The Lobster Dance

Image via Are Women Human, via EthnoConnect. Quote: Helen Kim, “Asianized Asians.”

Last month, the excellent blog Are Women Human? called out the beauty company Cibu International over their “Asian-inspired” line of products–not the typical “cherry blossom perfume” and “seaweed face mask” but products with names like

“Miso Knotty Detangler,” “Geishalicious Shampoo,” “Take Out Clarifying Shampoo,” “Shang High Mousse,” “Spring Roll Hydrating Cleanser,” “Ancient Veil Oil Mist,” “Hi-Ya! Keratin Reconstructive Conditioner,” “Washabi 3-in-1 Conditioning Shampoo,” and “Dry Kwon Do Dry Shampoo”– are based on the cultural misappropriation and reduction of Asian culture to a handful of puns, food references, and simplistic and Orientalist stereotypes. (from the petition)

“Miso Knotty Detangler.” Via Cibu International.

The full text of the petition is below and explains the issue in detail.

After the initial blog post, Grace, Nikki, and a number of readers contacted Cibu, who responded, then brushed us off and began deleting comments from their facebook page. So now we petition.

Let me be honest. I love the aesthetics of Japan, the food, the beauty products, and the diversity of culture within this culture. But as a scholar, I can recognize the line between homage/inspiration and Othering. In this case, evoking images of “Asia” as mysterious, inscrutable, and as Other to sell products is ethnocentric, simplistic, and patronizing–and it needs to stop.

The petition is here on change.org. Full text below.

Petitioning Cibu International / Ratner Companies (Hair Cuttery, Bubbles, Salon Cielo)
Cibu International / Ratner Companies (Hair Cuttery, Bubbles, Salon Cielo): Stop using offensive and racist names for your beauty products

The names of Cibu International’s line of beauty products – which include “Miso Knotty Detangler,” “Geishalicious Shampoo,” “Take Out Clarifying Shampoo,” “Shang High Mousse,” “Spring Roll Hydrating Cleanser,” “Ancient Veil Oil Mist,” “Hi-Ya! Keratin Reconstructive Conditioner,” “Washabi 3-in-1 Conditioning Shampoo,” and “Dry Kwon Do Dry Shampoo”– are based on the cultural misappropriation and reduction of Asian culture to a handful of puns, food references, and simplistic and Orientalist stereotypes.

Cibu product names run the gamut from reinforcing the stereotyping of Asian people and cultures as “exotic” and foreign, to fetishizing Asian women, to generalizing and mocking Asian cultures by lumping different countries and cultures together. “Miso Knotty” [“me so naughty”] is an especially offensive example of Cibu’s misguided product naming. The name plays on racist stereotypes of how Asians speak English, and conjures images of Asian women selling their bodies (as memorably portrayed in the film “Full Metal Jacket”) and being sexually objectified and exploited by men, especially white men. The company maintains that the “Miso Knotty” name is mere “wordplay,” but the corresponding “Miso Knotty Miso Nice” gift wrap produced by Cibu shows that the company is well aware of the “me so naughty” connotation, which amounts to racist, sexist mockery of Asian women.

Cibu (cibuinternational.com) is part of the Ratner Companies family, and is sold at Ratner Companies salons – which include Hair Cuttery, Bubbles, Salon Cielo, Salon Plaza, and Colorworks. Altogether, Ratner Companies owns nearly 800 salons in 19 states. If Cibu and Ratner Companies wish to produce and market a line of “Asian”-inspired beauty products, they must find a better way to do so. Regardless of the companies’ intentions, many of its product names are unacceptable as they are now, and should be changed immediately.

We respectfully urge Cibu International and Ratner Companies to cease reinforcing and profiting from racist stereotypes about Asians, Asian Americans, and Asian culture by immediately changing their offensive product names.

Petition