Apartment Therapy Media describes itself as “the ultimate online destination for all things home” with a a reach of over 3 million unique visitors per month. It was also recently hailed as the #1 Design Blog by The Times of London. Having seen Jesse Lu’s recent call-out of AT on Everyday Object and considering its regrettable campaign of championing Knitta, Please in 2006, 2008 and 2009, I wanted to take a comprehensive look at how this important site has treated race and class, pointing out a history problematic posts. In many cases, despite claims of racism, the posts received no response from the editors and I’ll leave it to you to decide what, if anything, merits comment. Click any of the photos for the original stories.
The post: Christmas Trees of Color
via Apartment Therapy 12/2009.
The problem: This is the post that got me thinking. People of color are not a joke and the term ‘people of color’ is not a joke. The playful question, “Do you prefer the standard tree or areyou drawn to trees of color?” also suggests that there is a ‘standard color’ for people (presumably white) and that then there are the ‘others.’ Following the lead of Jesse Lu, I and others spoke out against this and received no comment from AT.
The Post: Jonathan Adler’s Latest
via Apartment Therapy 3/2005.
The problem: Though the post deals extensively (and oddly) with hetero-angst, it does not at all touch on, call out or question the caricaturing and appropriation of African American figures for apparent comedic shock effect by Adler. Instead, they say “god bless him” for “taking off the kidd gloves.”
The Post: “Ghetto Style: FedEx Furniture Makes Fedex Furious”
via Apartment Therapy 8/2005.
The Problem: The interpretation of appropriating materials as being ‘ghetto’ is overtly classist and since ‘ghetto’ has come to be most strongly associated with communities of color, is racially loaded. The artist, I’ll note, happens to be Latino. One wonders why the his battle with Fedex was not framed as a classic struggle between an artist and a corporate conglomerate (e.g., ‘Artistic Upcycling Infuriates Fedex’) and instead was framed as ‘ghetto.’
The post: Ghetto Unfabulous in Echo Park.
via Apartment Therapy, 5/2007.
The problem: Again, ‘ghetto’ = undesirable, small, slapdash, laughable.
The Post: “Look! Skateboards as a Headboard!”
via Apartment Therapy, 10/2007
The problem: While I have managed to profile 100 headboards with no racist imagery (imagine that), the larger problem with this post is that there is no interrogation of, nor explanation for, the racist images. Note the use of the Prince and Michael Jackson motif on one board, similar to that used in Jonathan Adler’s home, above, juxtaposed with images of pickaninnies and monkeys.
The post: All Good In The Hood
via Apartment Therapy 3/2008. Excerpt: 'We all watched in curious excitement as armoured and armed police officers scoured house to house across the street with their canine officers. And at one point we overheard the overhead ghetto bird warn the hiding suspect that he had just "one minute to give himself up . . .'
The problem: “The hood.” “Ghetto.” “Ghetto bird.” And all of the attendant bourgeosie titillation.
The post: Young Pioneers State Claims in the Tenderloin
via Apartment Therapy 5/2008
The problem: The cure for all of that ‘ghetto’, obviously. “Urban pioneering” suggests that no one of consequence lives in a particular area until upwardly mobile, usually white newcomers move into an area.
The post: Gentrify.
via Apartment Therapy 10/2008. Excerpt: 'Embrace your inner shame (in the privacy of your own home, of course) with Gentrify.'
The problem: Gentrification and its attendant displacement of disadvantaged people is treated trivially.
The post: Look! Painted House Numbers
via Apartment Therapy, 10/2008
The problem: One stated benefit of this paint treatment is “Your Chinese delivery man will always be able to find you.” While tossed off, the notion that again, people of color are meant to be of service is problematic and is reinforced by featuring homes like that of Michelle Workman whose use of blackamoor lamps and chinoiserie depends heavily on motifs of people of color in servitude positions.
The post: Ridding Curry Odor from Couch
via Apartment Therapy 2/2009
The problem: The worst part of this dubiously premised reader-submitted question was the gratuitous ethnicity dropping with the comment, “I recently bought a couch from a lovely Indian couple off of Craigslist. The couch is perfect except for the fact that the couch smells like curry.” The calling-out of people of color only when they are thought of as presenting a problem (ie., ‘Oh those Indians and their pungent curry’) is something that happens regularly but not something that journalistic organizations should reinforce.
The post: Gitte Brand–Danish Painter
linked to from Apartment Therapy, 2/2009
Though the above photo was not listed on the Apartment Therapy site, clicking through to the artist’s site showed that the hosted images of giraffes were cherry-picked from amongst many crude paintings of blacks with jungle animals. Several posters complained that these villagers were painted to look like apes and that one caption translated to “I like to eat chocolate and bananas all day” but this elicited no response from AT.
The post: Hot or not? Afro Chair Made from Notebook Springs
via Apartment Therapy, 10/2009
The problem: While the post itself is problematic because of the product name, the most regrettable choice was the ‘Not’ option, which originally read, “Someone needs to straighten out that afro. Not Hot.” Though clearly meant as a joke, the idea that African-textured hair is inadequate, ugly and a blemish to be removed is old, tired and yes, racist. I will note that the blogger, Gregory Han, redacted the text after it sparked outrage.
I’ll admit that I don’t know how to respond to this body of work. While Apartment Therapy is quite the force in the design blogosphere, the disappointment for me is intimate. AT was the very first decor blog I read regularly and I lurked and bookmarked for years before I became an active commenter. I tried to circumvent the content I found offensive but now I am ready to engage it head-on, though I am not sure what that means for my relationship for the site. I am aware that it constitutes a very small part of its content but it does, I think, betray an editorial perspective that:
- Finds charges of editorial racism too insubstantial to merit an answer or explanation
- Feels free to treat people of color and people of modest means as a joke
- Thinks racism and classism are edgy and interesting, titillating fodder for the mostly white, mostly well-off chattering classes
All your reactions and suggestions are welcome in the comments section.
