandemic from our photographers' perspectives. The project is organized by Charlotte Schmitz (@_charlotteschmitz_) & Hannah Yoon (@hanloveyoon). Freelance photographers have been affected by covid-19 and will continue to be impacted as we face this global health crisis. In addition to this group project, @womenphotograph is also organizing an emergency fund to help photographers affected during this time. To donate, click the link in our bio!
#coronavirus #covid19 #stayhome #womenphotograph #wpthejournal

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@mfonfoto ‘s In Conversation:
Visual Meditations on Black Masculinity

this exhibit was so tender + pure. so glad i made it on closing day.

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