Slog - Comments on Racist Bubble Tea? http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t A few days ago, I purchased some bubble tea at the Gossip Espresso & Tea outpost in the U District (the store sign still says Gingko's). While the tea was delicious, the picture which met my eye every time I bent down to my straw was a bit dismaying: Here it is up close: Yes, indeed, those are LITTLE RACIST BABIES! (Those white lines around their eyes and mouth are classic methods of representing blackface in drawings.) They bear an uncanny resemblance, in fact, to the popular Gold Dust Twins, another set of little racist caricatures in tutus used to... Copyright 2007 Wed, 29 Mar 2006 11:09:20 -0800 Thu, 30 Mar 2006 02:03:19 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Redshirt If that caught your eye you might like "Confederate States of America" at the Guild 45th.

]]> Redshirt http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059294 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059294 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 11:48:23 -0800 Comment by annie In fact, I reviewed it for this paper. I did not like it.

]]> annie http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059298 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059298 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 11:53:36 -0800 Comment by papsmear campaign I'm PC/left/liberal/recognize my racist tendencies and try to work with myself to understand and change how that affects my actions etc. But I'm also young and naive. I have seen these types of illustrations called "racist" all my life but other than being loud exaggerations of physical characteristics I do not understand how they are racist. Can someone enlighten me? I'll start by googling "gold dust".

]]> papsmear campaign http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059304 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059304 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 12:01:15 -0800 Comment by annie Hey PC--

The short answer is that these images are remnants of the blackface minstrelsy tradition in the U.S. Wikipedia has a pretty good introduction to the subject here. These specific pictures also reference that Gold Dust campaign, which played on nostalgia for slavery and often made hay out of the fact that the twins were basically very cute idiots (there's a picture you can find with a quick Google search that implies that they can't recognize their own images in the mirror--like dogs at the barbecue).

]]> annie http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059365 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059365 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 12:19:22 -0800 Comment by papsmear campaign Hey Annie, thanks a bunch! Actually the topic fascinates me so I'll definitely check it out now.

BTW: that link you provided goes to some of your film reviews, but not a review for "Confederate States of America"

]]> papsmear campaign http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059378 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059378 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 12:31:02 -0800 Comment by Paulus I think they're cute.

And bubble tea is disgusting.

]]> Paulus http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059516 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059516 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 14:09:17 -0800 Comment by Claudia What the hell is bubble tea? It sounds like something you would put in your bath.

]]> Claudia http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059523 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059523 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 14:11:40 -0800 Comment by annie They are cute, Paulus. Totally cute, and utterly racist. Bubble tea, which is sweetened milky tea with big tapioca balls in it, is delicious. You just have to get "regular" or "green" or "oolong" so it's not so sweet it makes your teeth hurt.

]]> annie http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059564 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059564 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 14:44:39 -0800 Comment by The Baron The short answer is that these images are remnants of the blackface minstrelsy tradition in the U.S.

In ASIA?

]]> The Baron http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059625 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059625 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 15:22:23 -0800 Comment by fnarf Pickaninnies, as they are usually called, are also a fairly common thing to find in Latin America media, including Mexico, Venezuela and Argentina.

People sometimes forget that while America has a sordid history of slavery and racism, it also has a tradition of ANTI-racism which makes these images unacceptable: a tradition which has never caught on in large parts of the world.

]]> fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059691 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059691 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 15:36:53 -0800 Comment by adam i was actually in a supermarket about 3 years ago when i ran into "aisha watermelons." the sticker featured a young black girl with kinky hair and a bright red smile, eating a huge slice of watermelon. this was 2003. granted, it was in south carolina, but still! naturally, i took the sticker and proudly display it in my home.

]]> adam http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059718 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c059718 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 16:01:30 -0800 Comment by Gomez Fnarf's last comment is actually on the money. The US is an actively toleratant and acceptive culture for all races, whereas other nations dominated by one race tend to depict other races with much more racist, condescending overtones, which are considered perfectly acceptable. Our open minded perspective makes this jump out at us as blatantly racist, whereas many other nations' residents wouldn't see the big deal.

Even the Japanese are like this. One need only dig up the infamous Tokyo Breakfast video for an example.

]]> Gomez http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c060002 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c060002 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 19:23:38 -0800 Comment by adam i do wonder is the maker of the packaging understands the context of the pickininnies. in japan, they often use lots of images with no concern about what it means. it's possible that they just thought that the pictures were cute, and slapped them on the package (or is that a teabag?).

]]> adam http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c060022 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c060022 Arts Wed, 29 Mar 2006 19:37:01 -0800 Comment by madadam Believe it or not, I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Lijiang, China, reading this slog about racist bubble tea. Actually, images like this are not uncommon in Asia (though not all of over the place either). The most egregious example of racist images of this sort come from the readily available "Darlie" toothpaste.

http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2005-10,GGLD:en&q=darlie%20toothpaste&sa=N&tab=wi

Why "Darlie"? Well, the original name was "Darkie," but the company changed its name after outcry from appalled foreigners. Score one for "progress"!

]]> madadam http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c060490 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/03/racist_bubble_t#c060490 Arts Thu, 30 Mar 2006 02:03:19 -0800