White Poet Who Used Chinese Pseudonym to Get Published Sparks Debate

Liberal, Funny, Racism, Narrative, Oops, Hoax

Michael Derrick Hudson of Indiana used the pen name Yi-Fen Chou after his poem was repeatedly rejected under his real name

  A white man whose poem was published Tuesday under a Chinese-sounding pseudonym in The Best American Poetry anthology has provoked accusations of racism and cultural appropriation. Indiana genealogist Michael Derrick Hudson, whose poem “The Bees, the Flowers, Jesus, Ancient Tigers, Poseidon, Adam and Eve” appears in the annual poetry collection, said he chose then pen name “Yi-Fen Chou” after being rejected by 40 different journals under his real name, the Washington Post reports.

Salon: Why I can’t stand white belly dancers

Hypocrisy, Liberal, Hate, Character, Funny, Racism, Bigotry

Whether they know it or not, white women who practice belly dance are engaging in appropriation... Google the term “belly dance” and the first images the search engine offers are of white women in flowing, diaphanous skirts, playing at brownness. How did this become acceptable?... This dance form is originally ours, and does not exist so that white women can have a better sense of community; can gain a deeper sense of sisterhood with each other; can reclaim their bodies; can celebrate their sexualities; can perform for the female gaze. Just because a white woman doesn’t profit from her performance doesn’t mean she’s not appropriating a culture.

Dreadlocks: Cultural Appropriation

San Francisco State University campus police have launched an investigation into a viral video that shows a black female student accost a white male student because he has dreadlocks... She tells Goldstein that he is appropriating her culture. When he tries to walk away, she obstructs his path, even grabbing his arm.