White Women Slammed for "Not Your Mama's" Mahjong brand

12 Minutes Read

• Netizens battled it out today, as some were outraged over The Mahjong Line, a brand who stated their aim is to “bring Mahjong to the stylish masses.” One platform said they do this by blending traditional Chinese cultural heritage, together with all that stuff at the counter at Urban Outfitters, and a 400USD price tag was cultural appropriation. 

• Others rebuked that designing a funky mahjong kit, isn't cultural appropriation, but creativity - and many American items are redesigned to appeal to Chinese consumers. 

Three white women are being accused of appropriating Chinese culture and 'colonizing' Mahjong by redesigning the tiles to be more 'stylish' and selling them for up to $425 a pop. 

The Mahjong Line is a Dallas-based company that sells colorful Mahjong sets with reimagined designs — which the founders claim give it a 'refresh' to 'elevate your game' and will 'bring Mahjong to the stylish masses.'

But critics on social media say it's just another egregious example of white people 'colonizing BIPOC's cultural heritage' and that their 'gentrification' of a centuries-old game is offensive and unwelcome.

Founders: Kate LaGere, Annie O’Grady, and Bianca Watson

The Mahjong line launched on November 5, 2020 selling several sets of Mahjong tiles priced between $325 and $425. 

According to screengrabs from the brand's website — which has since been deleted — the company was founded by Kate LaGere, who likes the game but said the traditional tiles 'did not reflect the fun that was had when playing with her friends.'

But when social media users became aware of the company, many were not impressed. The women of The Mahjong Line have been accused of cultural appropriation for taking license with the game, bad taste for the redesigns, gentrification for charging so much per set, and ignorance for whitewashing the history of the game.

Fashion watchdog Diet Prada shared a lengthy post about the controversy, writing: 'It never ceases to amaze how white people can find new ways to colonize BIPOC’s cultural heritage. 'They invite you to “celebrate the joie de vivre of mahjong” for no reason beyond white women loving French phrases?' Diet Prada's post went on.  

'Meanwhile, references to Mahjong’s origins are scant, a mere three links under "history" and lines in the FAQ that do more to justify the whitewashing of the game than provide any history. '

Twitter users have piled on the criticism as well. 

One Twitter user said her mother complained, 'Why are they saying "roots in both Chinese and American cultures". Just because the Americans adapted it doesn’t mean it is rooted from Americans. The American mahjong is still rooted from Chinese.' 

 The Founders Have Now Issued This Statement 

 The Netizen Backlash 

Several media platform's today in China published this news - with digital platform RADII taking a strong stance against the brand, however the reactions from netizens weren't all in agreement:

Others accused people who found this unfair of crying Karen tears... 

And others obviously found the whole dispute to bore them silly... 

Sources: https://www.dailymail.co.uk, RADII

 What do you think? Let us know in the comments. 

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