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Update: March 17th
On March 16th, eight people were killed in three spa shootings in the Atlanta area of Georgia. Six of them were Asian and seven were female. The perpetrator, a Caucasian, was arrested on March 17.
According to The New York Times, Long had previously been to a massage parlor and told police he had the shooting to eliminate “temptation” due to “sexual addiction.”
The hate crime comes just days after Stop AAPI Hate reported 3,795 hate incidents were notified from its inception through February 28 of this year. The majority of reported incidents are verbal harassment and shunning, followed by physical assault. Women reportedly report 2.3 times more hate incidents than men.
Will fashion and beauty confront anti-Asian violence?
Anti-Asian sentiment has surged globally since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in verbal discrimination and physical attacks (some fatally) against Asian Americans in the United States doing.
Weeks after the Asian-American community demanded via social media to report the increase in attacks against them, the publication reported that a 30-year-old Filipino man, The spotlight began to shine on victims like Angelo Quinto.A 52-year-old Asian woman who was pushed to the ground while standing in line at a bakery in Queens, New York
Fashion designers like Prabal Gurung, who took part in protests against anti-Asian violence in New York City on February 20, said the industry in which they built their careers has a responsibility to provide support. ing.
“This is simple. Violence against any group is a human problem,” Gurung said. An industry that claims to have “woke up,” an industry that has the visual power to influence billions of people around the world, to speak up and show up for us is our industry. is the responsibility of ”
Designer Jason Wu said members of the fashion and beauty industry have an “obligation” to encourage open dialogue about anti-Asian violence and to prioritize diversity.
“[Growing] When I was younger, I was a predominantly Western face in campaigns,” Wu said. “It took me my whole life to feel so comfortable in my own skin.
“In fact, for the first time since the pandemic [started] I’ve talked about this topic outside of my Instagram,” he added, alluding to the lack of mainstream coverage of racism against Asians in America.
Since its launch in March 2020, more than 2,500 cases of anti-Asian discrimination have been reported to the Stop AAPI Hate Report Center. According to the report, 7 out of 10 incidents are verbal harassment, and 9% of incidents are physical assaults.
Anti-Asian hate crimes surged 1,900% in New York City last year, according to NYPD data. According to a United Nations report, he had more than 1,800 anti-Asian incidents in the United States in eight weeks from March 2020 to May.
Designer Philip Lim said in a statement that the fashion house’s work “should represent the world we want to see.”
“In today’s world, our belief systems can no longer be separated from our actions,” Lim said. “Yes, I am a fashion designer, but first and foremost I am a human being.”
David Yi, author of Pretty Boys and founder of Very Good Light, says beauty brands should include racism against Asians and Asian Americans when promoting anti-racism. I said yes.
“The beauty industry is leading the way when it comes to inclusion, diversity and equity, but sometimes I feel like the Asian-American story is being lost because of the myth of model minority,” says Yi. I was. “Asian violence is not new. It is a system that has always existed in American history. There has always been anti-Asian hatred. are divisive because they stop paying attention to the Asian community and see them as invisible, further perpetuating the idea that Asians should be erased and kept silent. It was insidious.”
Tina Cho Rudolph, founder of beauty brand Strange Bird, says the myth of model minorities needs to be dismantled if the Asian community is to thrive.
“We are made immune to racism, violence and oppression, so it is never fully addressed,” she said. “We are taught to keep quiet.”
Designer Ji Oh said that while all industries have a responsibility to bring attention to the rise of racism against Asians and Asian Americans, fashion in particular is closely tied to Asian communities.
“Behind the scenes, most of the people are Asian, but when the industry is not really speaking for the people who support it, the industry completely ignores the issue. Especially if you have a ,” said Oh.
An estimated 65 million workers were employed in the garment sector in Asia-Pacific in 2019, representing 75% of the world’s garment workers, according to the International Labor Organization. Imports from garment-exporting Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam fell by as much as 70% in the first half of 2020, a disproportionate impact on women. gave , make up the majority of garment workers in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to Nielsen, Asian Americans are the fastest growing consumer segment in the United States, with their purchasing power projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2020. Disparity.
Asian culture often influences designers and brand founders of all races in the fashion and beauty industry. Yoga pants, kimonos, K-beauty booms, gua sha tools, facial rollers are just a few examples.
Yet many of the industry’s most powerful companies have spoken out in interviews with WWD about the importance of Asian and Asian-American consumers to their overall business, yet have yet to respond to anti-Asian hate crimes. Not showing posture.
“From a purely economic and business perspective, how can we ignore these horrible things that are happening to a very valuable consumer segment?” said Ju Rhyu, co-founder and CEO of Hero Cosmetics. He said: “From a human perspective, I can’t imagine why a brand would downplay or overlook a horrific event taking place. Statistically, they’re on the rise.”
Ryu recently read a news report about an incident in which acid was thrown at a Japanese group in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, where she is based.
“There are people on social media who are actively advocating violence against the Asian-American community related to COVID-19,” Ryu said.
Make-up artist Daniel Martin says raising awareness starts with appointing Asians and Asian-Americans to executive positions.
“There is such a big, blurred line between being a truly Asia-based brand and the people employed by that brand,” says Martin.
Lin Cheng, founder of self-care brand Pink Moon, says education is necessary to stand on the side of the Asian-American community.
“Asian American is a very broad term,” Chen said. “Asians should be included in BIPOC, not stereotypes.”
To offer a solution, Diane Read, founder of Mo Mi Beauty, said in an email: , working with Asian-American “brands, bloggers and writers” is a good place to start.
Education and awareness are key to driving change, said Stephanie Morimoto, owner and CEO of wellness brand Asutra, in an email.
“Learn more about Asian American history, just as many of us have tried to learn more about black history in America. [people] Sometimes we banded together to fight for each other’s rights,” she said.
“It’s not enough to just talk and post on social media,” she continued. Encourage retailers to consider the needs of Asian Americans when designing their assortments Encourage brands to create products for different skin, hair types, and shades to provide diverse solutions When donating proceeds for a new product or campaign, think holistically about the causes we support.When sharing photos of people using our products, think holistically. Let’s amplify the
Details from WWD.com:
Beauty Advances Towards Racial Equality
Nidhi Sunil is L’Oréal Paris’ first Indian model global ambassador
Dark skin tones are underrepresented on social media, report says
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