Adam Parfrey writes: “Luke Ford’s racism is always revelatory. Thank you, Luke, for all of it.”<\/p>\n
Washington Post<\/a>:<\/p>\n Was David Bowie\u2019s 1983 hit \u201cChina Girl\u201d racist?<\/p>\n Yes.<\/p>\n But racist on purpose.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re wondering why that makes a difference, consider Bowie\u2019s comments in Rolling Stone that same year: \u201cLet\u2019s try to use the video format as a platform for some kind of social observation, and not just waste it on trotting out and trying to enhance the public image of the singer involved. I mean, these are little movies, and some movies can have a point, so why not try to make some point.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, the \u201cChina Girl\u201d video was a marvel. It depicted the gender bending Bowie as a hypermasculine protagonist in a lush, interracial romance. It was also rife with stereotypes. The lyrics indicated a desire to conquer \u2014 and offered a threat of racial violence.<\/p>\n I stumble into town just like a sacred cow My little China girl Bowie\u2019s new fans \u2014 those who flocked to him after the success of the 1983 \u201cLet\u2019s Dance\u201d album \u2014 may have thought they were getting a salacious pop single served up with a taste of Asia, but older fans from the \u201970s knew better: Bowie was donning the role of a racist womanizer not only to decry racist womanizing but to condemn the West\u2019s demeaning view of the East as a whole. \u201cChina Girl\u201d was a parody of racism and stereotyping.<\/p>\n \u201cThe message that they have is very simple,\u201d Bowie said. \u201cIt\u2019s wrong to be a racist!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you ever took Bowie for what was on the surface, you were missing something,\u201d said Tiffany Naiman, whose work on Bowie was published in \u201cDavid Bowie: Critical Perspectives.\u201d \u201cI think he was well aware of his elite cosmopolitanism. He was able to move through different cultures because of his privilege but he understood otherness and wanted to highlight that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Adam Parfrey writes: “Luke Ford’s racism is always revelatory. Thank you, Luke, for all of it.” Washington Post: Was David Bowie\u2019s 1983 hit \u201cChina Girl\u201d racist? Yes. But racist on purpose. If you\u2019re wondering why that makes a difference, consider … Continue reading
\nVisions of swastikas in my head
\nPlans for everyone
\nIt\u2019s in the white of my eyes<\/p>\n
\nYou shouldn\u2019t mess with me
\nI\u2019ll ruin everything you are
\nI\u2019ll give you television
\nI\u2019ll give you eyes of blue
\nI\u2019ll give you man who wants to rule the world<\/p>\n