DETAILS Responds To OCA'S Rebuke Of "Gay Or Asian?" Article

Editor-In-Chief Of DETAILS Responds To OCA'S Rebuke Of "Gay Or Asian?" Article

On March 31, 2004, OCA received the following statement from Details Magazine. OCA believes this an unacceptable response. OCA had demanded that Details recall the April 2004 magazine, issue a formal apology to the APA community, and eliminate Whitney McNally's offensive Anthropology column from future publication. To the extent the "Gay or Asian?" article is part of a continuing feature intended to lampoon and exacerbate social stereotypes of all cultures, OCA strongly encourages interested individuals to continue writing letters of reprimand to Details. Other efforts are also charging forward in protest of Details' tactless, disrespectful "humor."

Asian Media Watchdog is organizing Asian Pacific American and anti-racist activists to protest in front of the Details offices at 7 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001 (at 5th Avenue) at 12:00 noon on Friday, April 16, 2004. Asian Media Watchdog is also spearheading an on-line letter writing campaign. For more information, go to www.asianmediawatchdog.com or call their headquarters at 212-560-5683.

Additionally, Daniel Lee continues to acquire over 21,000 signatures for his "Asians Against Ignorance!" petition to the advertisers of Details. Go to www.petitiononline.com/details4/petition.html to add your signature.

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March 31, 2004

Dear Mr. Wong,

Thank you for your letter regarding the "Gay or Asian?" piece, which ran in the April issue of Details. I regret that you were offended by the aforementioned story. Details is publishing a response, in the May issue, to the overwhelming amount of calls and letters the magazine has received on the offensive nature of this satirical editorial. It was not our intention for this story to hurt anyone of any race or sexual orientation. Your comments are appreciated and respected. Kind regards,

/s/

Dan Peres
Editor-in Chief
Details

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OCA Rebukes Blatant Racial Stereotyping In DETAILS Magazine Article

Washington, DC - The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), a national Asian Pacific American (APA) civil rights advocacy and educational organization with over 80 chapters and affiliates nationwide, condemns the xenophobic images and words used to essentialize gay and APA males in Details Magazine's article entitled, "Gay or Asian?" The Details' article is an inappropriate characterization of all APA males. OCA demands Details to recall the April 2004 magazine, issue a formal apology to the APA community, and eliminate Whitney McNally's offensive Anthropology column from future publication.

In the April 2004 issue, Details compares tired stereotypes of Asian and homosexual males in the article entitled, "Gay or Asian?" The caption accompanying the image of an "Asian" male read "Whether you are into shrimp balls or shaved balls, entering the dragon requires imperial tastes..Study hard Grasshopper: The sharpest eye will always take home the plumpest eel."

OCA denounces this column as wholly unacceptable. OCA aligns itself with those who fight for the justice of gay communities across the United States and finds Details' use of Asian cultural foods and traditions as a definition of "gay" to be homophobic and offensive to gay men both within the APA community and the gay community at large. Moreover, further offenses and trite generalizations about other communities will not be tolerated.

"The Details article uses banal generalizations about Asian food and physical features of Asian Pacific American men. Details limits the image of APA males, which is blatantly offensive and dehumanizing to the APA population," said OCA National President, Raymond Wong. "The APA community will not allow Details to use us as limiting markers for the gay community whom we believe embody diverse images."

"This article evidences Details' lack of sophistication and complete disrespect for the APA community," said Christine Chen, OCA Executive Director. "APA males face systemic challenges from frequently being characterized as effeminate and meek, which emasculates them from the well-balanced personalities and images they evince. Ignorant articles like this one merely exacerbate the prevalent discrimination of APA males who already suffer from lack of representation in the media."

Today, OCA sent a letter to Details expressing its condemnation of this article. For an actual copy of the letter, please refer to the OCA website at www.ocanatl.org.

OCA calls on all concerned individuals to contact Details' editor-in-chief to immediately recall the April 2004 magazine, issue a formal apology to the APA community, and demand Details eliminate Whitney McNally's column from future publication.

Daniel Peres
Editor-in-Chief
Details Magazine
7 West 34th Street
New York, NY 10001
(212) 630-4000

detailsletters@fairchildpub.com
whitney.mcnally@fairchildpub.com