Last Wednesday, ANTM ran an episode that some people think was a mockery of people of different races. The models were directed to portray a "hapa", or someone who embodies half one race and half another. And because a couple of the models didn't know much about the nationality they were portraying, some critics said that it, in essence, it only encouraged racism. Here is one of many articles that was published about this: http://omg.yahoo.com/news/americas-next-top-model-causes-a-stir-after-bi-racial-photo-shoot/30374.
I am irritated, but for a completely different reason. I'm a "hapa" too -- half Taiwanese and half Italian. For years, I have felt passionately about the fact that there isn't enough presence and recognition of the fact that there are millions of people out there in the world who celebrate a mixed heritage. When I complete online surveys, and have to choose "Other" because I am being forced to choose one race over the other (White vs. Asian), I get extremely annoyed. So, when I see this episode, all I want to do is applaud ANTM for trying to have people with mixed heritage embodied in their models. Who cares if they were painted to appear darker than they are or were uncertain about the people they were portraying? The fact of the matter is that they displayed beauty that is rarely seen on television -- and for that, I am appreciative.
Who are these people that disapprove of this anyway? Are they people like me? I doubt it.
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