AAJA: Asian American Journalists Association


Asian Poker Players

(AAJA President, Esther Wu and Media Watch Co-Chair, Abe Kwok sent the following letter to Jacob Weisberg Editor of Slate Magazine, in response to the use of the phrase "dumpy Asians" in Seth Stevenson's piece on the ESPN series, Tilt.)

January 28, 2005

    The following column originally appeared Feb. 25 on Richard Prince's Journal-isms.

    Slate Says No Offense Intended by "Dumpy Asians"


    Slate magazine says "there was no offense intended toward the Asian community" when a writer used the phrase "dumpy Asians" in a review of "Tilt," a series about poker on ESPN. "Granted, I've only seen the first episode-perhaps in time these boring central-casting toughs will show some hidden depth," Seth Stevenson wrote in his Jan. 12 piece.

    "But they still won't look the part. Poker players come in every age, shape, and nationality. That's part of why I love televised poker: It's the one place on the dial to see dumpy Asians. Yet Tilt centers on a trio of stylish, slim, attractive young Americans. Haven't these writers watched World Poker Tour? Don't they know that real poker players have awkward facial hair? That they wear satin jackets with casino logos and chew on unlit cigarettes for hours at a time? That they are frequently Vietnamese?"

    In a letter posted on the Asian American Journalists Association web site, Esther Wu, association president, and Abe Kwok, its media watch co-chair, wrote that, "While the writer's intended criticism of the ESPN show may be that the characters don't reflect the quirkiness of real gamblers or their ethnic diversity, we object to an image that serves only to mock or ridicule -- an image that Slate chose to repeat, both in the kicker of the article and the headline."

    Asked by Journal-isms to reply, Eric Easter, senior manager, communication for Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, the new publisher of Slate, said: "The writer was making the general point that dramatic television tends to traffic in an inflexible and predictable standard of beauty for all ethnicities, and that if the show in question ('Tilt') were more authentic to the poker world in particular (and to the real world in general) it would veer from that 'Hollywood' standard.

    "Clearly the story must be read in context.

    "It was a metaphor for any image of real people with real bodies as opposed to Hollywood images. You could have replaced it with any ethnic group or frankly, any person in general not slender or 'beautiful' in the popular cultural thinking. The writer used Asians simply because they make up a large component of the real poker world, as he referenced in the story. There was no offense intended toward the Asian community."

Mr. Jacob Weisberg
Editor
Slate
1 Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052

Dear Mr. Weisberg:

As representatives of the Asian American Journalists Association, we write to complain about the phrase "dumpy Asians" in Seth Stevenson's piece on the ESPN series, Tilt.

While the writer's intended criticism of the ESPN show may be that the characters don't reflect the quirkiness of real gamblers or their ethnic diversity, we object to an image that serves only to mock or ridicule -- an image that Slate chose to repeat, both in the kicker of the article and the headline.

We'd love to hear an explanation, or to have a dialogue.

Sincerely,

Esther Wu National President

Abe Kwok
Media Watch Co-Chair