THE extreme actions of a British influencer who has undergone surgery to look Korean have turned the spotlight on transracialism.
Transracialism?
Transracial people believe they belong to a racial identity which differs from their birth race.
Who had surgery?
Oli London, a 31-year-old white English influencer with 350,000 Instagram followers has undergone 18 surgeries at a cost of at least £175,000 in order to look Korean.
Why?
London, who has come out as non-binary and transracial, idolises Jimin, a star of K-pop - short for Korean popular music - who found fame in South Korean pop band BTS.
London now considers himself Korean?
In a video from his hospital bed, recovering from a face lift, brow lift, temple lift and eye surgery, London said: “I'm finally Korean. I've transitioned. I'm so, so happy. I've completed my look. I'm finally Korean guys, I have the eyes, I've just had a brow lift as well. I'm so happy. Finally, I've been trapped in the wrong body for eight years and that's the worst feeling in the world when you're trapped and don't feel like you can be yourself. But finally, I'm Korean, I can be myself and I'm so, so happy.”
A backlash began?
London said they have received death threats. Online responses included some support, with one fan saying: “For trans people, whether you are transgender or transracial, there will always be haters, but there are people like me who support you and who you are”. Another follower said, however, “Ok, this is ridiculous. You could have just moved to Korea and got a citizenship. This seems so disrespectful to me” while another responded: “This is the definition of cultural appropriation.”
It’s not uncharted territory?
Rachel Dolezal, now 43, hit the headlines in 2015 when it emerged the woman whose friends and colleagues believed to be black, who became a community civil rights leader in the state of Washington in the US, was actually white. She now openly identifies as transracial and goes by the African name Nkechi Amare Diallo.
She spoke out in support of London?
She told online US tabloid TMZ: “Cultural appropriation is very different from just being authentically yourself. So being true to yourself is a very different journey and experience than stealing somebody's culture in order to profit or gain from it. There's a different thing there and I think sometimes people are confusing those two.”
After Dolezal…?
It emerged last September that Jessica Krug, a professor at George Washington University in the United States, had assumed various black identities, although she was white. University professors learned of a blog post in which she had detailed her actions.
As for London?
They said they are “a beacon of light” to “people who are voiceless”. London said: “Yes I identify as Korean. Yes I’m non-binary. Yes I look like Jimin. But none of this should be a reason to outcast me from society, to dehumanise me and shame me for being who I am, a non-binary Korean person."
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