BREAKING: Japan Wins Gold in the Perpetuating Racial Stereotypes Competition!

February 27, 2010 14:40 pm
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(Photo: Mainichi Daily News)

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I didn’t see it. All I see is two people dressed with clothing of the Japanese culture. Why is it perpetuating a stereotype?

invisiblegaijin March 29, 2010 at 10:24 am: Hi Juli,
Thank you for your comment.
Imagine if two Americans wore the same costumes. Some people would find that objectionable in the sense of perpetuating stereotypes.
The joke, of course, is that these skaters were born and raised in the U.S. with dual US/Japan citizenship. The irony of ex-Americans skating for Japan wearing Japanese kimono struck me as funny, particularly in the nationalistic context of the Olympic games.
Cheers,
InvisibleGaijin

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I call BS. The dual citizenship between the US & Japan is not permitted. Let’s get real.

invisiblegaijin April 29, 2010 at 10:02 am: The person must declare a single nationality by age 22 by Japanese law, i.e., you can have dual nationalities until then. This pairs team renounced their US citizenship, selecting Japanese nationality, thus becoming able to represent Japan in the Olympics. Wearing kimono.

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