On April 20, or 4/20, Snapchat received backlash after they released a Bob Marley filter, which many users thought promoted “black face.” Now, Snapchat is facing another controversy after releasing a filer that allegedly promotes a racist Asian stereotype.
Snapchat claims at the filter was “anime” inspired and was not meant to offend. Shortly after receiving backlash all over the internet, the company pulled the filter.
“Lenses are meant to be playful and never to offend,” Snapchat said in a statement Wednesday.
Grace Sparapani, 23, condemned Snapchat on Twitter.
Subscribe to
NextShark's Newsletter
A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.
Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.
Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive.
“It’s like, oh here, as part of your like fun morning snapchat routine, try on some yellowface! Do the squinty eyes AND the buckteeth.” Sparapani told USA TODAY. “Definitely gives the impression that Asian features (caricatured and taken to extremes) aren’t just available to be tried on but encouraged to be mocked as well.”
Snapchat’s recent hiccups might also reveal a serious problem with diversity in the tech industry. Safiya Nobla, a UCLA professor, told USA Today:
“I think that technology companies really must take seriously hiring people with a deep knowledge of cultural studies, ethnic studies, sociology, women studies, fields that are deeply attuned to the histories of people of color, and people who have been marginalized in the United States in particular.”
So what do you think guys? Is this racist or nah?
