|
|
|
|
|
GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
The White Stuff: Whiting Wongs & Wonging Whites
hey're our neighbors, buddies, allies, enemies, clients, bosses, employees, lovers and spouses. Many of us have more daily contact with Whites than with other Asians. Consequently, we often feel we know them better than they can ever know us. Maybe that's at the heart of our frustration as Asian Americans. They are as ubiquitous and pervasive as the air we breath while to them it seems we are eternal curiosities, outsiders, exotics.
Bridging the gap?
|
And so we sometimes find ourselves lashing out with nasty generalizations about the people we blame for all that seems wrong with American society and, more specifically, our place in it. They are ignorant, shallow, boorish, smelly, sneaky, treacherous, malicious, dumb, weird -- in short, all the labels we feel have been so unfairly slapped on us.
But even as we hurl such epithets we cannot forget the countless acts of kindness, warmth, generosity, friendship, passion and love that we have enjoyed from these very same people. As our anger and frustration subside, we recognize that our fates are inextricably intertwined, not merely in sharing a world, a nation, a society, an economy, a culture -- but often in sharing even our most intimate lives. One in five of today's Asian American marriages are to Whites. And contrary to the imbalance of the past, the ratio of new AM/WF marriages to new AF/WM marriages is steadily approaching unity.
So we naturally have a strong interest in decoding the other side of the equation. Understanding is a two-way street. Fortunately, there are Whites who have enough interest in us as individuals to share their perspectives on us and on their interactions with us. This page is for those who -- as corny as it may sound -- have chosen to serve as bridges.
This interactive article is closed to new input.
Discussions posted during the past year remain available for browsing.
CONTACT US
|
ADVERTISING INFO
© 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc
No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission.
|
|
|
|
WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:38:55 AM)
me,
You are only partially correct.
"-natural beauty, tall, many different varieties of hair and eye color"
And Asian women have no "natural beauty?" What a crock of crap! Ever go to the cosmetics counters in department stores? Why is it that I only see whites getting made up and buying make-up??? (And yes, I see Asian women in other parts of the store!)Why is it always whites attending those special beauty events?
There aren't any tall Asian women?? Someone needs to get his/her eyes checked. Every day I always manage to see enough Asian women over 5'8" or so in Chicago. It's great to see some of the really slim ones towering over fat and midgety 5'2"-4" WHITE women. Or is it that whites and self-hating Asians like to focus on short Asians?
BTW, cats and dogs also come in a variety of colours. Black, brown, white, orange, spotted, calico, tabby...Cats have different eye colours too, green, blue,orange, and odd-eyed. Are cats more beautiful than human beings then? (OK, OK, cat lovers may beg to disagree...)
"-smart, well brought up, classy, well-educated, well-travelled"
Excuse me, many Asian women are well brought up, well educated, and well-travelled. Yours truly here is well-dressed, well-bred, and well-read with clothes from Ralph Lauren--and a doctorate from Oxford University, no less. And I've travelled to Taiwan, Japan, the UK, Norway, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy: more places than your average white American will have seen. (After all, only 7% of the American population have passports!)
There are LOTS of other Asian women with similar backgrounds. At Oxford, I met other well-dressed Asian women who were also pursuing higher degrees in history and PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics). And I know there are many, many more Asian women at the Ivies with the same qualifications.
-99% of supermodels and top-paid actresses are white
-unfortunately we live in a white America and whites get by much easier in it, ie networking.
This is the most accurate part of your assessment. The fact is, many get praised for beauty on account of their race. How many of the supermodels are truly perfect and beautiful?? Some of the Asian models from China could beat them hands down with their super proportions--long, long legs--and near-perfect features and flawless skin. It's just too bad that Western media doesn't like to give positive attention to Asian women. As far as Asian women are concerned, they are a bunch of short, cheap sex-hungry trash.
Asian Dominatrix
Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 18:09:51 (PST)
So you can't think of a single reason to be jealous of WF's?
I have been always jealous of white American women for a number of reasons.
-natural beauty, tall, many different varieties of hair and eye color
That is what the world periceives, but most white women are short or medium height. They do have varieties of eye and hair color.
-smart
Street wise smart. Not bookwise. Some are really smart, but most are not.
well brought up
Not necessarily. Andrea Yates is an example of a white woman not so well brought up. Is there an Asian American equivalent of Andrea Yates? If so please educate me. There are other white women here are abroad who are not well brought up at all...the Hearst gang...Olson, Hearst and other white females...Charlie Manson and his gang of white females who are all serving life, the serial killer in Florida, Varmos, just to name only a few...are there any Asian American equivalent to this list? If so please educate me.
Classy
So are many Asian American females.
well-educated
Some are. Most have jobs which are over and above their qualifications just because they happen to be white. The entire Enron gang in India was white, but where they educated in Indian mores...I don't think so. Many just whored around Indian politicians and the Enron men.
well-travelled
Most white American women never left the borders of America. Those who do are well travelled...and get employment beyond their qualifications. When an organization emphasizes gender, the major beneficiaries happen to be white women, qualified or not.
-99% of supermodels and top-paid actresses are white
White women are in demand as supermodels and actresses all over the world...actually, there have been more black models in America than dark skinned models in India. Why? There is a demand for black models from the black community in the US, whereas the dark skinned Indians in India and for that matter dark skinned South Asians have a lot of self-hate...they will buy magazines only if light skinned models are on the cover. In India, dark skin or black equals ugly even more so than in the United States or any western country.
-unfortunately we live in a white America and whites get by much easier in it, ie networking.
Actually, whites get by much easier everywhere...Asia, Africa and even the Middle East. Just ask any person in India who he or she would serve first...a white or an Indian?
Indian
Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 13:58:08 (PST)
Me, please, if you think that all or even most white girls have natural beauty, are tall, and otherwise match the American beauty standard, look around a bit. White girls live with this standard from go, cannot escape it by being "exotic", and almost never can actually live up to it. White girls aren't naturally beautiful any more often than any other race. And of course they have many varieties of coloring...white in America isn't an ethnicity! It's a bunch of ethnicities stirred together 'til nobody remembers what their origins are anyway. As for height, the average American white girl is right around 5'4". The average supermodel is more like 5'11" to 6', and many of them spend their young adulthood getting made fun of.
And are they all smart, well brought up, classy, well educated, and well-traveled? I hope that you wrote this post in an irrational moment of anger, because that is LUDICROUS!! I don't think I need to waste a bunch of space addressing that, because I'm sure even you will realise how silly it is on contemplation.
Your second two comments are more worth looking at. Yes, most models and actresses are white. Yes, because this is a predominantly white country. Consider: if AA got representation proportionate to their population, 4 out of every 100 models/actresses would be AA. Given that there aren't even that many supermodels at any given time, that's still probably not gonna make you feel overblessed. I don't think it's a particularly good thing, but I don't really see it changing all that fast.
All of the advantages that whites get in this country originate in the fact that they're the majority. The tables are turned as soon as you go to a country where the majority of the population is not white. And as for this "Whites get by much easier" business, if I ever hear that again, I will start running around the house shouting, because it is NOT TRUE!! There, ladies and gentlemen. Not true. No one ever did anything for me because I was white. The best I have to be "thankful" for is that at least no one ever decided NOT to do something for me because I was NOT white. As for "connections", it's all about what class you're from, and guess what, there are still plenty of lower-class white people, and it's just about impossible to escape any more now. Even if you're middle class, the only connections you're likely to have will get you off to a slow start down the path to a cubicle someday. Whoo! If that's not your American Dream, then you're just as on your own as anyone ever was. Unless you grew up in a banking family or something, which is probably less than 1% of the white population, your "connections" will probably get you a job at JC Penny. Connections for a serious career are made in college, and generally have little to do with one's race.
Alright, I have not been my usual polite self, I know. I suppose I should expect to get flamed. But I am tired of being told that just because I'm nominally "white", I'm somehow lucky. Guess what? It didn't even save me from prejudice. It didn't even save me from being mocked and hit, from growing up poor, from struggling to find a job. And this isn't just about me whining, because I'm nowhere near unique in this regard, believe me.
AM, you could not be more right. "People in general pick on the different for whatever reason." You don't escape that just by being white. Never slip into believing that.
Ahankara
Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 13:31:25 (PST)
to me:
"...-natural beauty, tall, many different varieties of hair and eye color
-smart, well brought up, classy, well-educated, well-travelled"
Where do you live, in a Hollywood movie set? Go to the average mall and you will see all those "natural beauty" WFs walking around. I don't think I have much more to say about that. I see plenty of tall AFs (I'm pretty tall myself). Varieties of hair and eye color is not really something that people get a cow over because it's so easy to change with dyes and contacts. pst...most of those WF blondes/redheads/brownettes you see out there (pretty or otherwise) get it from a bottle).
As far as the "smart, well-brought up, classy, well-educated, well-traveled"...that describes just about any woman and not just the WFs. In fact, that description works well for AFs too since we also have the necessary funds for travel, schooling, and the finer things in life. As far as class and that well-brought-up thing, hey, AFs are the most well-brought-up people on the planet!
Well, to be honest, I really do have one thing that I've always been envious of the WF friends that I have...they really have easy parents who are hip and easy. During my teenage years, my parents were strict, un-hip, didn't know the words to any rock songs (let alone sing it with me), and wouldn't let me wear makeup or go out with the guys until I was 18 and living on my own. Meanwhile, I had friends who could date boys by the time they turned 16.
MLK
Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 13:19:34 (PST)
Ever since I have been visiting this site there is always some WF or someone who claims to be WF female that says things like that "me" person...give up already it is getting old.
There are beautiful women in every race, nation whatever and really ugly ones too.....like you know who.
Hayley
Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 11:49:33 (PST)
Hello Me,
As a WF I feel entitled to comment on your posting.
I sincerely hope NOT to be associated with your views!!! For one thing, they are so sweeping, its ludicrous. Its so tiring these generalizations that people make to pit race against race. No one single race contains within it only the best of all qualities. No one individual contains all these qualities either. We all have positives and negatives about us, as individuals, as nationalities, as races. Your description of white women as a whole is not accurate and just reeks of insecurity. You obviously do feel threatened and jealous. I have fabulous female Asian relatives who are all you list and then some. They also are modest - a trait you forgot to list. Am I , because I am white , expected to delude myself to their beauty and charm and intellect? Is that your expectation? Does discounting them somehow raise me up? Does admitting they are amazing women make me some kind of " traitor" to my race? Is saying that there are those among my white family nowhere near your description make me some kind of disapointment to my race? God I hope not. I hope it just makes me honest and able to see those around me for who they are.
Its unfortunate you think that your value as a woman is based solely on whether someone is jealous of you or not. Its also sad that you lack the confidence to see that theres wonderful " sisters" among all races. Its sad that you don't realize that having self pride does not have to equal self delusion. Its sad you can't give credit where credit is due, and can't be honest in your " facts' ( One fact is that the average American woman is a size 14!! )
I will speak up when I see racism , especially when it is backed with flimsy wishful arguments. If my race or any race is attacked, I won't sit by silently .
And certainly, when you claim to make statements about MY race, I am particularly interested in responding. I will weigh in on what I think is inaccurate, whether its false insults or false compliments. And in your case, I find myself in the strange position of having to discount compliments made towards a group I belong to.
So for the record, my non-travelled, non-tall, non- actress, non- supermodel self has a bit of a problem supporting your posting
Happy Clam
Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 07:49:10 (PST)
NEWEST COMMENTS |
EARLIER COMMENTS
|