Recently CNN whined about "racist" fonts. Yes, you read that right.
That type of writing — the piece poses — has been a “typographical shortcut for ‘Asianness.'”
As it turns out, the use of lettering that looks supposedly Chinese to reference things that are supposedly Chinese…is cringe-y:
It’s hard not to cringe at the Chinese stereotypes bundled up with each font package — especially when seen through the lens of today’s heightened vigilance toward discrimination and systemic racism. Critics believe that using chop suey typefaces is downright racist, particularly when deployed by non-Asian creators.“Chop suey” fonts, to be clear, have been “cooked up” by type designers in the West.
That would make sense, I suppose, since they’re English fonts.
Of course, there's a minor problem with CNN's whole piece: no such font is bundled with most software packages.
Above is a (partial) list of fonts for Windows 10. Chop Suey doesn't appear (it should be after Carlito), nor does Karate or Wonton. I can't find any reference online to these fonts being part of font package in Apple OS either nor is it one of the (limited) fonts available on Android phones. I do have something called a "Yu Gothic" font package but clearly the font is much more German than Oriental.
So even if CNN was right and these fonts were inappropriate, 99% of computer users would never even come across one! You have to find online font generators to even produce your own samples.
Bonus commentary: That bit about "if CNN was right"? Joe Kinsey demolishes that theory pretty quickly by noting that in his (and Les Nessman's!) home city of Dayton Ohio the only people using these "racist" fonts are Chinese restaurants who are trying to lure in English-speaking customers who need to know "this place is Chinese but you can read the signs".
