Tracy H. and a friend were shopping in some expensive kitchen/housewares stores in Kits, an upscale neighborhood on the west side of Vancouver. In one store they came upon a display of kitchen utensils (salt and pepper shakers, timers, and so on) designed to look like Asians, complete with slanted eyes and what Tracy calls “rice-paddy hats”:
Here’s another set in the display case:
So we have a display case in an expensive store full of utensils meant to be cutesy and funny, and where items shaped like monkeys, rabbits, faceless blobs, and Asians are all presented as equivalent adorable, humorous, hip options.
UPDATE: Commenter London Mabel gave us a link to the National Palace Museum in Taiwan’s website; the Asian kitchen utensils are part of the “Chin Family Series’:
Drawing his inspiration from a picture of the young Chin seen on a visit to the NPM, one of ALESSI’s main designers Stefano Giovannoni created The Chin Family series– “Mr. Chin” and other items in the series including the salt & peppershaker set “Mr. and Mrs. Chin”, the eggcup and timer…Customers around the globe will have the opportunity to take home a piece of ancient Chinese history brought tastefully into fashion!
So what do you think? Cute? Neutral? Problematic? Does it make a difference that the majority of people who see them probably don’t know about the context and just seem them as Asian-themed utensils? Would people of Asian descent living in the U.S., Canada, and other countries possibly feel differently about seeing things like this on display or sale than the directors of the museum?
Other examples of modern racial caricatures on sale: golliwogs, mammie souvenirs in Georgia, and an Icelandic reproduction of 10 Little Negro Boys.
Comments 25
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist ! — October 10, 2009
If it was of little "cute funny black folks" there would be a huge uproar. Not so much for Asians and anyone who isn't white/black.
julian — October 10, 2009
OMFSM someone needs to start writing some serious letters.
Disgusting.
maria — October 10, 2009
where did the objects come from? i've been to quite a few international grocers and have seen imported figural pieces for tableware, bento boxes, etc that had "ethnically correct" features. plus, like Sabriel mentioned, there's quite a trend of "kawaii" and other Asian culture going on in the west- pop culture import stores are popping up (pardon the pun) in larger cities with cutesy figurines, stationary, etc with many of the characters the same way.
if they were traditionally dressed or otherwise someway identified as Asian and they had Americanized facial features, would we be upset that it was degrading the culture and trying to force our ideals of beauty?
Steph — October 10, 2009
Kits is a ridiculous place, anyways. Yet another reason to avoid it.
:) — October 10, 2009
In similar logic you would find matrjoška dolls as racist portrayal of russian slavic people...
I find it really hard to see any real racism in these figures. I think things like these expose the attitudes of the person that interprets their meaning more than they actually represent anything. Some people have really ridiculously sensitive sense about racial sensitivity. I think it tells a sad tale about a society in which race means so much that you have to make a big deal out of it in every situation. Real tolerance is about seeing past the racial issues when you meet different people or see different thing in life.
London Mabel — October 10, 2009
They're by an Italian designer, done in conjunction with the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.
http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/administration/services/news_02.htm?docno=232&pageno=8
A joint project between the National Palace Museum (NPM) in Taiwan and ALESSI in Italy, The Chin Family series is the perfect representation of “A Third Culture: East meets West”. In 2005, ALESSI and the NPM made an agreement to support this “Third Culture”. Today, at the global launch of the The Chin Family series, the NPM and ALESSI while bridging Taipei and Milan, have cultivated this modern culture that speaks to the essence of the NPM’s “Old is New” campaign.
Drawing his inspiration from a picture of the young Chin seen on a visit to the NPM, one of ALESSI’s main designers Stefano Giovannoni created The Chin Family series– “Mr. Chin” and other items in the series including the salt & peppershaker set “Mr. and Mrs. Chin”, the eggcup and timer. The series will be launched on May 23, 2007 at the NPM at which time merchandise will arrive in NPM gift shops and some 5,000 international ALESSI store locations. Customers around the globe will have the opportunity to take home a piece of ancient Chinese history brought tastefully into fashion!
seanpercy — October 10, 2009
I do agree with Sabiel that asian peoples are the object of more racism than other races in the U.S. A lot of times its posed as being directed at their culture and not their race, such as their language and "odd" customs.
I think that's a hard line to draw though and a majority of the time the "joking" degrades to hate and not humor.
I think there is this idea that asian men are feminine, and asian women are there to be conquered by "big, strong, American men." I've even had black friends that will get upset at rascism in the news or on t.v. but not think twice about laughing about a group of asian men walking by.
About this article though, I would say that I don't see anything particularlly racist about it. I mean those "caricatures" have been around for a very long time. A lot of asian art, mordern and ancient, include people with slanted eyes. It's not like they dont know that they have those features. I think it's more racist to assume that their is something wrong with it honestly. I personally think that people of asian descent have beautiful features, and if I had seen those kitchen utensils I wouldn't have assumed that they were trying to make fun of them.
Denise Lamanna — October 11, 2009
I used to work at a fancy tableware / kitchen shop that sold a lot of Alessi, including most of the pieces above. This is in Toronto, where we have a large Asian population, particularly Chinese & Korean. I don't know what to make of this, but many of the customers who came in for these particular Alessi pieces were East Asian.
Damien — October 11, 2009
I agree with "me too". People who dismiss accusations of racism as simply "sensitivity" obviously lack a better understanding of how racism is profoundly ingrained into the minds of individuals and entrenched in the institutions of capitalist society. You cannot compare Russian slavic dolls and East Asian dolls and say both deserve the same criticism because of the different contexts. One group of people has historically been oppressed in American society, and one group hasn't. The oppressed must always be defended by those who want to seriously fight racism.
Also, this whole "colorblind racist" notion - that if you just simply cover your eyes and not think about race then the problem will just go away - is just plain bullshit when you take into consideration the last couple of centuries in American society. The civil rights activists that had dogs mauling them in the streets while protesting and all the anti-racist activists killed throughout history - did they die in vain because they refused to simply "ignore" the prevalent racism and injustices that persisted throughout their daily lives? What about the abolitionists, what about the reconstructionists, the anti-racist populists, the communists of the 30's who fought racism tooth and nail even in their own party, and all of the dedicated activists who continue to fight today against racism? Are they fighting in vain simply because they're not color-blind?
When we say anyone who dares to stand up against racism is simply fanning the flames - its literally a punch in the face to all of the great historical figures such as MLK, Frederick Douglass, while more egregious and blatantly racist individuals of the past and present are given a slap on the wrist.
Elena — October 11, 2009
"Customers around the globe will have the opportunity to take home a piece of ancient Chinese history brought tastefully into fashion!"
Well, for values of "ancient" that are between four and one century old. The characters are dressed as Qing Dynasty Manchus.
Jysella — October 11, 2009
....What planet does this designer come from, again?
No, really. I see a lot of racist/prejudiced crap on this blog, but usually think that the makers must be uninformed, or thoughtless... But this takes the cake! Okay, were it not for the other things I personally would look at the monkeys with the Chinese-esque hats (I dunno the name) and think of Journey to the West, but the slit-eyed yellow "Chinamen"? This dude must have been raised by hyenas to think those were okay.
London Mabel — October 12, 2009
Googling about, it looks like lots of people have had similar reactions. I see a lot of "My Taiwanese parents don't see any problem with them, but I was shocked! Shocked!" Here's one author who contacted the people involved in the design:
http://www.id-mag.com/article/The_Squint_and_the_Wail/
As I'm not Taiwanese, I think it would be condescending for me to criticize the museum for making these, and it would seem that within Taiwan these figures are not troubling. But I do think the European company should have known how these figures would be racist within a western context.
And I completely disagree with those who say "these will only seem racist if you yourself are racist." Many Chinese-American groups have criticized and fought against the stereotype of Chinese people as "slanty-eyed." Non-Chinese folk who find these salt shakers offensive are just being sensitive to that fact, and I think that's a good thing.
Tiffani W — October 13, 2009
I respect the opinions of those who find these figurines offensive, but I just wanted to add my two cents that I find them really cute and would not hesitate to buy them if I needed little kitschy salt-and-pepper shakers for some reason.
I guess the main reason I don't find them problematic is that I don't see them as representative of *humans* or of a certain ethnicity; I see them more as little cartoon characters or dolls. The same way I don't think Snoopy looks like a real dog and I don't think Sailor Moon looks like a real Caucasian (or Asian person...or whatever she's supposed to be).
That said, I am certainly sympathetic to people who are offended by these kind of caricatures, particularly if they have had demeaning or hurtful experiences in the past with this sort of "kitschy"/"cutesy" racism, which could certainly be viewed as initializing. Although I don't agree with everything the other apologists have said, I do think the nature of the dolls does depend in part on who is evaluating them. People who have been negatively stereotyped, witnessed it, or participated in it are more likely to have those kind of connotations than I would since I have never personally experienced it.
Anyway, I don't think it's meant to be 'ironically racist', like the Amy Sedaris post from earlier, for example. I think it's just supposed to be cute, and of course "cute" is in the eye of the beholder.
Adenike — April 30, 2011
Racist is a powerful word that has been troubling the world for ages.Everybody have right to their opinions in life but we should always think twice and look at tings with respect,some people see this figurines as a way of remembering the beautiful cultures of asians anytime they see them,on the order hand some people see it as racist instrument.I think in all aspect of life Respect is a useful and powerful element,when there is repect for people and their different cultures,then the word racist wont mean anything to anybody.Slanty eye,Doe eye,Small eye,Big eye,we are what we are and EVERYBODY is beautiful in their own unigue ways.My people says that it is not our facial that defines who we are but our characters.Pls let us respect each other.stepfano giovannoni is definately not a nigerian name but he is free to come if he want to become a nigerian,everybody is welcome...