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I just sent the following letter to Lush Cosmetics, wrt the completely painful portrayal of Chinese people in its latest advertising campaign:
Dear Lush Cosmetics,
I have been a fan for years, and was at one time an employee: I love Lush for its products and for its fun and wacky creativity, but most especially, I have always appreciated that Lush tried its best to take a stand on important social issues.
This is why, when I opened up the link to the last Christmas promotional video -- The Mandarin's Tea Party -- it felt like I'd been punched in the gut.
I'm sure that when the video was being created, all anyone was thinking about was a fun, funky way to promote the Christmas products -- after all, that's something that Lush is well known for. Probably nobody thought about the long history of yellowface in the media -- of East Asian roles being played by non-East Asians; of the consistent lack of representation for people of colour in the media; of the way that stereotyped portrayals of people of colour reduce them to mere caricatures rather than people. But when I saw that video, that history of erasure and pain is what hit me. From the stereotypical (and entirely inaccurate) clothing to the stereotypical music -- even to the way that the "Chinese man" was played by a woman, invoking the stereotype of East Asian men being effeminate, even emasculated -- the video reminded me, again and again, that we are not past making a joke out of racial stereotypes that continue to harm people today. The Chinese man doesn't even get a name (the bear gets a name!).
I understand that the promotional video was supposed to be an interesting way to tie the product in with the inspiration, and that the inspiration itself was from a time when society was, perhaps, not as aware of such issues as we are now. Perhaps the material that it draws from -- I haven't read it -- directly inspired the name, the clothing, and the general theme of the video (I don't doubt it). However, the video itself was NOT made in the 1960s -- the video was, presumably, made in 2010. I would have hoped, given past evidence of Lush's social awareness, that the company might have thought further about how the video perpetuates harmful stereotypes.
I was truly excited about the Lush Christmas this year, as I have been in years past, but I feel that I cannot support a product that bears such a hurtful history. I hope that Lush will reconsider its release of this video, and urge the company to give more consideration to its future endeavours.
Sincerely,
[real name redacted]
(a disappointed fan)
I feel like I shouldn't be so surprised, but I am. Apologies for the incoherency -- I can do better, but it's 3:30 a.m. & I'm tired & hurting. So I sent this out, hoping that I'll at least get a response.
ETA: I'd appreciate feedback on this, since I expect that if there is a response, I'll have to cut through a lot of explaining about why they did what they did & how it's really not as bad as I think it is.
It is as bad as I think it is.
ETA 2 (around 4:00 a.m. PST): Lush has since privatised that video. I don't know if it was deliberate or permanent, or whether it was even a response to my letter (I haven't gotten a response yet), but... I find this very interesting.
ETA 3: It's back up again.
Dear Lush Cosmetics,
I have been a fan for years, and was at one time an employee: I love Lush for its products and for its fun and wacky creativity, but most especially, I have always appreciated that Lush tried its best to take a stand on important social issues.
This is why, when I opened up the link to the last Christmas promotional video -- The Mandarin's Tea Party -- it felt like I'd been punched in the gut.
I'm sure that when the video was being created, all anyone was thinking about was a fun, funky way to promote the Christmas products -- after all, that's something that Lush is well known for. Probably nobody thought about the long history of yellowface in the media -- of East Asian roles being played by non-East Asians; of the consistent lack of representation for people of colour in the media; of the way that stereotyped portrayals of people of colour reduce them to mere caricatures rather than people. But when I saw that video, that history of erasure and pain is what hit me. From the stereotypical (and entirely inaccurate) clothing to the stereotypical music -- even to the way that the "Chinese man" was played by a woman, invoking the stereotype of East Asian men being effeminate, even emasculated -- the video reminded me, again and again, that we are not past making a joke out of racial stereotypes that continue to harm people today. The Chinese man doesn't even get a name (the bear gets a name!).
I understand that the promotional video was supposed to be an interesting way to tie the product in with the inspiration, and that the inspiration itself was from a time when society was, perhaps, not as aware of such issues as we are now. Perhaps the material that it draws from -- I haven't read it -- directly inspired the name, the clothing, and the general theme of the video (I don't doubt it). However, the video itself was NOT made in the 1960s -- the video was, presumably, made in 2010. I would have hoped, given past evidence of Lush's social awareness, that the company might have thought further about how the video perpetuates harmful stereotypes.
I was truly excited about the Lush Christmas this year, as I have been in years past, but I feel that I cannot support a product that bears such a hurtful history. I hope that Lush will reconsider its release of this video, and urge the company to give more consideration to its future endeavours.
Sincerely,
[real name redacted]
(a disappointed fan)
I feel like I shouldn't be so surprised, but I am. Apologies for the incoherency -- I can do better, but it's 3:30 a.m. & I'm tired & hurting. So I sent this out, hoping that I'll at least get a response.
ETA: I'd appreciate feedback on this, since I expect that if there is a response, I'll have to cut through a lot of explaining about why they did what they did & how it's really not as bad as I think it is.
It is as bad as I think it is.
ETA 2 (around 4:00 a.m. PST): Lush has since privatised that video. I don't know if it was deliberate or permanent, or whether it was even a response to my letter (I haven't gotten a response yet), but... I find this very interesting.
ETA 3: It's back up again.
