Apparently, “Slanty Eyes” Photos are The New Pink

One has to wonder, though, why Cyrus and her friends made such an obvious anti-Asian gesture in the first place? Is she playing some sort of game of Public Relations Chicken with the American people? Is there a mass “What Race Can I Offend the Most” Facebook Meme out there I’m not aware of? In short, is the celebrity ”slanty eye” photo what’s hot in the streets these days?

Clearly, because just this past week, yet another Disney Channel teen sensation, Joe of the Jonas Brothers, was caught making “slanty eyes” in this photo.

While the Jonas Brothers have yet to officially confirm that the photo is of Joe Jonas, one blogger writes this:

So far, neither Jonas nor his reps have confirmed or denied that the photo is indeed the singer. But a number of clues, beside the stark resemblance, suggest it is him. The person in the photo is wearing a purity ring, just like all the Jonas brothers wear and a name tag on the shirt clearly begins with a “J” as in Joe.

Okay, so I don’t know anything about the Jonas Brothers, except that apparently I can see them in concert, in 3-D! I did a Google Image search, and apparently, this is the guy, Joe Jonas, supposedly pictured above. I admit, I see the resemblance — no one could camoflauge those crazy-lookin’ eyebrows!

This shit is racist and offensive, people. I’m frankly exhausted of this sequel to the Cyrus debacle, with teen pop sensation thinking it’s okay to irresponsibly mock an entire race of people. Beyond the actual examples of Jonas and Cyrus making insensitive, racially-offensive “goofy faces”, I’m insulted by the press’ deliberate and willfull mockery of our community’s attempts to raise awareness about the racism of these acts. Cyrus received notoriety for her “slanty eyes”, with few gossip outlets taking the outrage of the Asian American community seriously. No doubt, the same will be true for Joe Jonas.

Clearly, racism is the new pink. It seems to be all the rage to mock and offend. Shoot, maybe we’ll even see a “Slanty-Eyed Photo” Tent at next year’s New York Fashion Week. Without a doubt Miley Cyrus and Joe Jonas have spent nary a single thought on the millions of young Americans who will look to their “slanty-eyed” example to model their own schoolyard behaviour. I am nearly 27 years old and far out of the Cyrus/Jonas Brothers fan demographic, but it saddens me to think that there might be a group of young boys or girls who might have seen these photos of their teen idols and decided it’s okay to make the same “slanty-eyes” faces and sing the same “dirty knees” songs that I was subjected to in my youth.

(Hat-tip: Eugene Cho. We need a meme wherein Asian American bloggers make the “big eye” photo and post it on our blogs.)

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