Roughly two months have passed since the Qiaobi detergent advertisement went viral. The advert, in which a Chinese woman shoves a black man into a washing machine only for him to emerge as a shiny, clean, Asian man, prompted Western media to call it “the most racist ad ever”.
At the height of the controversy, commentators from all over the world quarrelled endlessly over whether or not the advert was evidence of China being a racist society. Eventually, the Chinese government*intervened*and the company behind the offensive advert issued an*apology.
Quote:
As pointed out*early on*during the Qiaobi controversy, the advert is a revamped iteration of old Western racist*tropes. To understand why such iterations emerge in China – and elsewhere in Asia – it’s important to look at how contemporary global media imaginations are influenced by long-standing racial*theories*and*ideas. Enter white supremacy.
As I write this piece, a tram covered in advertising stops in front of me on Shipyard Lane in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. In the advert, a young, handsome, white guy in a suit is levitating in front of a building. The Chinese words next to him are about leadership and success.
On the next tram a blonde woman wearing a Swarovski ring is being admired by a young white man. Any survey of street adv
ertising in this, or any other big Asian city, will show that white bodies are pervasively used as the markers of*success, power, beauty and romance.
It is hardly news that global media are deeply shaped by a racial hierarchy that frames whiteness as a superior state of being. What I find fascinating is how these racially informed imaginations are negotiated by people in China when they imagine themselves and the world they live in.
These negotiations have to be factored in against the backdrop of the “rise of China” – a rise that has led many to believe that the country will take up the reins of the global capitalist system.
I believe that there are few indications that China would be willing (or able) to transform the (old imperial, capitalist, white supremacist and patriarchal) structures and practices that inform contemporary capitalism and that are, ultimately, behind the Qiaobi detergent advert.
Woo, this ad is a mess to infinity!
Least Paula Deen can go get her a new cooking show in China...
China is not a imagination country. The society is very lack of diversity. They don't have the concept of political correctness. In their culture,Dark skin= Poor. China is also well known as the heaven for white trash. Same as Japan. It's so difficult to be part of their community. You will always be treated as a outsider ...in a polite way tho. But you will feel the huge gap between u and them.
It's not on the rise, it's always been this way in Asian societies, esp ones that don't come into contact with outside races or cultures nearly as much as Western societies.
Yes we are a bunch of flops. Tbh Asian people does hate black, they believe the stereotype that they are robbers/criminals. People here prefer white skin (I don't have white skin).
I heard that Chinese put a high emphasis on light skin to the point that many people bathe for hours in desperation to diminish all " Dirt" from their skin. It's like a culturally acceptable thing to exfoliate bathe and cream to be light right?