An Asian themed costume contest in San Diego which ignited protests and fears of stereotypical and racist portrayals of Asian Americans has been cancelled.
The contest which had been scheduled for today became known to the Asian American community just several days ago. A letter which had been co-signed by 17 Asian American organizations threatened to boycott the entire event which was tied to an Asian bar crawl.
In a new letter from the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, San Diego co-chair’s Linda Le & Trinh Le wrote:
“We have consulted with some of our partner organizations and have decided that NAPAWF-SD will no longer organize for a boycott of the Asian Bar Crawl.
“Although some things are too late to change, such as the flyer and the images portrayed by this event, the ‘happy ending happy hour,’ and the use of “Asian bar crawl” as opposed to “Asian restaurant and bar crawl,” we appreciate your cooperation and sensitivity, and we will encourage patronage of the Asian owned businesses.”
The letter encouraged a continuation of future dialogue between the Asian American community and businesses which become associated with Asian culture.
The cancellation of the contest comes after organizers initially defended it
RE: Asian themed costume contest canceled after protest from Asian American community: Seems that without a single person on a picket line, the sorry event was cancelled. Power to the pen…..
RE: Asian Themed costume contest canceled after protest from Asian American community: Very true, Corky. Just as amazing is the short amount of time it took to get the event canceled. The protest just started just a few days ago when the contest became known.
RE: Asian themed costume contest cancelled after protest from Asian Americans: I want to thank NAPAWF-SD for leading the charge with this. These types of demonstration of solidarity in our community is important particularly in fighting against racism and stereotypes of our culture. Way to go Linda and Trinh Le.