The Slants in concert/Tommy Byrd/Flickr, CC BY-NCYou may not have heard of Asian-American dance-rock band, The Slants, but you may soon be very aware of a troubling precedent set after they won a contentious legal victory in the US Supreme Court.
Founder and bass player, Simon Tam, first tried to register the band’s name as a trademark in 2011. It was refused because the brand was considered disparaging to people of Asian descent. Tam reckoned the derisive terms of “slants” or “slant eyes” were becoming anachronisms, ripe for re-purposing and a chance for Asian-Americans to have the power over how …read more
Source: The Conversation