Corporate Cultural Incompetence
by Joanna K. Lui, Editor-In-Chief

It's been said that Asian Americans are a silent minority, content to work hard and stay silent on political matters. If that's the case, in the past year, people who believed this were in for a shock by exactly what this "silent minority" could achieve.

Clothing companies and retailers have often ignored the presence of minorities, even while acknowledging their enormous spending power and embracing the millions of dollars flowing in by sales of its products to minorities each year. But early this year, there was a strange new twist to this age-old story. Abercrombie & Fitch is a brand that was entirely built on a marketing strategy that promoted Abercrombie as epitomizing the American lifestyle and "look".

However, their new line of clothing featuring stereotypical Asian caricatures and demeaning word plays, such as: "Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make It White", "WOK-N-BOWL - Chinese Food and Bowling" and "Buddha Bash, Get Your Buddha on the Floor" reveal how little they really know about what is truly American. This sparked a nationwide call to boycott A&F and protests in front of stores nationwide, including two in New York City. People mobilized around this issue in a matter of days with online petitions and emails spreading like wildfire. Political groups and media sources were alerted with even CNN devoting an article to this debacle. After the outrage and mobilization by Asian Americans and non-Asian Americans alike, the shirts were eventually pulled and a public apology was made.

Even as everyone thought that this was all over, a few months later, someone discovered similarly racist shirts being sold at Target Stores nationwide, proving that this was not the last we would see of racist clothing. These shirts, made by the clothing brand Mossimo, read "China Bowl Imperial Bowling and Dim Sum Establishment: Lucky Balls Strike Hard, With a Strike you get an Eggroll". Nevermind the disgusting sexual innuendo, what's even more shocking is that Mossimo is headquartered in California, arguably the state with the largest Asian population. One would think awareness of racial issues would be highest in California - apparently not. I guess even large numbers don't guarantee consideration in the design process.

Moreover, this is not the first time that Target has been boycotted over purchasing and selling controversial products. They had previously pulled a line of clothing featuring "88", a white supremicist and Neo-Nazi symbol for Heil Hitler. They responded to the controversy by pulling the line and assuring the public that "steps will be taken to educate the company's advertising and buyers' departments and help them recognize any racist, offensive imagery on future merchandise". However, that proved an empty promise as the Asian controversy came to a boil in September over the previously mentioned shirts. It took about a month before Target finally pulled the shirt from all their stores.

Again, it would seem like we should give companies the benefit of the doubt, but come October, another disturbing case of racist apparel popped up. A costume marketed for kids called "Kung Fool" was discovered being sold at Party City, Wal-mart, Spencer's Gift and - surprise surprise - Target stores. Disguise.com, self-billed as "the world's largest costume company", had designed this costume and distributed it nationwide. Who knows how many children purchased this costume before it was discovered? According to a writer for Yellowworld.com, "The squinty-eyed, bucktoothed image portrayed by the "Kung Fool" costume has long been used to dehumanize and degrade people of Asian descent. Those who say this type of caricature is not racist may be unaware of the historical legacy of racism and oppression that has faced Americans of Asian ancestry." While the designers may ultimately be to blame, what's more revealing is that the purchasing departments of all these stores didn't see anything wrong with the costume and that customers didn't complain earlier.

One strike, understandable. Second strike, forgivable. Third strike, you're out. Realizing that these are not isolated incidents, it then becomes apparent that this is a system-wide problem and that there exists a complete ignorance or disregard of the racial history of Asians in America. Still doubtful? Consider the statement of a spokesperson for Abercrombie & Fitch made directly after the recall: "The thought was that everyone would love them, especially the Asian community. We thought they were cheeky, irreverent and funny and everyone would love them - but that has not been the case." Irreverent humor? Yes, irreverent to the struggles of Asian Americans to overcome unfair regulations that restricted their freedoms. Initially, Asian Americans typically worked at laundromats and take-out restaurants because those were the only business options open to them if they wanted to own their own business. The image of a grinning slanty-eyed Asian in a paddy hat came directly out of the Yellow Peril era where Asians were thought to be devious and an insidious menace. In addition, how could we love an image of a slanty-eyed yellow man that brings back memories of childhood taunts of "Ching Chong Charlie"?

The images and messages of these clothes were obviously racist, hence the immediate outrage and the eventual recall of the clothes, and yet had managed to pass through scrutiny by respective marketing and purchasing departments. There needs to be stronger measures to prevent products like these from ever reaching store shelves. It starts by teaching children about the racial history for all groups in America, but for now, better internal monitoring and cultural sensitivity workshops are a good start if companies abide by their promises for reform. We have remedied the current situations by united action and efforts to raise awareness, but pulling the products is not the solution. We have reminded companies that we are not invisible and silent customers, but customers who they can't risk alienating by racist policies. Only by increasing awareness can people understand the racism behind popular sources of humor. Racism is not funny and it is not for sale.