“Chink!” “Jap!” “Where are you from?” “Do you eat dog?” “Why don’t you go back to where you came from?” “Do you know Kung-Fu?” From the racist to the innocuous, issues of culture, ethnicity, and discrimination are prevalent themes for Asian minorities in the United States.
The Asian desire to be “American” and fit into mainstream society in the U.S. can be challenging as reminders that they are “perpetual foreigners” can be seen in jokes, teasing, and at times outright racism. from Psychology Today
Anti-Asian racism recently has been cited as 100 reported incidents per day. And that’s just the reported ones. There’s violent racism and casual racism against Asian Americans so today I am focusing on the depiction of Asian characters in children’s books, specifically “slant eyes.”
Let’s start with Italian chef Gianluca Gorini who runs the Michelin-starred restaurant daGorini in the Italian town of San Pietro in Tuscany. He posted a photo of his team making slant-eyes and wearing racist hats on Instagram. It’s racism as “humor.”
And it happened in December of 2019.
2019!!!
A Michelin-starred chef apologized for posing in a racist photo with staff making slant-eyed gestures
(from Business Insider)
This also happened in 2018:
“On Telemundo’s morning show Un Nuevo Dia, two hosts — James Tahhan, aka “Chef James,” and Janice Bencosme — flashed the slanted-eye gesture.
Both Tahhan and Bencosme have apologized for their actions, while Telemundo has suspended them indefinitely.” (from The Undefeated)
https://theundefeated.com/features/just-stop-with-the-slanted-eye-racist-gestures-2018-fifa-world-cup/
Slant-eyes are racist. End stop.
Thus, depicting slant-eyes in illustrations is also racist.
Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen (@readingspark) tweeted:
Let me follow this up with: it’s also racist when the images are drawn by Asians or Asian Americans. We’ve internalized these orientalist images and been taught that this is how we mark ourselves as Asian. No, it doesn’t have to be this way. Stop drawing slanted eyes. Just stop.
Yellowface is Just as Offensive as Backface
“As Robert G Lee, associate professor of American studies in Providence, Rhode Island, stated in his book Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture: “Yellowface marks the Asian body as unmistakably Oriental; it sharply defines the Oriental in a racial opposition to whiteness.
Yellowface exaggerates ‘racial’ features that have been designated ‘Oriental,’ such as ‘slanted’ eyes, overbite and mustard-yellow skin color”. Mickey Rooney did that for his character Mr. Yunioshi in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which is a prime example of yellowface.” from South China Morning Post
Racist Depictions of Asian Children in Picture Books
This is by no means an exhaustive list of racist depictions of Asian children in children’s books. In fact, it’s the tip of the iceberg.
This is from Jammy @jamlamlaser:
2nd Asian kid in the book of majority-white kids and animals, and he is ALSO BRIGHT YELLOW.
@SchoolZone WHAT THE HELL.
Jammy @jamlamlaser
The third elusive Asian kid.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU
@SchoolZone
?????
Diana Gutenberger blogs on racist depictions of humans in The Story About Ping.
Dr. Seuss has been called out for being racist but have you noticed that the ALA has not changed the name of the Geisel Award? The ALA first proposed changing the Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Geisel award in 2017. I’m assuming that because ALA hasn’t changed the name of the award, they are ok with Dr. Seuss’s racism.
Eyes as slits or slant-eyes is a lazy racist way of illustration and are, by no means, a problem from long ago that is just now surfacing.
These images are from a Pearson ELA “Successmaker” online curriculum in the New York area. The mother and others in her school district complained until they were removed.
This illustration from SCBWI Minnesota chapter is another example. SCBWI Minnesota Racist Illustration and Gaslighting Response. Here, the illustrator who is white depicts an African American girl who is ostensibly asleep. The issue is that it’s not clear that the girl is asleep. Another interpretation is that this is a mixed-race African American and Asian American girl. Without the benefit of words, the interpretation of an illustration is up to the viewer.
Context is also important. If the girl was in a bed or covered in a blanket, most viewers would likely see her as asleep. For some, the lack of mixed-race Asian/Black representation might be seen as a plausible excuse. Notable examples include Naomi Osaka (tennis player), Tiger Woods (golf professional), Kimora Lee Simmons (model and fashion designer), Kelis (singer/songwriter), Patrick Chung (football player), Apl.de.ap (singer and producer of Black Eye Peas), Naomi Campbell (model), Ne-Yo (singer/actor), Karrueche Tran (actress), Michael Yo (comedian), Tyson Beckford (model), Chanel Imam (model), Cassie (singer), Ayesha Curry (chef), Amerie (singer).
The illustrator subsequently updated the image:
Feel free to add books that you notice that have Asian children drawn with “slant eyes” or eyes as slits. I think you’d be surprised to see how many recently published picture books have racist depictions of Asian children.
p.s. Related posts:
Rethinking & Examining Dr. Seuss’ Racism
SCBWI Minnesota Racist Illustration and Gaslighting Response
Can A Book Do Real Harm? Anti-Asian Racism in Joey Pigza series by Jack Gantos
The Racist Side of Dr. Seuss You Didn’t Know About
What would you do If You Ran the Dr. Seuss Museum?
Dr. Seuss Museum Invite then Crickets
A Unit to Teach Kids About Microaggressions
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Tikki Tikki Tembo. I wrote a blog post about this book (http://www.drttmk.com) and it is by far the most commented-upon post on my site. 99% of the comments are about my second sentence which begins “Not withstanding the possible racism, which I have to confess I was mostly unaware of due to my lack of education about other cultures…” and is the only place in my review I mention racism at all, because I didn’t feel I was knowledgeable enough to talk about it (and Grace Lin has done a great job already) and also because I had enough other issues with the book to discuss. About 60% of the comments are from people whose childhoods I ruined just by hinting that it might be racist. Thankfully, the rest are people whose heads are on straight wondering what is wrong with the rest of the people.
Also, “Fish in the Air”, which is rather old, but if you’re going to mention “A Story About Ping” I’ve got to bring that one up too. Not a big Kurt Wiese fan.
To be honest, I’m not sure I can think of a picture book set in an Asian culture that I’ve read where the characters weren’t depicted with at least somewhat slanted eyes. I’m not saying it excuses it, but maybe some of the artists were inspired by Japanese art, like that of the Edo period? It’s quite stylized, but often has people depicted with what I would consider slanted eyes. If the only characters are Asian, as in “Fish in the Air” and “A Story About Ping”, and there’s no contrast with non-Asian characters, it tends to go right over my white-privileged head. Thanks for raising the issue so I can pay more attention to it in my reviews.
As a side note, I want to point out that the Dr. Seuss image you included (from “If I Ran the Zoo”) also includes text claiming that the depicted characters “wear their eyes at a slant.” Ick.
So, how do you draw them so that kids understand?
Add eyeballs.
I 100% disagree with you… Dr. Zeus was not a racist, nor is there ANYTHING wrong with his books, or the illustrations that point out that people are different. As part of the HUMAN race, we ALL look different, we have different cultures, different religions, and EVERYONE is different- no matter what we look like.
Destroying art and stories that were NEVER racist to begin with is so sad… Why would we want books for our children where we pretend we are all alike, and all look alike? We are not – We are all different, and we should celebrate that!! One way to stop racism is to just stop talking about it, and looking for it, where it doesn’t exist. Everyone must look exactly the same in children’s books – really? Changing that would makes us all equal? Really?
People who want to destroy history, destroy books, change what artists see when they create- are playing with fire, and creating hate where there isn’t any. Teaching our children that our differences are beautiful, normal, and yes! Even humorous- is a good thing. Being woke – should mean – wake up and smell the roses with whatever eyes you were born with, and love them for all their differences. Depict our differences in art, in literature, and celebrate them. And, mostly, stop judging people who have no reason to be judged. What is wrong with slanted eyes? Why in the world would you want to change what is beautiful, and make everyone look the same? Even woman are wearing make up these days that makes their eyes look more slanted, and to them more beautiful to look at. So what? Teaching the falsehood that we are all the same, that we all look the same, and are not different, is just plan silly… Hate to tell you, but even the eyes with eye balls in children’s books do not look like real eyeballs. And, sometimes they are exaggerated to look silly – being a kid means that you still get to be silly… And, that’s okay. It really is. And, if YOU want to put eyeballs on a slanted eye in YOUR children’s book – Then YOU do that. That is your prerogative. But, do not tell others what to like, and what to think. Do not create racism where there is none. That is if you want to be woke, and SEE it’s okay to be different…
Celebrate our differences!! Teach our children that they are all different, all beautiful, and that’s what makes life so special. Are we going to start judging animals for their differences, and want them all to look the same? Nope. Why? Because all the differences between them, is what makes them so interesting and beautiful to look at.
Teach that different – Doesn’t mean we are not all equal. Do not teach that we should all look, and act the same to be good people – that is a falsehood and wrong. You can’t fool children into believing WHAT you want them to believe. But, you can teach them, that the differences that we all SEE are what makes the human race so awesome!!