Why do I feel icky about She Bangs?

Popmatters -- a fine Web site that takes apart pop culture, checks out its inner workings and puts it back together again -- has two essays that dissect the positives and negatives about the American Idol phenom William Hung. Frankly, I'm kinda squicked out about the whole thing -- and it's not because of his off-key rendition of a shitty Ricky Martin song.

I can't help but think the guy's getting laughed at the entire time instead of people going, "Hey! He's just being real!" While the first wave of support for his politeness and "I'm just being a regular guy" may have been about that, I think the entire thing's taken on a more insidious edge.

What else am I supposed to think when I hear other people sing with the same thick accent and goofy dance moves in an attempt to imitate him? There's certain people who I trust can seperate ethnic stereotypes from real people, but some of these people are highly suspect -- maybe it's because of their love of ethnic jokes.

William's part of the Asian experience in America -- he's like my mom and dad (and other people I know who came to America from China) who came here, still speak with a bit of an accent and are kinda nerdy. I don't have a problem with that -- I mean, it's part of a cultural history that we can't deny. What I'm uncomfortable with is how other people are gobbling this image up.

What if William was still a nice, earnest guy who was studying to be an engineer and was a shitty singer -- only white? Would he get the same love? I don't think so. There was something about him -- his performance, his accent, his nerdiness -- that people loved and wanted more of. And it fed into a stereotype of the nerdy, non-sexual, non-hip Asian.

I'd be more comfortable with William if there was an Asian American singer who was as big as Britney Spears. But there isn't and the scales in my mind aren't balanced.

I'm not mad at the guy and I don't think that he's the bane of Asian American society. I just find it kinda funny that in an age where we tout the "Free Your Mind" banner, I have to be thinking about the racial undertones of a nice guy who happened to hit it big as a shitty singer.