At the end of the episode, there is a short scene with Karamo learning to use chopsticks.

Making fun of chopsticks is a huge point of contention for many Asians, especially for Japanese people, within a western context. Chopstick use is often a part of racist humor and westerners expect Japanese restaurants to accommodate western place-settings like fork, knives, and spoons, especially while traveling. Expecting a fork in a Japanese establishment is like expecting chopsticks in an American diner. Westerners have always put pressure on Japanese restaurants to accommodate their needs.

This moment of micro-aggression further proves that Queer Eye Japan was meant to appeal to viewers outside of Japan, rather than its Japanese audience they are trying to save.

Queer Eye is becoming more prominent than ever, with each of their cast members having millions of followers on social media. The lack of awareness, sensitivities, and cultural boundaries in this season, unfortunately, sends extremely problematic messages to their global reach.

In the chase to increase personal fame, the cast members fight to extract emotion in an otherwise stoic culture. And in the struggle, the true nature and intent of the show and cast reveal itself. The profound ignorance and racism of the cast are impossible to hide, even in the editing.

Unfortunately for this season, the cast wasn’t saving the Japanese any more than their egos.

We are not your toy.

But we can improve. We can do better.

First, to understand a new culture is to be open to different perspectives, especially when we don’t agree. Human psychology and culture around the world are vastly different from centuries of divergence.

What is socially acceptable in one region may not be acceptable in another.

What is right may be wrong.

What is a success may be a failure.

And what brings people happiness in one country may not in another.

We are all conditioned, based on our unique life experiences. They create the biases and limitations we carry with us every day. To truly see the world, is through the eyes of others.

It is never possible to heal intolerance with more intolerance.

Second, when people come to us with their pain we must listen to it, validate it, and empathize with it. Hold off the solutioning and be there for people as they process whatever they need to go through. When in doubt, ask questions. As we become more cross-cultural, we need to be even more vigilant in closing our mouths and opening up our ears and hearts.

Lastly, when we’re not the expert, we have to bring in the right people with the right experience. No more cishet women speaking on behalf of queer Japanese people. There are 7.7 billion people on this planet, 126.8 million people in Japan, with an estimated 5% identifying as LGBT. That leaves us with a minimum of 6.34 million queer Japanese people to choose from. With the popularity of social media and the millions of followers each cast member has, there are zero excuses for why Queer Eye could not cast a queer Japanese individual.

To quickly remedy this season, remove the cishet Japanese woman, cast a queer Japanese individual, and make them the expert of all cultural conversations. Have the Fab 5 sit back and play a supporting role for a change. Put the people you are trying to serve first.

My queer Japanese culture is not your toy.