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Sep. 21st, 2009 07:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cinaedSo I got to have an argument with a co-worker yesterday over cultural appropriation. That was...fun. And by fun I mean incredibly frustrating. See, this co-worker likes to try and get me to watch/read stuff she likes, which is...you know, nice, but often our interests clash.
This was very much one of those times.
COWORKER: Hey, I've got a book you should read!
ME: Oh, cool. What is it?
COWORKER: Memoirs of a Geisha.
ME: ...Oh. *tries for polite* Thanks, but I'll pass.
COWORKER: What? Why? It's an amazing book.
ME: Well, it's just that the author isn't someone I want to give my money to. He promised the geishas he spoke to that he would protect their anonymity and then thanked one on his acknowledgment page. She got ostracized by her own people for it.
COWORKER: *dismissively* Oh, you must be wrong. I read the acknowledgements, and he said he'd promised to keep the names secret until the geishas' deaths.
ME: *stares* ...Well, one definitely wasn't dead, because she sued him for defamation of character.
COWORKER: You must be thinking of another book.
ME: I'm definitely thinking of the right book, but hey, if you want to read it, that's great. I'll just pass, okay?
COWORKER: Fine, but you're wrong, and you're missing out on a great book.
ME: *flees to help a customer*
I got home and double-checked my facts. The geisha received DEATH THREATS because Golden revealed her identity. Jesus, you guys. Just thinking about it makes me furious. Now I want to go and buy Mineko Iwasaki's Geisha, a Life or Sayo Masuda's Autobiography of a Geisha.
This was very much one of those times.
COWORKER: Hey, I've got a book you should read!
ME: Oh, cool. What is it?
COWORKER: Memoirs of a Geisha.
ME: ...Oh. *tries for polite* Thanks, but I'll pass.
COWORKER: What? Why? It's an amazing book.
ME: Well, it's just that the author isn't someone I want to give my money to. He promised the geishas he spoke to that he would protect their anonymity and then thanked one on his acknowledgment page. She got ostracized by her own people for it.
COWORKER: *dismissively* Oh, you must be wrong. I read the acknowledgements, and he said he'd promised to keep the names secret until the geishas' deaths.
ME: *stares* ...Well, one definitely wasn't dead, because she sued him for defamation of character.
COWORKER: You must be thinking of another book.
ME: I'm definitely thinking of the right book, but hey, if you want to read it, that's great. I'll just pass, okay?
COWORKER: Fine, but you're wrong, and you're missing out on a great book.
ME: *flees to help a customer*
I got home and double-checked my facts. The geisha received DEATH THREATS because Golden revealed her identity. Jesus, you guys. Just thinking about it makes me furious. Now I want to go and buy Mineko Iwasaki's Geisha, a Life or Sayo Masuda's Autobiography of a Geisha.
