Racism comes out in the wash

A racially insensitive Chinese advertisement pokes open the gaping hole of ignorance and class-based bigotry, which is a growing challenge in our age of globalization.

The controversy surrounding an advertisement for a Chinese detergent is the latest in cultural mismatch in the progress for globalization.

Qiaobi, the detergent brand, posted a video commercial that portrays a young black man being thrust into a washer. Out comes a fair-skinned Asian, the kind of androgynous pop idol that represents the trend for male beauty in China.