WTF!!! A highly racially offensive wig listing from China on eBay!

[Solitude]

I saw the word on some figurines at an antique mall here in Edmonton, Canada (ni88er statuette or smthg like that). And a friend of mine at work says her mother in law uses that word liberally as a description of black people without seeing anything wrong with it, same with "coloured" I've been called that in here.

Well, colored was the acceptable way to describe "people of color" in this country for many, many, years so lots of old-school people still use it...take the NAACP, for example...people have been saying the name should be changed forever, but it has a historical purpose.

As far as the n-word....maybe something is wrong with me, but I just don't feel like the word is as highly-charged as it used to be. When I clicked on the ebay link, I was surprised...but then it was associated with a wig, so my second thought was "who cares..." but I guess if I came upon that when looking for a wig, I would be offended. I'm glad OP brought it to light and others reported it.

 

[discodumpling]

It amazes me everytime ...but it's crazy how folks who don't speak english always know the word ****** (yeah I said it....can't sugar coat it!)
I once overheard a conversation between some German tourists on the subway & (at that time) the only word I understood was ******, I thought it was sad then too...

 

[DeepBluSea]

Maybe this is what's happening in China as well. I've found an image of a Taiwanese shop (they sale hip-hop gear) called N*gger King (see attachment).

Jesus take the wheel!

I hate the tired excuse "well, black people use it." But I think it applies in this case. You got a country full of people whose only exposure is BET and rap videos , etc. They prolly think it's cool. I really hope they don't roll up on just any black person, talking ***** this ***** that. It would be ON.

 

[Jozze]

We are the only race of women who buy other races' fur (we call it hair; its fur) and put it on our head
anyway, you should expect them to make fun of us

Why are you perpetuating the negative and false stereotype that only BW wear hair extensions? The wig and hair extension industry was set-up and developed for women of European origin and they are still the primary wearers. The only reason Europeans have gotten away with wearing wigs, falls and extensions undetected (for hundreds of years I may add!) is because of the ease of matching their hair types. There are a ton of white hair forums dedicated to wearing and making extensions, just Google hair extensions to see for yourself.

One of my oldest friends is a very successful wigmaker and extension techie. She's been making full lace/Jewish wigs and applying all basic types of hair extensions (including weaves) for nearly twenty-five years, well before they became the norm for BW. If only BW wear wigs and extensions why are 99% of her clients European women?!?
She never uses Chinese hair for wigs or extensions because she says the strands are too coarse and don't match her clients hair. She buys all of her hair from Eastern Europe (i.e. Russia).

The fact is, the Chinese (and Japanese) cultures worship white skin. They equate dark skin with racial inferiority. Every BW in the world could have natural super long silky straight hair but they would still look down on us as they do dark skinned Asians. Hair extensions have nothing to do with it. Your argument is ridiculous and definitely does not stand up to reason or the facts.

As someone posted earlier, the real power is with our purchasing. We spend billions on beauty products. All we have is to stop buying any of their products. I could careless about them being racist, but in business dealings it should not be hurled into our faces. I will not knowingly give them anymore of my money.

 

[RossBoss]

The fact is, the Chinese (and Japanese) cultures worship white skin. They equate dark skin with racial inferiority. Every BW in the world could have natural super long silky straight hair but they would still look down on us as they do dark skinned Asians. Hair extensions have nothing to do with it. Your argument is ridiculous and definitely does not stand up to reason or the facts.

Exactly. Many Asian countries are racially homogenous so they can get away with this type of stuff because there's nobody to hold them accountable. I doubt you'd be hearing that "lost in translation" excuse if the wig was listed by a seller in Europe.

 

[RossBoss]

Believe me, there is no "lost in translation" phenomenon with the "n" word. I lived in Korea for 2 years, 1993-1995 while in the Air Force. My then-boyfriend (white American, also military) broke up with his Korean ex and started dating me, and she tried to get back with him when she found out he got promoted. She kept screaming, "What do you want with her? She's pucking neeeger!" He was shocked because he didn't realize she even knew the word. I laughed because there's no "f" in hangul (the Korean alphabet) and she sounded comical saying "pucking". Yeah, they know what "n" means.

I mean seriously. The ladies on this board KNOW the treatment Black consumers of Asian owned BSS have to endure here in the States, why is it so far fetched to believe that these people really do know what ****** means?

 

[RossBoss]

That is crazy, but the sad thing about it is that you know that their excuse is gonna be, "how can it be offensive if your people call each other it all the time". I personally don't use the word but I constantly hear others using it. Im glad you all reported this because this is terrible!

The fact of the matter is that you can't get people "riled up" to go after rappers and other Blacks who use the word. It is so much easier to go after Whites and other non-Blacks when they use it because at least we know we can "shame" them into stopping, there is really no way to shame our fellow Blacks into not using the word so people know it would be futile to try to muster up the level of anger the ladies have in this thread towards the Asian seller and direct it towards other Blacks. Not gonna happen.

 

[Chevelure618]

Yeah, I really think it was a lost in translation type of situation that needs to be reported nonetheless...

I dont' think it was a translation thing. No group of people would be called by a slur/slang then hyphenation with a color as a description for a wig. Can you imagine ____-anyotherhaircolor to describe any other type of wig?

 

[Jozze]

The fact of the matter is that you can't get people "riled up" to go after rappers and other Blacks who use the word. It is so much easier to go after Whites and other non-Blacks when they use it because at least we know we can "shame" them into stopping, there is really no way to shame our fellow Blacks into not using the word so people know it would be futile to try to muster up the level of anger the ladies have in this thread towards the Asian seller and direct it towards other Blacks. Not gonna happen.

In my opinion, n*gger/n*gga is the most hateful word in the world. I have never understood why anyone with black origins would use it at all, especially as a term of endearment. The word is filled with too much evil and hatred to be used and reinforced as much as it is in our culture. The Africans who were kidnapped and forced into slavery did not refer to themselves as n*ggers so it doesn't belong to us. It is a word that was created to psychologically enslave, demean, destroy and dominate our minds, hearts and spirits.

I totally believe that by using n*gga with each other we are psychologically and spiritually damaging ourselves and debasing our culture. It's like repeating the mantra "I'm inferior! I'm inferior!" every time we use it, whether we consciously realise it or not.

 

[Vashti]

This whole situation just made me laugh. It's also why I don't buy ANYTHING from Asian beauty shops anymore. They know d**n well what that word means. That kind of mess doesn't get a pass from me. It's flat out disrespect. I don't need what they're selling.