mike O's blogo: October 2008

I've been drawing a comic strip called Professor Gorilla in The Diamondback for several weeks now and I finally got proof that folks are reading it. Though that proof did come in the form of a guest column in the paper about how sexist and racist it is.

Here is the column link and text (special note - I write my comic strip under the pen name "Ted McTinder."):

Guest Column: The 800-pound gorilla
Kumudha Kumarachandran
Issue date: 10/27/08 Section: Opinion

It's been 43 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 88 since women got the right to vote; and 143 since the abolition of slavery. You would think that by now we have come a long way as a more unified society, right? Well, when I see cartoons like Professor Gorilla in The Diamondback, I feel the need to take a step back.

I am referring to the four-part series featuring Professor Gorilla's substitute and his obsession with Jung Sung's "talking" breasts. While I am certain that Ted McTinder meant for the cartoons to be in good humor, they are sexist and racist in nature. They isolate women, who make up 50 percent of this campus, and Asians, who make up about 14 percent. Like all racism and sexism in today's media, it is subtle and can be defended as satire so that we don't fight back, or even realize we are being discriminated against.

Jung Sung is sexy, but also extremely intelligent. She also has a very Asian-sounding name. In those three simple details about her, I can already see three incredibly strong stereotypes that face Asian Americans in the media every day. First, there is the hyper-sexualization of Asian women. You've seen this image before: an East-Asian beauty decked out in a revealing silk robe or dress. You'll be sure to see it during Halloween, when hundreds of girls sport their "Sexy Geisha" and "Dragon Lady" costumes. While it is regrettable that the media promotes this perception, it is worse when it is played out in real life as a "joke" that alienates people on this campus.

Second, there is the Model Minority Myth, the stereotype that all Asian Americans are incredibly intelligent and hardworking and do not need government assistance. You might pick up on this in TV shows, when you notice that Asian actors are usually playing the nerd in class or a doctor. This stereotype often deprives underprivileged Asians of getting the resources and help that they need.

Finally, there is the Forever Foreigner stereotype that insists on a specific idea of Asian people as the "Other" in society, who are never really seen as American. The cartoon further perpetuates the idea of the foreign Asian girl who becomes the exotic "other." In fact, Asian Americans have a long and diverse history in this country that dates back to the early 1700s. It is a history of people that have fought long against racist perceptions that have caused much injustice in the community.

Although the racist nature of the cartoons is subtle, the sexism is definitely more pronounced. The substitute professor ignores Jung Sung's intelligence because he is too busy looking at her breasts. I understand this is supposed to be the joke behind the strip, but is it necessary to take a cheap shot at all the women on this campus by telling them their minds are secondary to their bodies? We are at an institute of higher learning, and I would think the students would be able to utilize intelligent humor and know better than to further the oppression our society lays out for us.

It is funny to me that our generation is so adamant about rallying for change, but when it comes down to eliminating simple forms of language and humor that are tools of oppression, we write it off as being in good fun. We'll chant "Yes, we can," but when it comes down to it, we don't care enough to actually do something about it. John Mayer might make it seem acceptable for us to be "waiting on the world to change," but change will never occur if we apathetically sit on our asses.

Kumudha Kumarachandran is a senior government and politics major and is head of the AASPIRE committee of the AASU, which focuses on Asian American women. She can be reached at Kumudha.Nadine@gmail.com.