Iyan Moon Yang is one of the 21 people featured in No Manners Magazine’s inaugural Directory, a list of rising and well-established names around the world who are shaping culture and setting the tone for more inclusive, innovative and authentic global industries.
At only 20 years old, Iyan Moon Yang already has a considerable string of achievements under her belt. The content creator and model started posting on social media to express herself and connect with her friends. After finding success with her content and learning about social media as an industry, Iyan embarked on a deeper journey. Through her work on various projects, Iyan is on a mission to promote self-confidence, elucidate marketing biases and increase transparency in the media space.
Purposeful Social Media
As it is for many teenagers, social media was initially Iyan’s creative outlet. It was the place where she could share her passion for fashion and modeling, outside the strict uniform of the boarding school she attended at the time. Iyan’s journey as a content creator pivoted when an Instagram reel in which she shared an outfit went viral for the first time. She took this as encouragement to post more frequently, thereafter expressing her personal style and sharing anecdotes with a growing base of followers.
Eventually, Iyan introduced content related to her own experience growing up with monolids and tan skin. Thanks to the supportive comments she received, she realized there was a gap in digital content that she wanted to fill.
“I had very selfish motives when I started posting on social media,” Iyan reflects, laughing. “I had no grand idea like, ‘I’m going to make this better for all Asian women’ or ‘I’m going to change the world for the better.’ It didn’t start off like that… When I realized that it was having a positive impact, I was like, ‘wait, I can actually do something that’s more meaningful and bigger than myself’.”
Shaping the Modelling Industry
With newfound conviction, Iyan’s pastime transformed into a dedicated project. Rather than solely cataloguing her personal evolution, social media quickly became a platform for creating change.
At first, this manifested as dismantling toxic and long-standing beauty standards. Iyan posted content embracing her skin tone, monolids and curly hair. She documented her tumultuous quest to sign with a modeling agency, despite being shorter than the average model, while managing a packed academic schedule. Iyan even opened up about difficult conversations she navigated with her family, whose expectations for her career she had to slowly reconstruct.
Once Instagram posts and TikToks became runway shows, brand campaigns and billboard advertisements, Iyan understood there was even more to learn behind the camera. She took a step back and, after evaluating her aspirations, introduced a new, unexpected element to her life: legislative change.
“My biggest mission, in general, in doing modeling, working in social media and doing start-ups now, is always driven by the same philosophy,” she shares. “I want to do something that’s impactful and meaningful for the world and for my community.”
Thus, Iyan set her sights on increasing media literacy through public advocacy. After networking with professionals on both U.S. coasts and working with start-up companies in the media space, Iyan learned more about existing biases in market research. Specifically, as she explains, algorithms and artificial intelligence in market research and applicant screening are often skewed against minority communities because the models they are trained on lack sufficient representation in their data.
Beyond the Screen
Iyan’s mission is to bring the tastes and preferences of marginalized communities to the forefront—or, at the very least, to give them the equitable attention that they deserve. First, she is working with colleagues to create impact reports specifically tailored to Asian women. “Hopefully, we build connections with companies that are building these algorithms and distributing them, in order to make sure that our taste is properly accounted for,” she explains.
In tandem, Iyan seeks to pass a policy change that mandates increased transparency in how social media and AI algorithms shape our culture, with and without our knowledge. “I realized that being a public representation—whether that is appearing on a billboard or on somebody’s phone—is a bandage to the problem,” Iyan says. “It doesn’t get to the root of the cause. In order for me to create impactful and long-lasting change, I need to be looking under the cover.”
This undertaking will not be an easy one. According to a Sprout Social insights report, the majority of social media managers are white, millennial women. Oftentimes, this exacerbates the discrepancy between the voices that create content and the people they market to. Additionally, establishing regulations for social media and adjacent platforms is a complex process. All things considered, enacting change will prove a challenge. Iyan, for one, is not deterred in the least.
“If I’m being completely frank with you, I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing,” Iyan admits, laughing. “But we’re talking to a lot of different people already in policy to get this movement going.”
