“We meant nothing but to promote the product, and we had never thought about the issue of racism,” a spokesman for Leishang cosmetics company, producer of the detergent, told China’s Global Times. “The foreign media might be too sensitive about the ad.” (Although this was quickly followed up by a full apology.) You don’t have to look too far to tell that his nonchalant response is reflective of the Chinese masses’ attitude towards the insensitive advertisement. Racial blindness towards Black people is common, where there is close to zero African immigration. A lack of exposure to another culture has rendered them incapable of recognising discriminatory subtexts. In general, racial sensitivity is especially difficult to achieve in Asia, especially when beauty standards are conflated with defining racial markers such as skin colour. In many Asian regions, “whiteness has been portrayed as something higher on the power hierarchy,” Yiu-tung Suen, an assistant professor of gender studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong has said. For the longest time, cosmetics brands have been profiting off creams and lotions which promise a lighter skin tone. Hence, it’s not too surprising that Chinese citizens have viewed the ad as nothing beyond comic relief. But even in a diverse society such as Singapore, where various parties were involved in a brownface ad for an e-payment service, the lapse in judgment was not picked up on by the local statutory board which regulates and approves advertisements. The Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) has stated: While the ad did not breach the Internet Code of Practice, it was done in poor taste and had caused offence to minority communities.” This too highlights the need to revise the standards on prohibited materials that IMDA has always upheld. Along with such racially charged ads are also body-shaming ads that promote unrealistic beauty standards, and sexist ads that bring us back to the good ol’ days where women are solely valued for their attractiveness or homemaking skills. Our poll corroborates this— the top 3 discriminatory ads that people see are related to issues of racism, lookism and sexism.