Comments on: Jon and Kate Plus Race

By: Sally

Sally — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:35:05 +0000

I agree with this. It takes time to teach children about their culture, and this meal was a good step, even if there was an insenstive joke or two made. The important thing is that the kids continue to have these experiences. As they get older, they can have more in depth discussion about their culture heritage.

I think the discussion of “who’s more Asian” was troublesome. Jon and Kate needed to address that more. The whole level of “asianess” could stick with those kids.

Much of the rest is kids being kids. They are at an age where they are learning about the world with less political baggage. And a lot of people where chopsticks in there buns as a contemporary hairstyle. it’s hard to tell if that was “let’s make you Asian” or just fun the chopsticks laying around.

By: Sally

Sally — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:28:08 +0000

I think there’s a gender discussion in there. ;)

Seriously, there is a lot of evidence of Kate’s need to control. Part of the need control and see things your way, which can apply to lense in which you see race in general.

By: All-Encompassing Mixed Race and Multi-Racial Body of Literature and Multi-Media « Memory, Learning, Culture, Networks, Spaces, Ecology, Expertises

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:27:19 +0000

[...] http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/23/guest-post-jon-and-kate-plus-race/ [...]

By: indian girl

indian girl — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:13:26 +0000

The children were indeed smelling the durian fruit directly. They commented on the fruit smelling yucky and not the store.

I don’t think this is culturally insensitive at all. Anyone who has been around the fruit understands exactly why it is banned in many places, including hotels.

It’s totally understandable on why Jon laughed. Most people who have experienced this fruit would laugh at children saying it was yucky smelling. You don’t go around telling your children to be more culturally sensitive to skunks smelling “different” so it shouldn’t be the same thing in regards to fruit that is culturally known as smelling “like hell” (but tastes “like heaven”).

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:14:31 +0000

Durian fruit are banned on public transportation in Singapore and on the Vietnamese national airline. I haven’t seen the show, but if they were talking about durian fruit they unequivocally do smell awful. (“Fresh from the anal ring of Satan”, as Stephen Fry memorably described it.)

By: mllesatine

mllesatine — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:19:44 +0000

Do we really criticise this family’s style of child-rearing based on a reality tv show?

The interesting question would be what the show decides to show and what they don’t show and why. But making assumptions about the parenting abilities of Jon and Kate seems a little harsh to me.

This means that Jon and Kate could have at least pulled out a map, pointed to Korea and explained that Koreans are people from that country.

I doubt that the children could have grasped the abstract meaning of the map. Making dinner is the better choice.

By: Jen

Jen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:27:37 +0000

Is Kate assuming the role of culturally superior Westerner or simply being a controlling wife?

I’m pretty sure Kate’s just a bitch. Fortunately for the rest of us, that goes beyond race.

By: 8Asians.com » When Ignorance Is Not Bliss: Jon Gosselin Shares his Korean Heritage his Kids

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:10:19 +0000

[...] irony of his statement is still hard for me to shake. Let me give you some context. Or rather, read this article for context. During a night when Jon wants to teach his children about their Korean heritage, he [...]

By: Vettekaas

Vettekaas — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:53:15 +0000

“Is there something so wrong with them interacting with race/culture/ethnicity in the same way other non-Korean families do?”

I don’t think the folks here are criticizing Jon and Kate particularly, but what this example reveals about the way we educate children about non-US cultures. Children are perfectly capable of going beyond the origami, etc, etc, stereotypes that we were fed, but we don’t go there. Many times, we don’t really get past that type of education based on stereotype until AFTER high school…. Why is that? Why is it that some students in my college-level French 101 class think that “Asian” is a language? And why is it that children in other parts of the world seem to be a lot more culturally aware than their American counterparts? These are the questions that the video clip are supposed to make us ask.

By: Links of Great Interest 9/25/09 | The Hathor Legacy

Links of Great Interest 9/25/09 | The Hathor Legacy — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:22:38 +0000

[...] Images has an interesting analysis of ethnicity in Jon and Kate Plus [...]

By: Sandra

Sandra — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:43:39 +0000

I didn’t see this episode as exoticism of Asian culture and, while the parents could be more culturally sensitive, so could nearly every parent of children of any color/race/ethnicity. The children are being raised as 3rd+ generation and neither of their parents seems to bring much of their European or Asian heritage to upbringing their children (language, customs, foods, holidays). Being raised in a similar kind of family (3rd generation Asian parent and Caucasian parent), I had a view of Asian culture that was similar to mainstream depictions of what defines Asianess…folding origami, eating rice, having narrow eyes. The nuances involved in ever really understanding a culture and how to appreciate differences are a lot for children to take in or, at least we only give them simplified versions of culture. If their (the children on the show) daily life is one of mainstream middle-class America, why should they have to learn such a complete, P.C. version of what being Korean-American means? Is there something so wrong with them interacting with race/culture/ethnicity in the same way other non-Korean families do? Why does being that particular race make them responsible for learning more about it?

By: Caroline

Caroline — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:47:01 +0000

that’s true, but china is called that because it’s,you know, from China, and Kate made the “china doll” comment in a context that clearly relates to their asian-ness.

By: Carla

Carla — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:07:55 +0000

Doesn’t the term “China doll” refer to those creepy dolls made of porcelin? I don’t think the term has anything to do with cultural identity at all…just the material that certain dolls are made from.

By: E.M.

E.M. — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:48:34 +0000

To people who say that there is too much being read into this episode, one thing I would add is that Kate has gone on the record calling her daughters “China dolls.” Mixed-race children have enough baggage to deal with (e.g. recent studies show higher rates of depression); I can’t imagine being exoticized by my own parent to that mix of identity issues.

http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/2009/05/kate-gosselins-asian-fetish.html

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:05:18 +0000

I agree. Also, I think that there is nothing problematic about projecting whatever nationality they choose unto their toys, so long as they are informed when they are using stereotypical personalities to exhibit the nationalities.