Padma Lakshmi slams 'deeply racist and problematic' column by 'Dear Abby' advising against giving kids 'foreign names'
People have been turning to the “Dear Abby” advice column for wisdom and guidance for more than 60 years. But a new column written by Jeanne Phillips — who took over her late mother Pauline’s “Abigail Van Buren” pen name in 2002 — has missed the mark.
Activist and writer Simran Jeet Singh was first to draw attention to the recent column, in which “Abby” responded to a man who worries that his Indian wife will give their child an “unusual” name from her culture that will make life in the U.S. “difficult.”
“Abby” agreed, noting that while Indian names are “lovely,” they can “cause problems” within Western culture.
“Not only can foreign names be difficult to pronounce and spell, but they can also cause a child to be teased unmercifully,” Phillips wrote. “Sometimes the name can be a problematic word in the English language. And one that sounds beautiful in a foreign language can be grating in English.”
She concluded her response by writing that she hopes the wife “rethinks” her decision to “saddle” her future child with an Indian name.
Dear Twitter,
A famous advice columnist is telling people to whitewash their kid's names if they want to be accepted. How should I tell her that's wrong and racist?
Simran Jeet Singh pic.twitter.com/URNbMT5LZ7
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) October 16, 2018
Singh called the advice “wrong and racist,” citing it as an example of “whitewashing.” He added that his own daughters were given Sikh names “because we are so proud of our heritage.”
Padma Lakshmi, whose career as the host of Top Chef certainly hasn’t been limited by her Indian name, also called out the controversial column for being “deeply racist and problematic.”
Dear Abby,
Nah.
Sincerely,
Padma Lakshmi https://t.co/PJBoBcHhJP— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) October 17, 2018
Names have meaning. They have history. They tell us who we are and where we come from. The first step of colonization is to erase the heritage and culture of indigenous people. Advising someone against giving their child a “foreign name” is deeply racist and problematic. pic.twitter.com/fdGORIR06O
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) October 17, 2018
Others chimed in to criticize the advice, with some arguing that creative spellings of Western names can cause just as much confusion as so-called “foreign names.”
Wow. @dearabby that is a very racist suggestion. Very sad that your solution to bullying is erasing ones heritage rather than you taking responsibility for your own people’s systemic white supremacy that creates and perpetuates racist oppressive narratives.
— ariana delawari (@arianadelawari) October 16, 2018
If people can learn how to say Tchaikovsky, then they can learn how to pronounce a South Asian name.
— Jhumka Gupta, ScD, MPH (@jhumkagupta) October 16, 2018
Ugh, such a gross response by Dear Abby! Gaelic names have become quite trendy w/white Americans- if we can say "Siobhan" & "Aoife", we can handle "Lakshmi" & "Vickram"! Honor the child's heritage & family, and use your whiteness to insist people pronounce them correctly, dad!
— Gesci (@gescim) October 16, 2018
Better an Indian name – with meaning – than a western name that people can’t pronounce because parents decided to get creative with spelling and phonics.
— claire voyant (@claire_voya) October 17, 2018
One critic even offered Phillips a little personal history lesson.
Your column’s namesake, Abby, comes from Avigail, which is Hebrew, a language that sprouted far from America. The current columnist, Jeanne Phillips, bears a French name. So what exactly makes your names American and mine foreign?
Sincerely,
Anand Giridharadas https://t.co/NMfUQU1G0H
— Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites) October 16, 2018
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