Miss Asian Power!

Discussion Open Forum
1

Hi folks,

I just saw an ad here on Oriented.org. It was an ad “for Asian Women written by Asian Women…” As I read that I got to thinking, what makes Asian women different than other women? What is the advertisment trying to say? Is it trying to say that Asian Women are superior to other women? Would an advertisment that said, “for White Women written by White Women,” be allowed? I don’t think so… Asian women would be screaming, “hate! prejudice! intolerance!” So why can Asian Women have an advertisment like that? As a white woman, I’m somehow different and inferior? Is that what the ad is saying?

2

No…but you don’t have to get your nickers in a knot about it either… baby !!!
maybe you need to get laid more or something !!

3

Hi. It’s an ad for Jade Magazine.
http://www.jademagazine.com

It’s a pretty cool online zine. Similar to African American magazines for African American women, Hispanic magazines for Hispanic women, etc. but targeting Asian women. At least four women who are currently working in Taiwan have featured articles there that I know of (including Natalie Tso, formerly of ICRT, now with CBS), you might know some of them.

You can direct your questions to the founders of JadeMagazine.com (friends of mine) at audrey@jademagazine.com and
ellen@jademagazine.com

Hope this helps.

  • Christine
4

great mag – a fat model and some cutesy “singer.” Give me a break.

5

Christine,
What makes a site “pretty cool”? It obviously is not in the design or content. Jade sucks. I guess its better to lie than offend someone. Congratulations on being well-liked.

6

Why is it perfectly acceptable for minority groups in the USA to do things that they have long accused white people of doing. There is no way you would ever see an advertisment that said, “Written by white people for white people”. A statement like that would get every single minority group in the USA to complain and shout, “RACISM!”

Why is it okay for minorities to do things that the majority can’t? If it is wrong for one group to do something, then it is wrong for another group to do the same thing.

7

Similarly, why is it tolerated to have a thread on the forum called “honkey, honkey, honkey”? Would “nigger, nigger, nigger” or “chink, chink, chink” be acceptable?

8

Wolf, no it wouldn’t.

We got your email and will be addressing it (and other similar issues) very soon with an entire overhaul of policies. Many apologies for the delay in response.

Christine
Site Administrator

9

In response to “Well”… perhaps in the past, and specifically in the U.S., when minorities were not treated fairly by the majority (in this case, “white” people), such a publication a) wouldn’t be warranted as the majority does not usually have overriding social issues as do minorities, and may seem even more “oppressive”. Just my guess. Hmmm… I wonder if anyone understood that.

Anyway, I do forsee a time in Asia when such magazines just may appear. Sooner than later.

To some extent a lot of the rants on these forums are the basis for the challenges that “white” people face in Asia. Just the beginning…

10

Sure it is “OK” to pander to minorities. OK for politicians to get the minorities and trendy liberals on their side. Happens everywhere that it is not PC to terrorise (selected) minorities, or where politicians do not have to worry about popularity outside their support group.

Don’t misunderstand me - “pandering” is a very subjective term. There are often very practical reasons for assisting minority groups.

11

I think any kind of for x by x publication is totally dandy. If it is, for example, for women by women, then i probably will not be too excited about reading it (as a white male). Similarly, these types of publications may offer great insight to someone interested in minority or other social groups outside one:s own. If a magazine is for African American people by African American people, that does not mean that it is wrong for a white person to read it. So, for the original starter of this topic, i think you should go ahead and read something for Asian women by Asian women, it might be interesting. If not, there are countless publications for white women by white women, for white women by white men, whatever you want. I think this kind of honesty in authorship is very respectable. Would any publisher splash across the front of a magazine FOR WOMEN WITH MONEY TO WASTE BY ENTERPRISING MEN, or any such comment? Does the NEW YORK TIMES give us a FOR A EASILY DUPED PUBLIC BY A SCHEMING CORPORATE GIANT on the front page?

I believe that reading any kind of publication targeted for minorities can give valuable information to anyone interested in social trends.

12

Hi, guys.

I’m the immature white guy who started the “honkeys honkeys honkeys” discussion. I can get away with it because of the imbalance in world society. Yes, “honkey” is OK for me to say, because I am a big hairy honkey. But I would not say “nigger” or “chind” because I would feel uncomfortable. I could have called it “ah-toh-ga” “ah-toh-ga” “ah-toh-ga” which is what I hear everyday and it is the Taiwanese word for…

HONKEY

There is usually no hatred in the Taiwanese word. And the English word is used jokingly by me. Sorry, Mr. Wolf. I’ll try to change the title.

And another question: why are there never any “Straight Pride Parades”?

Because, as Christine said, straight white people in America are not a minority group, so they have no need to make any loud announcements like “HEY EVERYBODY - WE ARE HERE!!!” And if they did make loud announcements like that, it would come across as oppressive to minority groups, whose voice is not as loud.

After having been in Taiwan for 4 years and seeing America only in my memory, I saw the presidential inauguration. I thought it was a little odd to see all these white people at the white house. All this time in Taiwan I had thought of America as this melting pot. I knew it wasn’t so in politics, but it was really freaky to see it with my own eyes via satellite. Anyway, the newly elected mayor of some town in New Jersey is a Tainan-born Taiwanese American guy. But there has never been a gay president… I think…

BiG DOrK

13

Big Dork, I don’t know about gay presidents… but wasn’t there speculation about the sexuality of one particular First Lady?

14

So here is the question, if it is okay to have a magazine, “For Asians written by Asians”, is it okay for there to be a magazine with an ad that says, “For Whites written by Whites”?

If the argument is that minorities have social issues that the majority doesn’t have, then this would apply to the white population in Taiwan. The white population in Taiwan has many social issues that the Chinese population does not have, so would it be okay for there to be an ad for a magazine that said, “For Whites written by Whites” if that magazine was aimed at Whites in Taiwan? Would an ad like that appear on this website? I don’t think so…

15

Why not?

I anticipate such publications (community orgs, etc.) sooner than later.

Groups (ethnic, sports, arts, community, self-help, special interests, minority activists, physically challenged, AA orgs, etc.) come together for a common purpose.

The only reason we would NOT help promote community orgs or publications at ORIENTED is if the goals of the group are in direct conflict with our overall objectives or are overtly offensive to others.

I.e. if there was a magazine for bitter, rude, obnoxious “white” people whose main objective was to uniformly bash local Taiwanese people, then no. We wouldn’t put a banner up for them.

16

Also, to <right…>, in the U.S., there are PLENTY of “white” groups for “white” people only.

A classic example would be the infinite number of university sororities and fraternities in which non-whites would never be accepted (except for the token minority representation). I could list other such university and professional orgs and publications in the U.S. that would bust this forum table.

Just because they call themselves “Alpha Alpha Omega Omega” doesn’t mean that they don’t practice the very policies that you find unfair.

17

Hi, everybody.

Due to the past few centuries of European imperialism, I’m afraid that the white folks of this planet can be seen as oppressive almost anywhere they go. So a magazine “by white people for white people” [I’m sorry, I just have to chuckle … chuckle chuckle] can come across as too much anywhere in the world. Can you imagine one in Africa or Brazil? It would read like “a magazine by the ethnocentric cultural imperialist bullies for ethnocentric cultural imperialist bullies”. So I think such a magazine will probably never announce itself as being for “white people” [chuckle]. But isn’t this website “by foreigners in Taiwan for foreigners in Taiwan”?

18

“I.e. if there was a magazine for bitter, rude, obnoxious “white” people whose main objective was to uniformly bash local Taiwanese people, then no. We wouldn’t put a banner up for them.”

uh… who said anything about bashing Taiwanese people… Oh, I forgot… All white people hate non-white people… right, right, right… Is that a bit of a stereotype?

I honestly don’t think the website would put up a banner that said, “Written for white people for white people” even if it was aimed at foreigners in Taiwan. People would shout, “RACISM! PREJUDICE!” But it’s perfectly okay for the same type of thing for Asian women?

“Also, to <right…>, in the U.S., there are PLENTY of “white” groups for “white” people only.”

And, in the U.S., there are PLENTY of “NON-WHITE” groups for “NON-WHITE” people only.

For example, the university I attended in the U.S. had fraternities/sororities that were definitely for “NON-WHITE” people only. There were organizations for African-Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, you name it they had it.

Some of these “minority organizations” (whites are officially a minority in California now, and definitely are a minority in the school I attend) would make me so mad, because they would do the same things they accuse white people of doing. I would be walking down the sidewalk at school and I could see the Asian group giving out CDs to other Asians, but anybody who wasn’t Asian they would ignore and let walk by. Hmm… Is that discrimination? Does anybody care? No… But I sure wished I got one of those cool CDs…

I once talked with a Chinese American woman and I told her how much I enjoy learning about the Chinese culture. She looked at me and said, “Shouldn’t you be learning about your own culture, why do you have to learn about mine???”

There obviously are rascist white people who hate other groups, but the same can be said for other groups as well. Didn’t the Chinese call the first foreigners that came to their country “Barbarians”??? “Look at those silly guys, they can’t even use chopsticks!” they must of said while they watched them eat.

I noticed on the magazine that advertised as a magazine “For Asian Women written by Asian women” that there were articles about Asian people and White people. It seemed the magazine was more for people with a background in Asia or experiences that somehow connected them to Asia. I actually enjoyed some of the articles. But with a title so obviously biased, I would never have read it if it were not for this forum. Who wants to read a magazine that says is not written for you (and makes that the biggest selling point).

yummy, their giving away free xiangji pai… I’m outta here…

19

Just saw a post in the “where can I find” folder… Interesting:

“I am going through HESS to teach English in Taiwan for a year. Just wanna know where all the CBC’s and ABC’s are at in Taiwan before I pick a location!”

What makes being an ABC or CBC different from any other foreigner? Is being an ABC like being in some kind of club?

20

actually, there IS a club: http://www.capt.org.tw

Why don’t you try and join, let us know how it turns out