The Issues with "Asian Girlz"

Boy band Day Above Ground released their video of “Asian Girlz” on Youtube, July 29th. Already, the explicitly racist and sexist lyrics have garnered much attention after a few days being released. Scantily-clad actress starring in the music video, including Levy Tran, have also been under fire. What makes this video so controversial? The simple answer lies within the video and lyrics.

The band members sing in the beginning of the song, “I love your sticky rice. Butt fucking all night. Korean barbecue. Bitch, I love you. I love your creamy yellow thighs, ooh your slanted eyes,” which already sets the atmosphere for the oppressive song. They perpetuate common stereotypes directed towards Asians by noting their kinds of food and eye shape (when not all Asian women share that physical trait). The stereotypes keep continuing throughout the song. Referring to their Asian lover as a “bitch” is also derogatory in itself. Another problematic factor is that the song talks about Asian women and yet the lyricists only mention common stereotypes and “traits” belonging to Chinese, Japanese, and Korean women. This is infuriating because Asia is composed of so many other Asian countries and cultures, and that the song seemed to merely group everyone altogether. Basically, it screams the message, “You’re all the same.”

The entire song has angered many listeners and viewers for the outrageous wordings, racy message, and derogatory language, but the worst part of the song that pushed me over the edge was when they said, “Baby, you’re my Asian girl. You’re illegal (best kind), so baby marry me. Come on sit on my lap (right here baby), or we’ll send you back.” As an Asian American citizen, this message was most infuriating because it hit home. It brought me back to those days in high school when I was called “Asian girl” or “China.” It brought me back to when I was told by a white man to “Go back to Vietnam.” It brought me back to when an older white man glanced at me and automatically assumed I was not American while he boasted about the country I lived in for twenty years and tried to “teach me” some of his customs.

So, this song deserves all its backlash and hate for the gender-shaming and racist comments. What also bothers many viewers including myself is that the woman in the video is also Asian and yet is willing to portray herself as “that Asian girl” they wrote about. The fact she was so willing to participate in a video that shames Asian women in particular is a shameful act in itself.

In response to their video, Day Above Ground release a statement claiming, “This song is us, Day Above Ground, making fun of ourselves (and many, many other guys) obsession with the always lovely Asian women. It pushes this concept to an absurd level, but at the same time is endearing and submissive. We are not racist, haha! I mean, look at our band, it’s multi-cultural! The guy in the bow tie, our cutie bass player, was born in Indonesia, and he steals the show! Please don’t take this tongue-in-cheek tribute to some of the most gorgeous women on the planet too seriously! You’ll ruin the fun of it all! Thanks for watching, sincerely!”

They claim they are not racist, and yet the subject of the song is based upon a woman’s race. Not only that, but bringing up a race or ethnicity of a friend does not excuse racism. It is the equivalent of saying, “No offense, but I think you are ugly.”

To watch the video, click here. To read the lyrics, go to this page.