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Some people just aren't feeling Forever 21's "Oriental Girl Necklace"
By Jeff MillsNovember 3rd, 2011, 5:35 pmComments (26)
Forever 21, who will soon have to change their name to Forever Controversial, is hearing it from critics once again, over a $1.50 "Oriental Girl Necklace" that some find offensive and derogatory towards Asian women.
The necklace — kind of a Hello Kitty-crossed-with-Princess Leia sort of thing — depicts a white-faced girl in traditional Asian dress with her black hair pulled back into two small buns. In other words, it's nothing worse than Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers perfume bottles.
Back in September, as you might recall, Forever 21 ended up pulling their "Allergic to Algebra" t-shirt aimed at young girls, due to complaints from shoppers that the shirt conveyed an "anti-education" message. And then came Urban Outfitters' infamous Navajo Pants underwear line, whose detractors ultimately forced a name change. (There seems to be a double standard when it comes to professional sports teams though, with the Braves, Chiefs, Redskins, Blackhawks, etc. still going strong.) Style blog Fashionista also posted a picture on their site that shows a necklace sold by Forever 21 in-store but not online, depicting a swarthy girl with her hair in two braids wearing traditional Native-American clothing.
As in all of these cases, opinion was, and is, divided. Dani Mau of Fashionista wrote, "Apparently, Forever 21 thinks that people want to wear outdated, cultural stereotypes as necklaces, and that it's okay to sell them." And the other side, of course, thinks it's all an overreaction, that everyone should stop being overly PC and take a chill pill already. I guess the only solution going forward is to just make everything ethnically ambiguous, so as to preemptively avoid any huffing and puffing from interest groups.
Commentarium (26 Comments)
Geisha culture still exists in Japan so its really an interpretation of a particular occupation/way of life.
If they had said, "Geisha Girl Necklace," that would be a totally valid point. They did not.
"depicts a white-faced girl in traditional Asian dress" ... I guess that I now know what "traditional Asian dress" looks like ... and here I thought that no one continent had a "traditional dress."
...What? I think most people could point out a "traditional dress" for every continent, including Europe. (Ever heard of a Renaissance faire?) I don't see what makes that offensive.
Although I suppose I don't see what's so "traditional" about her clothes. Looks like a red shirt, blue bottom and a giant necklace.
No, the "traditional asian dress" comment is not the fault of the store, its the fault of the blogger. And Renaissance Fairs do not depict "traditional European dress" at all, but maybe a cosplayers idea of what some people from a few western European countries wore at a particular time. (nobody's thinking Moldova when they think Ren Fair!) Please educate me on what traditional South American, African, North American, Australia/New Zealand, and Antarctic dress are!
People really are getting out of hand with this PC business. They must never relax what with all the potentially offensive stuff out there.
Spoken like a white person.
R., I'm Asian and I thought the same thing.
guess white people are just not aesthetically interesting enough to be immortalized in a piece of accessory or undergarment. also, i think it's Björk .
So if I dress as someone did during a certain period of their cultural history, that's automatically a negative stereotype?
Apparently. Hooray for the beiging of the world!
A grip. Get one. I'd never guess it was ethnically stereotypical if I hadn't been told. No slanty eyes, no A-cup figure, no chopsticks in the hair, nothing recognizable as being faux-Asian. Looks more like Bjork than a geisha. Are we having fun yet?
you made a good point with Gwen Harajuku girls. That makes me uncomfortable. They're just always standing silently behind her with no expression on their face. At least this necklace looks fucking happy
It's cute. I just hate the communist China symbolism on it.
It's a bit nippy in here.
They could just pull it off the shelves because it's ugly, stupid-looking, and at a $1.50 a pop, probably made by workers under pretty crappy working conditions at a pretty crappy wage.
Yeah, it's a cheap tchochke. The kick I get of this is that the owners of Forever 21 - aren't they First Generation Asian Christians or am I smoking too much dope? I don't feel like Wikipediaing this so I'll let the peanut gallery do the sleuthing. Anyway, the only offensive bit is the name. Change it to "Pucca" and...get sued by the Korean character that this thing rips off.
My grandmother is the only person I know to use the word Oriental. That is all.
I thought it was the adult Lucy Van Pelt.
People will complain about anything. If manufacturers only use Caucasian images or likenesses, they are racists. If they make a necklace with a cute Asian girl, they are bad too. As the mother of an Asian daughter, I think it is nice to have dolls and necklace pendants, etc that my daughter can relate to. She likes having these types of things that "look" more like her. Is anyone complaining about American Girl dolls because they wear "outdated, culturally stereotyped" dresses. Stop whining. The necklace is cute.
Meh. I've posted plenty of fashion-related "politically incorrect" articles, and I genuinely don't think that this crosses the line.
This looks like exactly the same sort of cutsey thing they would sell in Japan or China.
Isnt Forever 21 owned by Asian americans anyway?
Four score and seven minutes ago, I read a sweet atircle. Lol thanks
Fell out of bed feelnig down. This has brightened my day!