By Isha M., Grade 9
1:61am: the day begins where Bavarians paint their faces yellow to represent people who are Chinese, and excusably call it honour.
1,300 people celebrating on this “Nonsense Day” as part of the carnival season, not taking into consideration the affect and meaning behind their actions. The Chinese carnival this year, has taken a toll on the public, questioning if this tradition is stereotypical towards Chinese culture due to the locals dressing up as them by painting their face yellow.
How did this tradition begin?
The Fasching (Karneval) has been a huge tradition in Germany, that has been celebrated since the Middle Ages. In this tradition they celebrate for multiple days with; parties, costumes, parades, music etc. But Dietfurt, a small town located in Bavaria, likes to do something different. During this period, everyone in the town gathers on ‘Nonsense Thursday’, which is a day that permits anyone to any ‘nonsense’ they desire and host a Chinese Carnival. In this Carnival, locals dress in costumes based on their stereotypical assumption of a person of Chinese descent and pretend and act as if they are Chinese. Schnell, suggests that the Carnival originated when the Church in Dietfurt decided to increase the tax, causing the locals to hide behind their houses. They locked their doors and shut the stores, refusing to pay. The silent town reminded the officials of the Chinese hiding behind the Great Wall of China from their enemy.
Why has the Carnival become so controversial?
The reason why the carnival has become so controversial to the public is because it was found that thousands of Germans were painting their faces yellow to look like a person who is Chinese. Many people argue that due to the act of yellowfacing, this Carnival is racist to Chinese culture and must be stopped, whereas the people in Dietfurt disagree and ignorantly continue this Carnival. My opinion on this is that it needs to be stopped as it has been taken too far. You started with parading on the streets dressed up in Asian costumes, speaking Germanised Chinese and eating ‘Bavarian-Chinese’ food. Like that wasn’t bad enough, now you’re changing your physical appearance to look ‘yellow’. Throughout history, Asians have been made to feel ashamed of their skin colour for not being ‘white enough’, and now you think it’s okay to colour your face yellow? This is the clear definition of racism. You’re implying that ‘skin tone’ is all that makes up a culture, that the colour of your skin represents who you are and what you look like. The Mayor of Dietfurt was asked upon his opinion on these accusations, he says they have no intention of being racist, and ignorantly dismisses it, but you cannot ignore racism forever.
Race is not a Costume!
This is serious, it has a deeper meaning than the people in Dietfurt realise. Even if they do not have any racist motivations, that doesn’t excuse the fact that it is racist, and can affect different cultural backgrounds. Due to years of racism Asians faced, they didn’t have the right to openly express their culture and now when they do, you misuse it? Cultural appropriation is a serious topic as it can take out the meaning and history behind a culture, so when you misuse this culture by Germanising their language, food and clothing, you’re not honouring their culture and the traditions they fought so hard for. You don’t go through the daily struggles of earning the right to express your culture, you don’t face the comments, your name isn’t made fun of. It’s unfair you think can celebrate the beauty of the culture because it’s ‘trendy’ and ‘in fashion’, without facing the pain and trauma they dealt with for generations. Just so you can pick and choose what appeals to your desires. Everyday racism you witness has become the new normal, it has confused you into understanding what’s appropriate when representing or celebrating other cultures. It is harder for you to see where the line is between honouring a race or being racist towards them, but painting your face yellow is racist (Ella). Dressing up as Chinese people for a costume is not okay, because race is not a costume!
It does not matter why you do this, or why you celebrate it, it just matters that we must change this.
Citation:
BR24. “Unsinniger Donnerstag: Faschingsendspurt Wurde Eingeläutet” [“Nonsensical Thursday: Carnival final spurt was heralded”]. Bayerischer RundFunk, 17 Feb. 2023, www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/unsinniger-donnerstag-auftakt-zum-faschingsendspurt,TVwmaKj. Accessed 16 Mar. 2023.
Ella. “Kulturelle Aneignung Und Alltagsrassismus Im Fasching: Warum Ich Meinen Kindern Keine Indianerkostüme Nähe.” [“Cultural appropriation and everyday racism in carnival: why I don’t sew my children Indian costumes.”]. Ringelmiez, edited by Ella, 13 Feb. 2015, ringelmiez.de/2015/02/13/kulturelle-aneignung-und-alltagsrassismus-im-fasching-warum-nicht-nur-kinder-keine-indianerkostueme-tragen-sollten/. Accessed 12 Mar. 2023.
Herz, Felix. “Wirbel Um Dietfurter Chinesenfasching: Rassismus-Vorwürfe Um „Yellowfacing’ Nach Viralem Video” [“Home pageBavariaRegensburg & Upper Palatinate Eddy around Dietfurt Chinese carnival: accusations of racism about ‘yellow facing’ after viral video”]. Mekur.de, 5 Feb. 2023, www.merkur.de/bayern/regensburg/rassismus-bayern-dietfurt-fasching-chinesenfasching-yellowfacing-video-viral-92065452.html. Accessed 14 Mar. 2023.
Lang, Tobi. “Rassismus in Bayrisch-China? ‘Yellowfacing’ – Wirbel Um Dietfurter Faschings-Spektakel” [“Racism in Bavarian China? ‘Yellowfacing’ – Eddy around Dietfurter Carnival Spectacle”]. Nürnberger, 25 Jan. 2023, www.nn.de/region/rassismus-in-bayrisch-china-yellowfacing-wirbel-um-dietfurter-faschings-spektakel-1.12929436. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.
Schnell, Lisa. “Die Falschen Chinesen Von Dietfurt” [“The fake Chinese from Dietfurt”]. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 16 Feb. 2023, www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/bayern-chinesenfasching-dietfurt-rassismus-1.5752195?reduced=true. Accessed 16 Mar. 2023.