D. Cho sent in these t-shirts, which make fun of Asians who speak accented English:
Found here. The buck teeth, squinty eyes, and hat are a nice touch.
Found here.
The face on this one is supposed to be Kim Jong Il, and I believe the “Oh Reary?” references the movie “Team America, World Police,” though I bet a lot of people won’t get the reference and will think it just makes fun of how Asians supposedly speak:
This one (found here) might appeal to the man in your life you enjoys sex tourism to Thailand, if you’re looking for gift ideas:
This photo is interesting because they put the t-shirt that has a camel on it (and that plays on the derogatory term “camel jockey” often used for Middle Easterners) on a model who I think we are supposed to view as Middle Eastern–not quite the ethnic diversity in models that I’ve hoped for:
Why he is wearing four shirts, I do not know.
You might use them to talk about stereotypes and racial humor, or why people never tire of t-shirts with tired puns on them.
Comments 19
Naadir Jeewa — January 20, 2009
Reminds me of a sketch of British comedian Richard Herring's concerning a man wearing one of those t-shirts.
http://www.richardherring.com/warmingup/warmingup.php?id=1417
steff_ — January 20, 2009
The last shirt is "just" sexist and not racial humor.
"Camel toe" should be read as "girl/woman". The term "camel toe" is used to name the external labia which emerge under clothes (like tight elastic pants). Do you get it? Haha...camel toe!...haha (rofl)...isn't that funny?
Now serious: This is just another way to define how bodies are allowed to be shown in public. If you don't care about this "rules" (or don't know them) you make a fool of yourself and/or look ugly.
Back to the lovely printing: Women and girls are reduced to a part of their genitals. And our four-shirt-hero is...ta ta ta taaaaa...heterosexual!...and he takes his sexuality sportsmanlike. He plays the active part (because he "rides") and doesn't want to pay a lot of attention to the body and person which is connected to the "camel toe".
But now we have to look again at the whole picture which person wears this shirt.
Then we can see there are interwoven racial AND sexist stories and pictures.
MW — January 20, 2009
I would appreciate it if you could use "silly," "ineffective," or other adjectives when describing the puns, instead of "lame," which gives pejorative connotations to people with disabilities. Thanks.
MsFeasance — January 20, 2009
I second MW's comments.
"Tired," "ridiculous", and "uninspired" present more preferable terms.
Gwen Sharp, PhD — January 20, 2009
MW and MsFeasance--
Fixed. I never even thought of the connection to "lame" in that sense.
Sociological Images » LAUGHING AT “ENGRISH” — January 20, 2009
[...] Comments gwen on ASIAN STEROETYPES T-SHIRTSMsFeasance on ASIAN STEROETYPES T-SHIRTSMW on ASIAN STEROETYPES [...]
ryan — January 20, 2009
come on. Lame is a perfectly good adjective. It can be used perjoratively, but it can also mean weak or ineffective.
Oh well. I think that the "Kim Jong Il" shirt is actually Gordon Mah Ung, Senior Editor at Maximum PC. He's known for his "rants" on their podcast...this might be a reference to "Orly" which is an internet meem that does not have racial connotations (at least none that I'm aware of".
Check out Gordon Ung's "rant board" here for a pic:
http://www.leedash.com/rantsoundboard/
Gwen Sharp, PhD — January 20, 2009
Ryan--the short may not have been designed to be Kim Jong Il, but on the website that was selling it, it was listed as a Kim Jong Il t-shirt, at least. I *thought* the quote was a take on the movie "Team America: World Police," but I might be totally off on that.
Maddy — January 20, 2009
Not only are David and Goliath tees racist, sexist, and unfunny, but the founder of the company is a serial art thief. Check out http://www.miketyndall.com/todd_goldman/
Titanis walleri — January 21, 2009
"The last shirt is “just” sexist and not racial humor."
I think it's both...
Business Memes » LAUGHING AT “ENGRISH” — January 22, 2009
[...] by a recent post about a T-shirt where an Asian stereotype was saying I SPEAK ENGRISH, I thought of the perennial online popularity of “Engrish” in general. Engrish.com, one [...]
Ryan — January 27, 2009
Is it racist to find engrish funny. I know that I laugh at that stuff. But I'm not thinking "Dumb Asians" (I mean I'm sure if I had to translate a sign into Chinese...it'd be a total mess)
I'm just thinking...man that sign says "come here for a bowl of hot crap."
Which is puerile, but funny.
Anika — April 4, 2009
Maybe the guy wearing the "Camel-Toe" shirt thought it was funny too? I would think that this is likely seeing as he is more than likely middle-eastern and I'm sure not a moron who would put himself up to something w/out seeing the humour in it and agreeing to the humour himself.....
A lot of people can laugh at stereotypes about themselves sometimes, ya' know? Uber-PC'ness is quite annoying.....a lot in this country have gone over-board w/it....just my opinion.......
Mrpickles — June 28, 2009
MW, Your comment was lame. Unknown to you is that words have many meanings, just because lame in your word is a reference to "people with disabilities" doesn't make it the same for everyone. PC people like you make everyone's world just that much harder, get over yourself. Also that thing you just tripped over on the floor, its the Constitution, allows free speech, so bite me.
Sociological Images course guide: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders : Asian-Nation : Asian American News, Issues, & Current Events Blog — April 16, 2013
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