WHAT IF it's a “white guy” that's well versed in Japanese cultural traditions… opening a bar with a very proper “traditional theme?”

I KIND of think that just assuming these are “stupid Americans” opening a bar with the intent of a creating an “Asian prostitute theme” IN an Asian American community seems a bit odd…

AND concluding that “stupid Americans” would ONLY open up a bar with such a name strictly for the purposes of arousing salaciousness in their white clientele to be… basically, stereotyping white people.

It reminds me a bit of that controversy in New York where a public official used the term “niggardly” in a public meeting…

Just BECAUSE everyone thinks it may be a racially charged term doesn't make it so… It just makes the people who misunderstand it idiots…

And if we “ban” a term solely because some people don't understand it… Don't we essentially MAKE that term a “bad word” even if it doesn't carry with it a negative connotation in it's common usage?

Just by saying that “geisha” is somehow offensive essentially tells the world, “yes, the term geisha pretty much means whore, so don't say it.” Seems to me a good way to kill off ANY proper notion of what a geisha may truly represent… and that IS a tragedy if the profession could be considered an artistic artform in a traditional sense.

In any case… I like the site you guys have here… More so the mildly political topics you have… BUT you've also introduced me to some interesting Asian American musicians… So keep up the good work.

Oh… if it matters… I'm half-Japanese and half white… So I can say “geisha” AND “stupid Americans” and not feel the least bit guilty about it.

=)

What the campaign IS pointing to however, is that most Americans can't tell the difference between the different Asian cultures or people. This spills over into how people individually and institutionally discriminate against, harass and/or commit violence against Asian Americans – based on oversimplified ideas and stereotypes of “Asians” as a mass group.

This has nothing to do with the historical geisha. It's about the uninformed idea of what most Americans think the geisha is, which then becomes the lens for how they see Asian and Asian American women. To see that representation, all you have to do is turn to Hollywood – the passive, submissive, exotic, servile, sexually available woman. This image also becomes a stand-in for how Hollywood has chosen to “see” Asian countries and how American (read white) men should interact with Asian women – see the older flick Sayonara for instance.

I have yet to meet an Asian American woman who has NOT been impacted by this stereotype somehow, whether in personal relationships or in the workplace.

This campaign is about the personal safety and mental well-being of Asian/Asian American women who live in the area. The bar is located on a main avenue that is used by many to get to public transportation.

This campaign is not to shut down a business, it is to change an inappropriate name. If a business opened with a name that referred to racist and sexist stereotypes of black women, I doubt it would get a permit so easily in Oakland.

For those who argue for an education campaign – this method was attempted earlier through private meetings with the male bar owner. Needless to say, this did not work. To undertake a longer-term educational campaign requires more resources. Strategically, it was better to try to nip this bar issue in the bud.

(We also had in the Bay Area an Asian Art Museum which put up a geisha exhibit in 2004 (see http://www.scotttsuchitani.com/pages/geisha/gei…) which perpetuated an Orientalist image of the geisha in the Bay Area public's mind.)

Incidentally, I was just reading today that the Japan America Society is hosting a screening next month in Huntington Beach about geisha. I don't think they'll be any protests over that.

“'Hannari – Geisha Modern,' a selection of the U.N.'s International Film Festival, is a documentary film that captures the geisha for what they are truly meant to be — artists and entertainers who devote their lives to the traditional arts and a traditional way of life. For the very first time, the geisha are filmed in a manner that allows the audience to see, hear and to feel the true beauty of the geisha.”
http://www.jas-socal.org/jas/DesktopDefault.asp…

Thank you for the offer.

I've found that the 8asians blog is pretty great in showcasing Asian-Am news, but when it comes to sociological discussions it's lacking a little bit.

You're more than welcome to blog for 8Asians as well. You know how to contact us. Thanks!

Anyway, I agree with you — it's not about what “real geishas” are about, it's about what people think the term signifies, and the stereotypes that come with it.

I've found that the 8asians blog is pretty great in showcasing Asian-Am news, but when it comes to sociological discussions it's lacking a little bit. :