Orientalist Kitsch and Racism

Paper Summary:

The writer contends that clothing produced for his campus stores is an inappropriate venue for orientalist kitsch because the goal of the gear is money-making, not consciousness change. The writer argues that the t-shirts send the message that exploitation is fine when it is done in the name of financial gain. The writer strongly believes that Asian-Americans must not be exploited for the capital gains of the dominant culture.

From the Paper:

""Surreal," described one student on campus after being shown the new line of Orientalist-kitsch t-shirts, sweatshirts, baseball caps, and other paraphernalia. I see what she means; the new line of clothing is eerily reminiscent of the Abercrombie & Fitch fiasco several years back. When I asked a salesperson in the campus store about the clothes, the individual shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't see anything wrong with it. It's just a joke, I think it's funny.
"Funny? Why not design a sister line depicting blackface minstrel characters like Sambo? Or t-shirts with a Muhammad caricature. Reactions to the racial slurs seeping into pop culture and defended as being jokes can be far from funny. The new line of Orientalist kitsch should be removed from our campus stores immediately. Just as Abercrombie and Fitch recalled their line of offensive clothing, so too should our campus stores."

Sample of Sources Used:

• El Boghdady, Dina. "Abercrombie & Flinch." Washington Post. May 4, 2002. P. E01.
• Hill, Logan and Tu, Thuy Linh Nguyen. "Nude Japanese Schoolgirls! Lotus Blossoms! Radical Feminists?" The Vilage Voice. August 22-28, 2001.
• Nguyen, Mimi. "Orientalist Kitsch."
• Strasburg, Jenny. "Abercrombie recalls t-shirts many found offensive." San Francisco Chronicle. April 19, 2002.

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