Column: It’s Racism and You Need to Stop Denying it

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a music video fall so triumphantly into a horrible stereotype in my life.

This has to be one the most offensive music videos ever released. It’s not only disrespectful and ignorant but also riddled with racist lyrics.

The music video in question was uploaded by a band called “Day Above Ground”, and they seem to think that their lyric writing is really top-notch.

Titled “Asian Girlz”, the song was pulled from YouTube because of the extreme negative feedback it was getting, and then the band reposted it online.

Why? To apologise to people if it caused any offence.

This seems to be like a backward step to me. You didn’t mean to cause anyone offence but you’re reposting the video with the same lyrics that people are so furious about?

I’m a person of Asian heritage and I battle with these ignorant stereotypes every single day of my life both online and offline. I’ve been called slanty eyes, have been told to go back to my own country and have time and time again been singled out because of the colour my skin.

To me, this video was beyond offensive.

Here are some of the appalling lyrics that are featured in this song:

I love your sticky rice
Butt f**king all night
Korean barbecue
B*tch I love you
I love your creamy yellow thighs
Ooh your slanted eyes
It’s the Year of the Dragon
Ninja p**y I’m stabbin’

They’re now claiming the song was satire but I don’t buy it.

The defences that the band have come up with, is that was a song that wasn’t actually meant to cause offence to anyone and actually it was only trying to be “racy” and even “endearing.”

I’ve yet to find a person of Asian heritage who loves it when someone references their “slanted eyes” or their “creamy yellow thighs.”

I’m also yet to find a person who would find sexually explicit lyrics like these "endearing".

“Understand that we do not promote or support racism or violence” they write.

I think I had to do a double-take when I read this sentence.

So what exactly do they think this video doing then? What exact view are their lyrics supporting? That Asian women have a “ninja p**y”? That we love “butt f**king”? That we’re all for this racist stereotype?

The band went on to say under the YouTube video:

“Please respect our decision to delete any violent, insensitive, or hurtful comment and also one that supports racism”

Take a look at the lyrics, if the band don’t see them as “insensitive”, they need a serious reality check. They’ve ticked these boxes on their own with their words.

But there’s one key element of the video that also needs addressing.

“I sincerely apologize to all who feels that I set Asian women back 50 yrs. I know I lost respect from a lot of ppl. It wasn't my intention” – Levy Tran

Levy Tran is the woman and model who features so prominently in the video, and that was her apology.

What annoys and upsets me about her comment is that she still did the video regardless of the lyrics. She was still reinforcing the stereotype.

It seems to me that Tran at the time thought that featuring in this music video was fine and only since it has been receiving such negative backlash has she decided to apologise for it.

As someone who feels like that they have to battle the “Asian” stereotype every day of my life, it appals me that anyone would actually give this video the “ok.”

Of course people are going to make the argument that by highlighting this video I’m only giving them attention but if that’s what stops another video like this from surfacing onto YouTube then I’m ok with that.

“WE ARE NOT RACIST” they exclaim. “I mean, look at our band, it’s multicultural!!”

This is an unbelievable cop-out and pretty much saying just because they’ve an Asian friend means they can’t possibly be racist.

This band has literally crammed every single Asian stereotype into one music video and now they’re claiming it’s actually meant to be making a mockery of themselves and not meant to offend people?

Give me a break. This is racist material and it’s far from ok.