Okay, so people are upset at Victoria’s Secret, which means that it’s a weekday.
Recently the lingerie company released a new line called “Go East,” which doesn’t seem to really have any purpose other than to sexify the wearer. Which: Totally fine by me.
But a good number of people and bloggers in the Asian American community are upset over it.
Blogs such as Racialicious and 8Asians have accused Victoria’s Secret of marginalizing a piece of Japanese culture and oversexualizing a legitimate form of performance art that’s been erroneously confused with prostitution.
After World War II, this confusion worsened when, during the Allied occupation of Japan, Japanese prostitutes would dress as “Geisha girls” to attract clients. Legitimate Geisha, however, are never to partake in any sexual act with their audience, even to the point that, during a time in the Edo period, when prostitution was legal, geisha who committed prostitution were actively punished.
Because of this, many people feel that turning the idea of the geisha into a blatant sexual fantasy is insensitive at best. Some go so far as to call it full on racist.
Victoria’s Secret, for their part, has pulled the “Go East” line from its website. Their spokespeople claim that the line sold out, but gave no means through which to confirm it and admitted they couldn’t possibly know that this soon.
Some think Victoria’s Secret is simply clueless, but what’s clear is, whether or not the outrage is justified, Victoria’s Secret was quick to respond to public reaction.
What isn’t clear is how we are going to deal with the national butt chugging crisis. Seriously, are we going to do something about that? Call your Senator. I… I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to stay on this planet, knowing that people are putting beer up their butts.
Lee and Elliott’ve got more to say on the geisha matter:
Question: Pretty simple – is the line racist?
