Commenters rightfully pointed out the hypocrisy. Only to receive the following responses:
From one of the authors...
I suggest you read before condemning to understand exactly why that word and metaphor were specifically chosen.
From the publishers...
Tales from the Expat Harem is neither a sexist nor a racist title. Please, let's not look for the racially embedded wrong in every one of our books.
I heart Susie:
"Please, let's not look for the racially embedded wrong in every one of our books."
Because if it's there, you really don't want to know about it. You couldn't be making that clearer. Less than a week after your heartfelt apology, you're given the opportunity to listen to women of color trying to tell you something, and you dismiss them out of hand once again, informing them that you know far better than they do what is and isn't racist. You don't say, "Well, I can see why you'd be concerned about that, but we definitely considered that as an issue and here's why we feel it's not inappropriate." No, you just shut down discussion, and you shut it down by saying explicitly that you aren't willing to accept any consequences, like heightened scrutiny, for the wrong you admit you've done and for which you are supposedly so deeply penitent.
I'm really gobsmacked by this. You'd think common sense would keep you from being this openly arrogant and condescending, if a sense of decency doesn't.
**x-posted at Purple
Update:
From the publishers:
We apologized for the images in the first printing of It's A Jungle Out There. We made a mistake, we've owned up to it, we're doing everything we can to make things right for the book, for the author, and for our readers. We are working to do better.
"Now where's our damn cookie?!"
Seal has been around for more than 30 years. We've published a lot of great titles. We've informed a lot of women's lives.
Their new slogan: Seal Press...Racially-Igorant for Over 30 Years
In the two years since we published Tales from the Expat Harem, we have not heard that this book is pissing people off, let alone that it is racist. Quite the opposite. This travel literature title has received great reviews, has given travelers and arm-chair travelers alike a peek into Turkish culture from non-Turkish women's perspectives. Initially, we questioned the title too, but the editors of this anthology, both accomplished women we respect, helped us to see that from our narrow Westerner lense, the title which made us uncomfortable, was actually, an appropriate way to clarify the female powerbase aspect of a harem.
"The two White ladies who published this book assured us it wasn't racist."
This doesn't take away our mistakes. We realize that. Pushing the envelope is difficult, and we will continue to make mistakes along the way. It's never our intention to offend our audience, but we know that causing a stir, shaking people up, getting people to discuss things that push their boundaries and are challenging is part of our important job. And we take it seriously.
"It meaning making money. To hell with racism!"
Before you accuse us of publishing racist books, I do hope you'll read them, so we can have more informed discussions that we and our authors can participate in.
Anyone else get the warm-'n-fuzzies from this "apology"?
Nah. Me neither.
9 comments:
How can you make a judgement without even reading the book, or at least the introduction to the book, which explains the title????
First of all, because it's my right.
Secondly - and I actually learned this from (white)feminists! whodothunkit! - intent is nothing. If someone is racially ignorant about something, they need to school themselves on it. Just because they didn't mean to be offensive doesn't make it any less so.
you really have no idea what you're talking about. you're just like the people you claim to criticize - you're making judgements without bothering to actually do any research. which yes, is you're right, but it still makes you wrong.
I've said over and over again about how I'm sick and tired of having tell people that, yes, racism is a reality, and that it's something that goes beyond the KKK, cross-burnings, and lynchings. I sure as hell am not going to waste my time trying to drill it into somebody's head on my own damn blog.
So, intead of me, giving you all of the historical and anectodotal, evidence as to why it is, you, Anonymous, will prove to me why that title is not racist.
Don't expect your comments to be published until you do.
actually, you're a racist, and you're perpetuating a racist atmosphere.
oh no, not again
I've kind of given up on expecting anything good out of Seal Press. I mean, "diversity training" or whatever it is they suggested? Srsly? How about, I don't know, adopting some of the very thoughtful and carefully laid-out-steps suggested to them by ProfBW?
Except wait, that would require real change...
The only reason I let Anonymous' last comment slide is because I think it's hilarious when someone accuses a person of being racist for pointing out racism. Especially a little chicken-shit who can't bring her/himself to post some kind of handle.
Oh, and btw, I'm still waiting for that proof, Anonymous.
the hyper-sexualization of women of color in the title is apparent. It's also xenophobic. Imagine if you were Turkish, or Middle Eastern, and a woman, and every time you talked to some dumb westerner, they projected their middle eastern harem prostitute fantasies all over you. This happens all the time to women of color from Muslim countries. Every American Apparrel ad in the back of our City Paper here in Pittsburgh this month was a hypersexualized image of a of color. This is the remnant of white colonialist sexual violence against women of color.
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