Oh Dior, not again!

Greek philosopher Heraclitus said one cannot twice step into the same river, but facts show that a company can twice commit the same wrong. On Tuesday, Dior did it again, triggering fierce debates through an advertisement for its makeup product where a model was shown pulling the corners of her eyes upward in a manner like she was squinting her eyes. The brand recalled the image after a storm erupted over discrimination against Asians.

This comes not very long after November 2021, when Dior had faced a global backlash for a poster showing a Chinese model with freckled dark skin, gloomy squinted eyes, heavy dark makeup, long artificial nails, Qing armor and other distorted elements.

Dior seems to have a short memory. In less than a year and a half the brand has once again come up with a similar poster and similar model, displaying the same discrimination against Asians.

The only plausible explanation for this could be that Dior cares little about the feelings of Asians. Despite all the anger its earlier poster triggered, they have learned nothing.

Possibly because of the way Asians are portrayed in Western societies, and for far too long, too many brands care about the feelings of every race except this most populous one. Even those who otherwise come across as politically correct, avoiding any racial slur in their content, seem to openly discriminate against Asians, as if their feelings don’t matter.

What is needed is for Asians to stand united against any form of discrimination. Dior’s second case of being insensitive should serve as a reminder to all brands who have shown Asians in a discriminatory way before to never do it again. Unless they want a taste of Asian anger, like Dior twice did.