In my neighborhood in Tokyo, I can tell when summer has begun in earnest. First, because the fake food starts melting. But also because I see people (primarily women) dressed head to toe in black to keep the damaging rays off their skin.
You’ll typically see the blackwear from people on bikes. Meanwhile, pedestrians will typically sport sun parasols. Some say the popular devices help keep them cool. Others use them to block out harmful UV radiation.
But…are they racist?
That was the accusation lobbed recently by a TikToker in a video titled “Asians afraid of being dark.” The video was a reaction (a “stitch” video (and, yes, I realize how old I sound putting that in scare quotes)) in response to another YouTuber in Australia who called for normalizing the use of sun parasols. TikToker Normalizebadancing accused people in Asian countries of colorism, or being attached to the idea of white skin as an ideal.
