Bank of Canada bans image of Asian woman from $100 bill
The Bank of Canada has purged an image of an Asian-looking woman from its new $100 banknotes after focus groups raised questions about her ethnicity.
The original image intended for the reverse of the plastic polymer banknotes, which began circulating last November, showed an Asian-looking woman scientist peering into a microscope. The image, alongside a bottle of insulin, was meant to celebrate Canada’s medical innovations.
But eight focus groups consulted about the proposed images for the new $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 banknote series were especially critical of the choice of an Asian for the largest denomination.
“Some have concerns that the researcher appears to be Asian,” says a 2009 report commissioned by the bank from The Strategic Counsel, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. (Peter J. Thompson/National Post)Okay, so I don’t think it’s my place to discuss whether or not having an Asian woman on a bank note doing scientific things is pressing forward a harmful stereotype, which is one of the points raised by the focus groups. I don’t have enough information to know if the focus groups really had the right to say that either.
However (rant warning) what am I going to note is that the groups also mentioned that if one ethnicity is shown all ethnicities should be represented. And now I am going to show you this quote.
The bank immediately ordered the image redrawn, imposing what a spokesman called a “neutral ethnicity” for the woman scientist who, now stripped of her “Asian” features, appears on the circulating note. Her light features appear to be Caucasian.
And now I am going to point out two things in this quote because my head hasn’t quite exploded enough.
neutral ethnicity
and
appear to be Caucasian.
EVERYBODY INVOLVED IN THIS DECISION PLEASE GO DIE IN A FIRE.
thanks, I’m done.
….
No wait, I’m not.
WHITE IS NOT NEUTRAL. WE ARE NOT THE DEFAULT STANDARD.
Surely, the best decision in this scenario was NOT remove a WOC and replace it with a white-passing woman, if the concern was RACISM.
(breathes)
the woman should’ve had 5 heads, depicted like the Olympic circles
