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Open Letter to Katy Perry

Dear Katy Perry:

Please stop “liberating” yourself in that White Imperialist sort of a way that relies on the subjugation of women who look like me.

I’m sorry you have had to achieve stardom in a context that only allows you to be a “virgin” or a “whore” but I really wish you wouldn’t also be a raging racist. Maybe you and Miley can start a reading group or something, or just redistribute your millions of dollars in profits to actual women of color and their communities, say, in Haiti or the Philippines, instead of just borrowing elements of Black and Asian women’s bodies, cultures, or histories that you think are cute and sexy but are actually disgusting and racist.

While you’re banking off of the racist ideologies that position Asian women as cute and submissive and “loving you long time”, those same ideologies fueled U.S. military personnel in committing up to 330 rapes a day of Japanese women after WWII. You know who else shares that ideology? Men who sexually harassed me since I was 11 years old, or who masturbated in front of or tried to grope me on the subways in NYC since I was 14.

How about you talk about how rates of sexual violence against women of color are that much higher instead of parading around in a geisha costume at the AMAs or dressing up as a Native American with your stupid ex-husband Russell Brand? Maybe then I might actually consider you to be an artist or any sort, because to be honest, I could only make it to 1:09 of your racist and embarrassing performance before starting to convulse.

You and Miley could grab a drink at the Red Lotus Room, I hear they also love cool Asian stuff, oh, like enslaved people and naked Asian women with cats sitting on top of them.

Thanks for nothing and f*ck you,

Alison
P.S. And while I generally haven’t tackled the issue of internalized racism or colonial brainwashing, maybe all the Asian Americans who felt the need to defend your performance will be willing to serve you that drink, complete with an opium pipe and umbrella.

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By Alison Roh Park

Alison Roh Park is a big personality from Queens, NYC. Pushcart nominated poet, communications head, and writer, Alison enjoys raging about, cracking on, and inspiring thought and action on unfortunate things like racism, capitalist greed, misogyny, cultural hegemony and stuff like that.

One reply on “Open Letter to Katy Perry”

Alison Roh Park: you better tell the truth and shame the devil!!!!!! Yes!!! But also nooooo to the horrific performance and centuries of orientalism and imperialism that produced it.

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