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2 Mich. J. Race & L. 283 (1996-1997)
Deconstructing the Ideology of White Aesthetics

handle is hein.journals/mjrl2 and id is 289 raw text is: DECONSTRUCTING THE IDEOLOGY OF WHITE AESTHETICS John M. Kang* In this Article, the author provides a discussion on the dynamic be- tween race and aesthetics. The author states that because Whites are the dominant group in America, they dictate what is beautiful. The conse- quence of this power dynamic is that the dominant group, Whites, can exercise preferences in deciding how to look or express themselves, whereas people of color are limited to either conforming to an imposed White standard or rejecting it. The author starts by laying out some of the features to what he terms the ideology of White aesthetics. He then commences to examine how this ideology has played out in Black- White relations and in relations between Asian Americans and Whites, and how it may be used to shed new light both on race relations and on behavior within communities of color. The author concludes by address- ing potential counter-arguments. * B.A. 1992, University of California at Berkeley; J.D. 1996, University of California at Los Angeles School of Law; Ph.D. precandidate, Political Science, University of Michigan. Individuals at the UCLA School of Law and the University of Michigan have generously offered to read earlier drafts of this Article and have provided in- sightful suggestions and comments. For their efforts, I would like to thank the follow- ing people: Antonio Brown, Laura Gomez, Artiom Magun, Stephen Munzer, Kim Smith, and Elizabeth Wingrove. I also had an opportunity to present and discuss this Article with other graduate students in January 1997. I would like to thank Michigan's Graduate Student Organization for Asian Pacific American Studies and the Asian Pacific American Studies Program for providing a setting in which I could discuss my project. I would also like to express my appreciation to the thought-provoking audience at that meeting. In particular, I am grateful for the comments of Jason Chu, Christine Garza, Larry Hashima, and Cristine Paschild. As for the editing process, I thank Yong Lee, Valarie Tatem, and Troy Yoshino of the Michigan Journal of Race & Law for their helpful suggestions. Hanna Jun at the UCLA School of Law provided earlier stylistic comments on this Article. I also thank my old friend Paras P. Mehta for helping me to locate sources as well as offering his own books. Finally, my fondest appreciation goes to the members of my wonderful and supportive family, and this Article, its modest character notwithstanding, is dedicated to them. For giving me a loving and happy environment in which I could pursue my graduate studies, I thank my amazing parents, Hyun Ja Kang and Stanley H. Kang, as well as my indomitable brother Peter H. Kang.

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