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Thursday, Nov 26, 2009
Defending harajuku girls and condemning trial by TV: Salon readers respond to articles by MiHi Ahn and Heather Havrilesky.
Apr 12, 2005 | [Read "Gwenihana," by MiHi Ahn.]
Finally, someone has spoken up about the sartorial atrocities Gwen Stefani and her pseudo-harajuku girls have been perpetrating. I've been fuming about her to anyone who'll listen!
I believe, in its most shallow form, that Asian culture is rather accepted in the United States. However, it is also grossly generalized. Those who do not have an intimate knowledge of any Asian country's culture seem to think we (Asian-Americans and Asian immigrants alike) are pretty costumes and exotic dishes. For example, cheongsam dresses and kimono-esque shirts are worn because they are so "exotic." As a Filipina, I cannot tell you how many times someone has said to me "Oh! I love adobo!" Yeah, that's great. Can you name one of our national heroes? I'll give you a hint: It's not MacArthur.
But the misconceptions don't stop there. Before a teacher of mine arrived for a poli-sci class, several students began to chatter on about the reading. One student had the audacity to say, "You know, we saved those Filipinos from the Japanese and the Spanish. MacArthur is like a hero over there! But do we hear any thanks from them!?" I've had a boyfriend say that my Filipina mother was just my white father's trophy wife. Many a wanker has told me that they are looking specifically for "light-skinned Filipinas who can speak Tagalog" because we make such good wives. Co-workers have informed me that Filipino men are "dirty" and "womanizing." The list goes on, and I'm sure many other readers can add their own stories.
Honestly, I don't think it would be too much to ask for Americans (white, black, and brown) to educate themselves on a deeper level about Asian (all of Asia, not just East Asia) or Asian-American history. How hard would it be to read a book on the history or culture of any Asian country? Or even to know who José Rizal is?
-- Aisha K. Ganzon
Finally! This is the first article I've seen on something that seems so obviously exploitative.
As a black woman I guess I'm accustomed to seeing racially and culturally insensitive images in the media, but I'm really surprised that there hasn't been more outrage about how Gwen Stefani is using these women.
-- Renee
Arrggh! I find it ultimately ironic that MiHi Ahn, in her effort to typify racial stereotyping, falls prey to her own form of prejudice and stereotyping, using the caricature of a "dumb cowboy" to make her point.
As a rancher's wife, I was often spoken to as if I were deaf (an experience I have in common with my good friend who does not speak English), had things pointed out to me as if I had a third-grade education, and was asked, "When can I talk to your husband about this?" on many occasions. I usually waited until the person had both feet in it before I would explain that I was a lawyer, the mayor, an editor...
It makes me absolutely crazy that Salon continually allows the depiction of those of us who live in the rural West as hicks, hillbillies and know-nothings. Would you allow such a depiction of a black cotton picker (yes, there are still black cotton pickers)?
Ms. Ahn, should she wish to be free of stereotypes, should examine her own soul and find those that she holds dear.
-- Peggy Carey
Ms. Ahn seems to be making the point that cultural appropriation is wrong if the original context is missing. Hello! What has Japan been doing with American culture for the past 40 years?
Somehow this teenage-girl fashion fad in Japan should be exempt from an American celebration/appropriation because it will rob it of its meaning. And yet, J-poppers insist on singing choruses in English, kids are wearing hip-hop fashion, and Kentucky Fried Chicken is fine, exotic gastronomique cooking.
I thought the "essentialist" argument, that it was essential for one to be part of something or believe fully in something to have a valid opinion about or right to that something, was killed in the '90s.
And besides, harajuku style, like punk and goth now, are nothing but "kawaii." What the hell is there to defend about cute?
-- Schaughn Bellows
