Overheard on a TV ad for Avon: "Get the look without the gook."
I guess their ad copywriter didn't consider that gook is also an ethnic slur.
Maybe I'd understand it better if I ever wore mascara.
I guess their ad copywriter didn't consider that gook is also an ethnic slur.
Maybe I'd understand it better if I ever wore mascara.
- Current Mood:
confused - Current Music:[TV] Law & Order: SVU
Profile
oddharmonic- Melissa, starry-eyed soy-lovin' Expatriated Zulu
Comments
Vogon jokes that waterproof mascara should be marketed with "When you get cum in your eyes, it won't run."
I'm waiting for a line of Apocalypse Now themed makeup colors. I'd actually buy that just to say the name, although I do have a rude habit of describing my nail polish colors by their resemblance to external genitalia.
I'm guessing that in the case of this commercial, it's supposed to be short for "gobbeldygook?"
Its use as a perjorative term dates back the Korean War -- 'gook' is Korean for 'country'. When Koreans said "mee gook" to American soldiers, they took it as self-description when the term actually describes someone from a country other than Korea. ('Han gook' describes a person as being from the republic of Korea.)
I went through a phase where I wanted to know the origin of ethnic slurs. That's also where I picked up the habit of calling myself a beaner and referring to my childhood as "when I was a little burrito".
Still, though -- that's really interesting about the Origins Of Slurs! I love that kinda stuff (the origins, not the slurs. Oh, hell, I love the slurs too.) -- maybe you should do a post about some more of those! That's really interesting.
I'll keep a post fermenting for awhile to see what bubbles up while it floats around the back of my head. This may lead to me sitting up in the middle of the night and uttering ethnic slurs that seem like A Really Good Idea To Post About, but Vogon sleeps like the dead so I'm fine. (:
And for the record, "beaner" and "burrito" are such cute sounding slurs! It doesn't sound nearly the same when I call myself a "cracker".
Should I acknowledge how often I say schmutz? I first heard it from Vogon and latched onto it because it's fun to say. (:
For me, "beaner" is a term that's acceptable for self-referential use, much like some black people use "nigga" to self-describe among their peers. "Little burrito" I actually picked up from Jhonen Vasquez, who used it in the author's comments in the trade paperback of Squee.
I jokingly call Vogon "my cracker" sometimes, but more frequently I joke "you don't appreciate [food item] as much because you were raised white", which is hilarious because he eats way hotter hot sauce than I'm into. I think his head may eventually explode from me singing the praises of Mexican sodas and Tapatio hot sauce. (:
And "beaner" and "burrito" aren't nearly as bad as "greaser" or "spic", at least in my mind. *shrugs*
The only Hispanic/Latino ethnic slur that bothers me is 'spic' because my Spanish heritage is about as close in my family tree as the Mayflower.
My parents discussed ethnic slurs with us early on so we wouldn't be blindsided hearing them for the first time in public situations. The first time someone called me a spic, though, I punched them and told them not to be an ignorant @sshole. I got in trouble for swearing in school.