Visitors to Asia may be shocked by overt forms of “racism.” But as the author discovers, it’s not the same understanding as the West.
In Asia, white skin is in / Photo William Wang
Over the last few decades, Western nations have tried to become a “post racial society.”
We try to look past skin color, ban discrimination, and teach tolerance. From our birth we are taught that everyone is equal and everyone deserves the same chance.
Even if we don’t always live up to our ideals, we still strive to reach them.
When I traveled to Asia and lived in Thailand, I was shocked to see so much “racism.” They loved whiteness. The whiter your skin the better you were.
From Korea to Japan to Thailand, dark skinned people are looked down upon. Everyone strives to be white- every skin product has whitening in it and everyone strives stays out of the sun.
It was the complete opposite for us in the West, where coming back from a vacation with a tan was considered a priority.
The Importance Of White?
While visiting the region, I was always shocked to hear people talk about how ugly black skin is, and how important it is to be white.
I’d constantly admonish my students about off color jokes only to have the another student waive me off “No, no, it’s OK. I am black and ugly.”
Asian countries look down on dark skin not because of racism but because they don’t want to be perceived as poor.
Another student later made it clear: “In the west, you always worry about color. You have a racism problem but here we just accept it. We don’t care.”
There’s a creation story in Thailand. In the beginning god created man. At first, he cooked the people too much (dark skinned people). Then he cooked them too little (pasty westerners). Finally, he cooked them just right (light skinned Asians).
When I first heard this story, it only reinforced my belief in a racist Asia. It wasn’t until later I learned about the cultural and class context and then I saw this “racism” in a different light.
In countries where “whiteness” is preferred, you’d think there would be racial tensions but there aren’t. In Asia, there are no race riots, no KKK, no nationalist parties, and no race based organizations.
Historically, dark skin was associated with people who worked in the fields (also known as the poor). The upper class stayed indoors and in the shade. Asian countries look down on dark skin not because of racism but because they don’t want to be perceived as poor.
Question Of Class
In Asia, it’s good to be white. TV stars are white. Models are white. Everyone is airbrushed until they look like ghosts. But I wouldn’t call them racist.
To them it’s not about race or ethnicity it is about class. If someone from the West promotes whiteness, it’s racist. “Oh you can’t do that. People will be offended.”
The more politically correct we get, the more uncomfortable with race we become.
But in Asia, it is different. Dark skin is poor, white skin is rich. They promote whiteness because no one wants to be perceived as poor. In Thailand, I saw plenty of dark skinned people in high ranking jobs- their current prime minister is dark skinned.
While they prefer white skinned, they don’t look at a dark skinned person and think “they are less of a person.” The same is true all over Southeast Asia. Driving a BMW in the West says you’re rich and classy; in Asia, the color of your skin says it.
In the West we obsess over discrimination as we try to live in a post-race world.
Yet the more anti-discrimination laws we pass, the more politically correct we get, the more uncomfortable with race we become.
Same Same, But Different
We see everything as black, white, or yellow.
The more we try to make race a non-issue the more of an issue it becomes. We may consider it racism but to Asians it’s not about race. Skin color is laughed and joked about in a way we find hard to understand. It still can make me uncomfortable.
Maybe we should take a cue from Asia. Maybe if we want to become a post racial world we need to stop worrying about race.
I’m not naïve enough to think Asia is a utopia. Discrimination does occur in Asia. But there it is more about questions of class rather than pure skin color.
When you stop making something an issue, it suddenly stops being one. Then we can all sit back and laugh and just enjoy each other- regardless of skin color.
What do you think about racism in Southeast Asia? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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11 Comments... join the discussion!
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Racisim is not unique to darker people. I am white and when I lived in Harlem for a few months people were VERY racisit to me, also being from Windsor if I went to Detriot people would stare you down all the time. I find MUCH rasicim toward me in Canada from Asians and east Indians, heck I can walk by a group of Indo-Canadians and they alot of times make some comment to do with race. You ever here some black guys talk about white &^^&'s ?
It doesn't bother me at all. Unless I get refused good service at a Sushi resterant, than I am mad.
You can yell about the "root" of it. But I think if another race was the one that took over the world, they would have been the same.↵ -
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The only reason white people from Europe ruled the world in many ways so long is because there was so much effort put into weapon building and making new things, there was most of the population living under the rule of a small group of people.
Its safe to say that the old building in Europe are nice because there was so many poor almost slaves to be whipped into building these things.
When people were truely free like in Native north America or Africa, they were not going to toil their life away building a building for rich kings. They would instead build a small homes for themselves and instead build up a varied set of skills, and afford WAY more free time.↵ -
I think that racism is active on both sides, I'm African American and i admit that i've seen other blacks be racist to other people, or asians being racist to blacks. I think that we should all try to tackle racism. And live with the fact that different skin color is not any way to judge a person ( you shouldn't judge someone at all). Just because your black doesn't mean that you are poor, that should violent, and that your dumb or whatever. I think every skin color is beautiul and we should respect that…… Go OBAMA… Yea
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I have experienced racism as an Asian American, and trust me, it's not funny. It hurts you emotionally. I think the darker-skinned Asian kids are laughing it off because they're hurt so deep inside that they virtually have no self-esteem. So they have no way to deal with it but just to laugh at themselves. That's what happened to me. When I was in middle school I'd just voluntarily make Asian jokes and constantly say how Asian people suck. I'd make a mistake and I'd laugh at myself and say "man I'm so Asian."
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My sister is pretty dark compared to me (I'm really pale- I'm paler than most of my white friends), and when we went to Korea people we didn't even know asked if we were sisters. And when we told them that we were, they'd be like, "dang, then how come the younger one is SO dark? Did your parents adopt her from SE Asia or somewhere like that? Or is your mom Vietnamese (Korean man-Vietnamese woman marriage is pretty common over there) and you happened to look like your dad and she your mom?" My sister'd just laugh it off, but not because she thought it was funny. Because she didn't want to get up to their face and create a fight. Later on, she came to believe that dark skin wasn't pretty, but then we came back to the States and now she likes her darker skin. Racism is not just something you should laugh at. It's not funny. It hurts other people's feelings. You shouldn't be racist even if that person you're being racist of is taking it "funny".
And like the person above said, GO OBAMA.↵ -
"Maybe we should take a cue from Asia. Maybe if we want to become a post racial world we need to stop worrying about race. "
a nice sentiment… too bad race and class (in addition to gender, sexuality, and nationality) are and never have been mutually exclusive categories.
race is inextricably connected to class–even/especially in asia. although asian countries have a distinctly different historical history/context than that of the "race-obsessed west," it important to note that just because you don't the same language for something doesn't mean the thing don't exist.
i see what's happening in asia as more of a neoliberal trend to argue that difference and inequality don't exist simply by not talking about it. therefore, based on this logic, because asians don't talk about "race"–but use "class"–instead… racism is no longer as "relevant." but this is a lot like color-blind advocates in the u.s. arguing that just because you don't identify your "race," that you ban "race-based" programs like affirmative action and just sing "multicultural, post-racial obama land" koombayah and racism disappears. alas, inequality just doesn't work like this. indeed, this sort "lipservice liberalism" is in fact much more insidious than the overt KKK version most self-described "non-racist, racially-sensitive" purportedly decry against. it's worse because it hides racism and inequality at the larger structural, systematic level. instead, it reduces "inequality" to individual acts committed by bad people. if i'm not "racist" towards people, there is no racism seems to be the logic. nevermind that i still benefit from a race/class/gender privileged position.
case in point, in asia, if you're white and you speak english, you are privileged. if you are born and raised in the u.s. and try to get the same job as a white speaking westerner in asia, you'll experience a new brand of "racism" very quickly. in this case, the author's argument that asia's central mode of discrimination is class-based disintegrates quickly.
in anycase, the author is correct in saying that class tends to be a more prominent feature among the discourse of inequality in asia. however, race and notions of race, are clearly just as prevalent–even though asians themselves don't necessarily talk about it or think about it on those terms. the disjuncture between race-based hiring policies within the lucrative english language business in asia is but one significant example. native asians own perceptions of what constitutes a "real westerner" (a white face versus an asian, latino, or black) one is also another strong indication of how hollywood's hegemonic pull in asia has successfully persuaded native asians themselves to believe in a "white-is-right" world order… ultimately, what you see in asia is quite similar to what you see in the u.s. asians as honorary whites, often more than willing to play the decisive role of "almost white" against a black/white racial binary. class matters in asia, yes. but race was never not an issue, as well.
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You are heartless. How can you laugh at someone's pain. If someone tells you that making fun of their color hurts them, you should stop it. If someone tells you they like it, you should find them help.
This is no kinder than jokes about white men having small penises. It isn't that hard. Treat people with respect. Being decent is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT, than being funny.
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Hey,
It's not okay to make fun of someone for being dark, but what about making fun of someone for being short, or for being dumb? I mean, presumably you can't really change any of these things either, but why is it more acceptable to talk about someone being short or dumb, than to talk about someone being dark? I think what the poster meant about the way Asians think of skin color is that it's not any more sensitive than to talk about someone being short or dumb. Certainly, it's still not nice to make fun of people for things that they cannot change, but it's not on the level of a hate crime as it is in the US to talk about someone's skin color.
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It is not a surprised to me when you mentioned about the skin color racism in asia.
I was one of the unluckiest person who was teased by the the color of my skin. Since I started going to school they called me negra, or ugly dirty. Even if I am one of the most talented person or most intelligent at school , still people think you are not capable of things. It is so hard for me, so I have tried different whitenning product to bleach my skin yet I was not lucky to have that white skin. Now I am in the west , it’s a different story, for the first time somebody likes my color..Now I an a cnadian citizen I don’t know if I want to go back to my own country. coz Everytime I go home they kept asking me why I am still brown?↵ -
White people are privileged? You, my friend, have not been to Asia, gweilo
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