Can a typeface be racist?

[BvBPL]

So Fresh Direct, which I guess is some sort of American food company, recently came out with an email mailer advertising some stir-fry and other Chinese culinary products. They used a font called Chop Suey (see below for picture) and another, similar, one called Chopsticks.

Jeff Yang, who writes the column "Tao Jones" for the WSJ's online edition, got wind of this choice of font and wrote to Fresh Direct and they changed the font. Apparently, the choice of font was viewed by Yang as offensive.

Do you think that a reasonable person can become offended by a typeface or does Yang have his shorts in a bunch?

My take is that if I were Chinese, or Asian, I might be offended by the use of these fonts. These fonts, or fonts like them, have long been used to characterture the Asian community. I can grok how someone can be offended by their use.

That said, it seems really weird for the complaint to come from a guy who's column is itself a bad pun at the expense of a Chinese system of spirituality. "Tao Jones?" Really? That's like a guy running a blog called "Cheese and Crackers" complaining about some guy getting called a "honky." The name of Yang's column in no way invalidates his observations, but it does seem kind of weird.

Story link.

Example of Chop Suey font:

For comparison, here's the Hot Tamale font, which type designer claims "nobody questions" regarding its use in selling burritos. Is it offensive?

 

[holy king]

things like this make me start to believe in "the pc brigade"

 

[Lillefix]

So this was actually a guy of Asian descent who got offended?

When it comes to ridiculous PC-nonsense, I have the impression that it's normally other people who get offended on someone else's behalf(I'm not personally offended by this, but...).

 

[Synobun]

Asian-based fonts are racist to Asians.

I can see the overwhelming logic in this and I agree, racism is more alive now than ever. BAN FONTS.

 

[amadeus]

Shorts firmly in bunch. It's just a kitchy font, like using a cowboy font for Americans or a gothic font for Germany.

 

[holy king]

you mean Fraktur.

 

[luiz]

Oh God.

Yeah, yeah, everything and everyone is racist and we must constantly police ourselves because God forbid we might offend someone somewhere in the world so let us all just kill ourselves to prevent this monstrosity from happening. Racism racism racism racism!

 

[Mise]

Stereotypes like this are really god damn annoying. It might not actually be racist, but it's still quite pathetic.

EDIT: And once again, right on cue, the anti-PC brigade gets its shorts in a bunch over somebody purportedly getting their shorts in a bunch.

 

[sophie]

you mean Fraktur.

Damn. I was going to mention Fraktur!

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

So a font walks into a bar.

Bartender says "Heh, we don't serve your type around here"

 

[Farm Boy]

Stereotypes like this are really god damn annoying. It might not actually be racist, but it's still quite pathetic.

EDIT: And once again, right on cue, the anti-PC brigade gets its shorts in a bunch over somebody purportedly getting their shorts in a bunch.

I like this game Mise! And right on cue the anti-anti-PC brigade gets its shorts in a bunch over somebody purportedly getting their shorts in a bunch about somebody purportedly getting their shorts in a bunch.

 

[BvBPL]

Oh God.

Yeah, yeah, everything and everyone is racist and we must constantly police ourselves because God forbid we might offend someone somewhere in the world so let us all just kill ourselves to prevent this monstrosity from happening. Racism racism racism racism!

Why wouldn't you care if you risk offending people? You're making of light of things people find offensive as if you don't care whether or not they are offended.

If you feel that people are being thin-skinned and shouldn't take offense at the use of the font, fine. Say that. But turning it into a joke doesn't help anything. In fact, rather than salve the offense a party may have taken at an original work, you're simply contributing to compounding the offense.

 

[classical_hero]

This is a travesty to mankind

 

[Mise]

Yeah, I mean, I don't see why they can't just use a different typeface. It's like people are purposely getting themselves worked up over something so trivial. Would the world really stop turning if we could never use the "Chop Suey" font ever again?

 

[Traitorfish]

It seems to me that there is some space between something actually being racist, and something being wholly non-problematic. A particular motif may not be intrinsically racist, but that doesn't mean it isn't in poor taste, or that certain people may not feel uncomfortable with its use. If there is a widespread feeling among Asian-Americans that the use of these fonts is in some way demeaning, then I would recommend that they not be used. It's just good manners. The same problem does not arise with, for example, kitschy pseudo-Irish fonts, because as far as I can tell the Irish diaspora themselves are almost entirely responsible for that sort of thing.

And, what Mise said.

 

[Tee Kay]

So this was actually a guy of Asian descent who got offended?

He's an idiot. Either that, or he's trolling; which is more likely, I think, considering he's a columnist for the WSJ.

 

[Snorrius]

Do you think that a reasonable person can become offended by a typeface or does Yang have his shorts in a bunch?

The whole modern Western madness about being offended on almost everything imaginable issue is ridiculous.

By the way, I am offended by the very existence of idiots.

 

[The_J]

I think the thing is a good indicator for not having any real problems.

 

[Yeekim]

I find pseudo-cyrillic (the kind which substitutes, for example, д for A, и for N and я for R) cringeworthy. But racist? Come on.

 

[Tee Kay]

I think everypony's overreacting to this a bit...