

Dads, Seth McFarlane's latest TV comedy endeavor, is about two young, successful video game developers whose embarrassing dads move in with them unexpectedly. Cute, right?

I thought so too, until I watched the extended trailer for the show. Their assistant is told to dress up like a "sexy Asian schoolgirl" to pitch to the Chinese investors, and she tells them that she was"beaten with a textbook until [she] was 16." Words such as "Oriental" and comments such as"Asian men have small dicks" abound.

Advertisement:

Such remarks only serve to perpetuate unneeded Asian stereotypes. It's taken this long to get Asian characters on television, but they are doing the unnecessary work of promoting negative tropes.

Despite being called out by organizations such as Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD), Fox has refused to consider changing or reshooting the pilot episode. While they certainly have the right to do that, they are doing it at the cost of perpetuating unfair stereotypes that do not accurately portray Asian or Asian American life. As we've seen with the racist comments regarding Miss America, it seems as if Asian Americans are always having to prove their "Americanness." While there are positive portrayals of Asian characters, like Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, they are few and far between.

In honor of the racism of Dads, let's examine some of TV's worst Asian character portrayals.