thanks to tien for sending over this utter piece of garbage. the april issue of details magazine apparently has this absolutely fascinating piece entitled gay or asian?, which seeks to break down the subtle details of your average asian guy, along with their inherently gay qualities. details such as “delicate features: refreshed by a cup of hot tea or a hot night of teabagging” and “ladyboy fingers: soft and long. perfect for both waxing on and waxing off, plucking the koto, or gripping the kendo stick.” my only question then is…what the fuck is this shit? while the piece in and of itself is unintelligible drivel, the stupid little chinoiserie-esque and oriental references denote a pathetic exoticization (yellow fever maybe?) of asians. when the hell did we regress back to the xenophobic days of asians as the exotic foreigner? or did we ever progress pass that point? after looking at this cock and balls, im inclined to say no.
im not usually one to get puffy over asian stereotypes and whatnot, since i have cited them in the past…and especially if theyre true. but this…i dont even know where this asscrap came from. ryan seacrest hair? evisu jeans? metallic sneakers? these are all descriptions that seem to cover a broad number of urban genres and metrosexual ware. how did asians get singled out for this? or was it all just to make possible such quotes as “a bonsai ass requires delicate tending“? the whole piece is just ripe with stupidity and novel oriental quips that the writer thought up while chasing around little asian schoolgirls boys in sailor-suits (apparently its a she). whitney mcnally, you are a boner. you are evidently in need of a bamboo-beating, pelted with moo goo gai pan, have chopsticks stuffed up your nose, and a panda stuffed up your ass.
> details mag | gay or asian? (via tien)
> tiens take
> petition to take down details
i would pay to see your idea of how to treat whitney.
yeah, i usually celebrate asian stereotypes, but this is pure stupidity.
on the other hand, that guy is really cute.
hunh, what? who said that?
This isn’t a very good way (for Asians) to be in the “spotlight” again. Whoever the writer is, I’d like to think that is was simply a matter of killer deadline and not really having anything interesting to submit. But then I stopped reading Details in 1998, so what do I know? DX
In another vein, wasn’t metrosexual and/or the gay subculture slipping into mainstream acceptance the new thing? Maybe it’s the writer’s underhanded way of indicating that yes, of course, it’s cool to be Asian once again.
yeh, i got a link to this article, too. there’s this one online petition that has 17k signatures on it, but it’s the DUMBEST letter ever. the AAJA’s response is pretty okay. details mag has already apoloized to the LGBT community, but not the APIA one.
fucked up?
quite.
hope you are well otherwise!
what a great world we live in. i heart humans.
and im doing swishy. you however sound a little hecticated. new word, yay!
hahaha…check this out in your spare time. so very misinformed.
the jucier message boards:
http://b4.boards2go.com/boards/board.cgi?user=yelodood
info site:
http://www.perilmovement.com/
another thing….
it’s really unfortunate that we live in a world where this happens, but when you think about it, is this reaction based on APIA’s adhering to a western idea of masculinity…and of homophobia? something to think about.
btw! yeh, i read that post! 🙂
what the shit?! this asshole should be stabbed in the face. and that guy looks like William Hung, ahahaha
April 7, 2004
Details
c/o Daniel Peres, Editor-in-Chief
7 West 34th Street
New York, NY 10001
Dear Daniel:
I want to commend you on the humorous article, entitled, “Asian or Gay” in the April 2004 issue. If you folks are open to additional ideas, I would like to submit an idea that could promote the going concern of Details magazine by poking fun at everyone. As an Asian American growing up in the ghettos of New York City, I was exposed to various stereotypes early on. Just wondering? Did Whitney McNally live on my block? Anyway, my ideas, I thought, would make a great monthly series for Details Magazine. I remember a famous comedian once said backstage, “Equal bashing softens the blow in offensive stereotypical jokes.” So I came up with this idea: Why not bash everyone? Fuck em all! So Asians and Gays took it up the ass General Tso-style in the April issue. Why stop there? Please continue the bashing. It’ll be fun, don’t you think? Whitney McNally, and your entire writing staff of Details Magazine should bash every goddamn ethnic group out there.
What’s in it for me, you ask? Forget about it! My service is free of charge. I’ll be more than thrilled just to see my ideas take form in May’s issue and the issues thereafter. I can see it now, your mail-boxes filling up with letters of accolades and praise from every ethnic group you’ve bashed, probably just like it is full now, given Whitney’s creative expose in your April issue. I can’t imagine why other ethnic groups whether it be Caucasian, Hispanic, or African American, wouldn’t find this article as funny as I did. Like I said, my ideas could do wonders for your magazine. Just imagine every one of your advertisers calling to place more ads in your magazine. Imagine the increased subscriptions and readership, all because you bashed the hell out of everyone. Here are my ideas to start you off:
(Ideas in parentheses make perfect sense for Details’ advertising dollars. Why not make a pitch to these companies…just another brilliant suggestion.)
1. Idea for June 2004 Issue: Refugee or Hispanic? Picture a young Tony Montana look alike, (A.k.a, Scarface), washing dishes at (Johnny Rockets or Papaya) and smoking a Cuban cigar. He’s wearing a Versace T-shirt that says, “Banana Boat? Jew Got Da Wrong Guy Mang” This would be hilarious. Jew ged dee idea? Heh heh. Your (Goya loving and plantain eating) readers would just love this issue.
2. Idea for July 2004 Issue: Uncle Tom or Black? Picture a young African American Rhodes scholar donned in preppy (Ralph Lauren) clothing and trendy (Oliver Peoples) eyewear, standing in front of (Kentucky Fried Chicken or BoJangles or Chick-Fil-a). Next to him on the far right, is a watermelon or sweet potatoes stand. Wow, can you imagine the students at Howard University getting a hold of this issue. May I suggest you getting bigger mailboxes to prepare for the July issue?
3. Idea for May 2004 Issue: Trailer Trash or Caucasian? Picture a white male, Kid Rock look alike, wearing overalls (Osh-by-Gosh, maybe?), chewing on some (bubble gum or maybe tobacco?). He’s got his middle finger up and pointed to the reader and his other hand is grabbing his crotch. He’s wearing a bandana (Abercrombie & Fitch, maybe?) wrapped around the head with his unkempt hair revealed underneath. He’s got (Vans) for sneakers or maybe some old skippies (i.e. Pro-Keds, are they still around? Can you have your fact-check check this?). Wow, can you imagine the advertising dollars you can make in this issue?
I admit my ideas for the above issues could use some of your editing. For that, I leave the creativity to you and your writing staff. Could I suggest that Whitney McNally continue writing the ethnic group bashing series? After all, she’s done such a wonderful job on us Asians in April. It would be a shame for her just to stop there. Write me in July, and I’ll come up with some additional ideas for the August, September, and October Issues. I was thinking, for August, “Hungry or Hungarian?” just a play on words. What do you think? Let me know.
Yours Truly,
Wil Y.
Asian American
New York City
P.S. The title of “Gay or Asian” indicates a mutually exclusive state of being. For your information, one can be gay and Asian at the same time. Why not put in an editorial in May’s issue indicating this error in judgment. A reworked title could be: Gay and or Asian…Just another thought. If you agree, I’ll rework the titles above.
cc: Whitney McNally
What the F***?!! Damn these mother-f***ing white trash to hell!
Americans are so freaking ignorant and stupid. Can’t believe such article would even surface. For a country who is so racially-“just”, this is so laughable. I guess when they say racially-just, they just mean between white and black.
And can I mention that all this mother-f***ing-sh*t they mentioned are VERY outdated. Who the hell has spikey hair now like that and who the hell puts sunglasses on their head to make a statement? This is not 1996, geez. (not to mention, the “model” they have on the page is dorky, unstylish, and Not-so-good-looking to begin with, to put it politely). Plus, can I just say that Americans are so wrong if they think Asians are unsexy and dorky looking, stereotypes do exist but does not define the who race (if that’s true, what would people think of a nation represented by President Bush?) I am sooo pissed off, but it is true, Americans mistreat Asians because we are not their primary audience (they think). However, the truth is, we make the most money in the U.S. and spend the most money in the economy (especially Luxury Goods). Shall we call this Poor Person’s Envy?
Not to mention how stupid the general use of Japanese terms and Chinese terms in there. It seems like the writer has just recently obtained his concept of Asian culture from the Last Samurai (or better named Why the Hell is that Samurai White?) and the local crappy Chinese take-out place (no, fortune cookie and takeout food are American bastardization of Chinese food, not the real chinese food, you dumb Bush-mongers can’t even afford to eat real Chinese food).
Whew, I think I need to sit down and catch a breath now, do I seem angry?
It IS bullshit that it was even published in the first place. Did they think that by generating enough controversy, they’d sell more magazines? When I first saw it, I thought it was a joke. I have no idea what they were trying to advertise.
Check out my website….link it on your website and send this to all of your friends.
whitney!
YELLOW PERIL
1 : a danger to Western civilization held to arise from expansion of the power and influence of eastern Asian peoples
2 : a threat to Western living standards from the influx of eastern Asian laborers willing to work for very low wages
White people hating as usual. Oh yeah.. now what if they wrote an article titled, “Criminal or Black?”, “Gardener or Mexican?”
We Asians seriously need to stand up for ourselves. Fucking Crackers I swear to god.
Hmmmm. Well, yes its true this is a tasteless and ignorant article.
But why do people bring up counter examples of:
“criminal or black”
“gardener or mexican”
I personally think its very dangerous to make the knee jerk assumption that being compared to a gay person (or “less masculine” person) is a bad thing.
What do you think?
(And “Josh F.” its not “America” that published the article, its just a stupid white woman and a magazine that doesn’t pay enough attention to itself. “America” is more like: the freedom of speech that allows such an article to be published, and then the backlash of countless angry people writing letters. And finally the magazine publically apologizing, and hopefully publically firing the silly white woman. heh.)
what the fuck is this? who would ever put that in a magazine? that article in itself is fucking gay.