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Calpis / Antiblackness / Japan
queernigga: since conversation about blackface in japan is springing up again and summa y’all want to act brand new as if this is isolated and never happens let’s talk about the original mascot of Calpis, used from the 1920s until the fucking 1980s. Lemme also link one of my old videos about an experience with blackface drag in 新宿二丁目。 literally walked past a vintage ad for Calpis with this character on it yesterday at an antiques store in Kamakura; that was my first encounter with Calpis’ history with this character. can’t say i was surprised, but definitely disappointed. to this day, not only blackface but also redface and yellowface (re: depictions of people of other asian ethnic groups) is still very much alive and well in Japan– especially in the 芸能界 / entertainment industry. and without fail, every time something like this happens– if it even makes it into the…
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QAC 46 – “Race / Gender Doesn’t Exist!” | The Argument of Social Constructs
all too often i see people making appeals to science— more specifically biology — to try and legitimize their argument that race, gender or whatever else doesn’t really exist. in fact, i come across such arguments so often that such arguments have become a pet peeve of mine. so yeah, you can bet i got really angry when someone recently tried to justify doing blackface to me with “but race is a social construct and doesn’t exist anyway. we’re all the same race— the human race!” and was praised by thousands for her “bravery.” *drops the “angry black person” mic*
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Q&A: “What do you think about the treatment of black people specifically in Japan?
anonymous said: Hi, I’m also a black agender person from the states. What do you think about the treatment of black people specifically in Japan? hmm…. i’m finding this question really hard to answer because it’s so…. vague? and open-ended? hmm… i could respond to this with a really long winded answer, but i’m tired and should be in bed, so i’ll give you an abbreviated one! while Japan in has internalized antiblackness issues just like anywhere else, i don’t think that Japan (as a whole) treats black people any specific way. there are people who fetishize or idolize black (specifically black American) culture / music / people… these people are really fucking annoying to run into, but for the most part people are respectful and curious in a healthy way. aside from the aforementioned fetishists, i’d say the most troublesome thing that a black person encounters in Japan that…
