Why Seal Press Sucks, Part Deux

It's only a week since Seal Press issued a public apology for the racist imagery in Amanda Marcotte's new book, and the publishers are introducing a new book from two expat [White] Americans entitled (grab your barf bags), Tales from the Expat Harem.

Commenters rightfully pointed out the hypocrisy. Only to receive the following responses:

From one of the authors...

I suggest you read before condemning to understand exactly why that word and metaphor were specifically chosen.

From the publishers...

Tales from the Expat Harem is neither a sexist nor a racist title. Please, let's not look for the racially embedded wrong in every one of our books.

I heart Susie:

"Please, let's not look for the racially embedded wrong in every one of our books."

Because if it's there, you really don't want to know about it. You couldn't be making that clearer. Less than a week after your heartfelt apology, you're given the opportunity to listen to women of color trying to tell you something, and you dismiss them out of hand once again, informing them that you know far better than they do what is and isn't racist. You don't say, "Well, I can see why you'd be concerned about that, but we definitely considered that as an issue and here's why we feel it's not inappropriate." No, you just shut down discussion, and you shut it down by saying explicitly that you aren't willing to accept any consequences, like heightened scrutiny, for the wrong you admit you've done and for which you are supposedly so deeply penitent.

I'm really gobsmacked by this. You'd think common sense would keep you from being this openly arrogant and condescending, if a sense of decency doesn't.

Update:

From the publishers:

We apologized for the images in the first printing of It's A Jungle Out There. We made a mistake, we've owned up to it, we're doing everything we can to make things right for the book, for the author, and for our readers. We are working to do better.

"Now where's our damn cookie?!"

Seal has been around for more than 30 years. We've published a lot of great titles. We've informed a lot of women's lives.

Their new slogan: Seal Press...Racially-Igorant for Over 30 Years

In the two years since we published Tales from the Expat Harem, we have not heard that this book is pissing people off, let alone that it is racist. Quite the opposite. This travel literature title has received great reviews, has given travelers and arm-chair travelers alike a peek into Turkish culture from non-Turkish women's perspectives. Initially, we questioned the title too, but the editors of this anthology, both accomplished women we respect, helped us to see that from our narrow Westerner lense, the title which made us uncomfortable, was actually, an appropriate way to clarify the female powerbase aspect of a harem.

"The two White ladies who published this book assured us it wasn't racist."

This doesn't take away our mistakes. We realize that. Pushing the envelope is difficult, and we will continue to make mistakes along the way. It's never our intention to offend our audience, but we know that causing a stir, shaking people up, getting people to discuss things that push their boundaries and are challenging is part of our important job. And we take it seriously.

"It meaning making money. To hell with racism!"

Before you accuse us of publishing racist books, I do hope you'll read them, so we can have more informed discussions that we and our authors can participate in.

Anyone else get the warm-'n-fuzzies from this "apology"?

Nah. Me neither.