Had lunch with a friend and his lady co-worker the other day, who was Asian; Vietnamese, I'm pretty sure. She was a bit introverted and didn't exactly exude the best participation of a two-way conversation.
Today, he tells me this: When he mentioned that a friend was coming to lunch, she asked, "What is he?", to which he responded, "Asian.". She sighs. "Why the sigh? What kind of answer did you want?", asks my buddy. Her response?
"White."
Oh well.
2 comments:
WHAT?! Okay. I have an Asian friend or two who really likes white guys, but . . . wow. I wonder why those perferences arise? Is it personal experience or buying into the post-colonialist, white masculinity idea?
Haha, oh boy, it's everywhere you go. Do me a favor next time and think about how often you see an Asian woman with a white man. Then, try flipping that over and try it the other way around.
But to answer your question, your second answer is partly right. There are so many reasons, but the popular one I tend to think plays a large impact on society today is through the media. There's a great documentary called (i think) Slaying the Needle with the Dragon (or something of that nature) that focuses on how Asians are portrayed through the tubes, which of course is how 95% of us, unfortunately, grow up taking in as some sort of truth. You know, the whole culture of fear and how we tend to rely on our stereotypes (which we get from the tubes/media) to dictate our behavior. So... unfortunately the white man is always portrayed as the hero, and in so many movies like Rambo, you'll see the subservient damsel in distress Asian woman flocking to her hero. Asian men are also seen as asexual, and of course, the enemy.
I'm preaching to the crowd and mix/mashing theories, so I better stop before someone rips me apart. But.... Let's just say that I notice everytime I see an Asian woman with a white man. But then again, I also cheer when the opposite happens (once in a blue moon). Anyway this is getting to be a bad comment on my own blog, I better quit this.
Post a Comment