Self-Canceling Is Now A Thing
Marsha Lederman writes in the Globe & Mail that a Canadian author has asked people not to buy his children's book because of the way one of the characters is drawn.

The Most Awesome Character in the World by Adam Pottle tells the story of Philomena, a young deaf girl who is a highly imaginative person. Being deaf is key to her creativity, notes Pottle, who is deaf himself. "When her father brings her a book about a deaf person, she finds it sad and tragic, so she sets out to write a story full of lightning and trouble," is how Pottle described the book to The Globe.

Pottle did not have approval over the illustrations and when he saw them - after being notified by a couple of reviews about a possible problem - he says he "felt sick." (An advance copy was sent out to reviewers and librarians before he had a chance to see it, Pottle said.) The picture in question has been described as a girl in a kimono with two buns at the sides of her head.

His publisher, Sara Reycraft, is ASIAN!

Sara Reycraft says she disagrees with the author's assessment of the illustration. "To characterize the image, which is a fun celebratory depiction of a Japanese girl in a festive yukata, as racist is flawed and problematic in my opinion," she writes in a lengthy statement e-mailed to The Globe and Mail.

...Pottle asked that it be changed. Reycraft Books, which is based in New York, declined. That's when Pottle took to social media and asked people not to buy the book and retailers not to stock it. Several retailers supported him.

Idiot. And idiots. Masters of nonthink. Merely showing a girl dressed in the clothes of another culture is now deemed some kind of wardrobe and thought crime. Why? I snap up my hlf-Japanese neighbor's kimonos every time she has a garage sale. Because they're beautiful, not because I'm all, "Hah! I'll be a cultural criminal!"

More from the article.

Reycraft Books bills itself as telling authentic stories with authentic illustrations reflecting the voice and vision of children and focusing on diversity through its #OwnVoices program.

Reycraft, who begins her statement by pointing out that she is Asian and has published 48 books by Asian authors and illustrators, says she is saddened that Pottle perceives the character to be an Asian stereotype and says the artwork was "thoughtfully crafted by a very talented illustrator with careful oversight by our Asian-American editor."

E-mails to the illustrator, Ana Sanfelippo, have not been returned.

Gee, what a surprise. I feel sorry for her. She does a perfectly nice and really fun illustration of a girl in a wheelchair wearing a kimono, and suddenly she's a hate-fester? Um, no.

In her statement, Reycraft writes: "Philomena is not a Japanese girl, but we must ask the important question here: Should the imaginary worlds of the imaginary children in our stories be limited to the confines of their own borders? Does that reflect the reality of the children reading our books? Or are we affirming children's place as global citizens when we include characters in our books that appreciate other cultures?"

She adds "the implication that depicting a Japanese girl in a wheelchair wearing a yukata is racist is a problem - because Japanese girls in wheelchairs can and do wear yukata. And like Philomena, we think that is beautiful."

But Pottle's sensitivity reader - who he brought on board after reading the concerning reviews - said she was worried about the Orientalism in the illustrations.

Orientalism? "The representation of Asia, especially the Middle East, in a stereotyped way that is regarded as embodying a colonialist attitude."

Um, girl in kimono in wheelchair is demeaning and "colonialist" in what way?

Oh, in the way some reader just says so because she doesn't get paid for finding books free of race crimes and other issues.

via ifeminists