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Amazon, eBay Remove 'Chinese Boy' Costumes Featuring Racist 'Slant-Eye' Images

Amazon, eBay Remove 'Chinese Boy' Costumes Featuring Racist 'Slant-Eye' Images

It’s 2018, and yet... here we are.

Amazon UK and eBay UK have received immense backlash after social media users recently noticed “Chinese Boy Fancy Dress Costumes” for sale through the e-commerce sites. In photos on the product pages, the costumes were modeled by white children pulling their eyes back in a “slant-eye” expression, a gesture often used to mock Asians.

The images spurred many in the Asian community to report the merchandise and demand its removal from the sites.

The sellers of the costumes were listed on Amazon as “ATOSA” and “Fyasa.” No information was immediately available about either entity, although sellers with those names appear to sell many other Halloween costumes through Amazon.

“Once this listing was brought to our attention, we immediately removed the item and contacted the seller informing them that the listing violates eBay’s offensive materials policy,” eBay told HuffPost in a statement Tuesday.

Amazon appeared to have removed the offending products as well. “The products in question are no longer available,” Amazon told HuffPost in a statement.

Both Amazon and eBay, however, still feature several other racist costumes, including a different “Chinese Boy Fancy Dress” costume and a “Geisha Girl” costume. In the photos for both products, the models are holding their hands together in prayer, a stereotypical gesture often employed to mock Asians.

Amazon and eBay have received criticism in the past for offensive merchandise sold through their sites. Earlier this month, Amazon pulled a variety of laptops, baby bibs and other products featuring the words “Slavery Gets Shit Done.” The two companies also came under fire in 2015 for selling an Israeli soldier’s Halloween costume for kids, as well as an “Arab” nose.

This story has been updated with a statement from Amazon.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.