Week 7
Taste and Aftertaste for Asian Bloggers
This reading was particularly interesting to me because though I know of a lot of current Asian (American) bloggers, I had never dived deep into all the different ways they affect the the world. For example, I knew that the increase in valued Asian bloggers benefited our community in great ways, but I never thought about how this new labor class is both racialized and not-directly discriminated based on race; or the fact that they play such a key role in what we the Asian fashion movement and are racialized in that way. How can they demonstrate their talents without being categorized by race, while also being able to express their identity? The author, Minh-Ha Pham, discusses the ways in which there is a sort of desire for Asianness and diversity-- being the 'taste'-- then there is also a point of racial tolerance or backlash-- the 'aftertaste' for Asian bloggers.
I think this issue relates directly to last week's readings regarding the Asian Chic trend. Because of the fantasy aspect and desire for Asian themes, there comes a point in time where Asianness is trending. However, like Harper Bazaar advised their readers in 2003, the trend tends to grow in and out of style. So, it almost makes sense that people only have a certain amount of tolerance for the Asian trend. Of course, this doesn't make it morally right, but I can definitely compare the two (Asian Chic in fashion and Taste/Aftertaste in blogging). The major difference is that the blogging industry affects these Asian superbloggers in severely direct way where they might receive backlash for expressing what the people once wanted and praised. It is a sad and harsh reality that this is the society we live in: a society where a cultural/race can be a "cool and hip trend" one second, then receive criticism and discrimination out of nowhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment