Merle Woo’s “Letter to Ma”
Relationships with mothers are almost never easy. In Merle Woo’s, “Letter to Ma” she
writes an open letter to her mother about her thoughts on racism, sexism, life as a “yellow
feminist”, and her response to her parents’ passiveness to all of this. Woo does this through a
collection of stories of her life, her mother’s life, and Woos’ own perception of what life as an
Asian American woman should be. Her letter addressed feminist issues as she focuses on a lack
of equality and power that women and Asian-Americans face.
Merle Woo is an educated, queer woman, who has spent her life working in social justice.
Working at universities, being an accomplished writer, and benefiting the free speech movement
with several lawsuits are just a few of her accomplishments. Woo has used her writing and voice
