How white people are seen by Malaysians
"Oh yeah, I forgot you're white," my Indian friend said to me last night as we were enjoying drinks at a pub.
We were there, with two other people, after attending a local stand-up comedy performance. Race is something that's talked about a lot here. Through the course of the conversation, I learned that the other man at the table was Malay, and the girl was a Chinese/Indian mix - not because I asked, but because they brought it up. White people were being discussed at this point as the girl had a preference for them in the bedroom.
See, even in Malaysia, where the majority population is a combination of Malay, Indian, and Chinese, and the dominant religion is Islam, there's an undercurrent of white superiority.
It doesn't make sense.
Well, okay, admittedly Malaysia is a part of the British Commonwealth. There is a history of centuries of European colonisation. I've written before about how the Portuguese took control of Melaka in 1511, which was subsequently controlled by the Dutch from 1642. The Dutch had power until they signed a treaty with the British in 1824. From then on the British had control until they signed it back to the people in 1957. But that was over 55 years ago! You'd think things would have improved some since then, wouldn't you?
So, in the mind of the locals, what makes me better than actual Malaysians? Stereotypes, let me show you them.
White people are rich.
Now, by my standards, I don't feel like my family is living on a rich person's income. If we were living in California, we probably couldn't even make ends meet, let alone afford to travel as much as we do. But we're not living in California, we're living in Malaysia, so by Malaysian standards we probably are. And don't you know that having money is what some people think constitutes a person's worth?
White skin is the epitome of beautiful.
How do I know this is a thing? Because a popular beauty product you can find in stores here is skin whitening cream. This is a problem that arises when Hollywood mostly produces movies and television with a mainly white cast for a global audience. While white people are out at beaches trying to tan their skin to be darker, Asians are putting cream on their's to try and be lighter!
If you snag a white partner, you're moving up in the world.
You see it in the Asian women who only date white men. My aforementioned Indian friend? He says he prefers dating white girls. He's explicitly told me that he'll get a lot of thumbs up type stares from other locals when he's seen with a white girl specifically because of this attitude.
Locally made movies are crap; it's only worth going to see American ones.
And sadly that is why some of the culture is dying. Kids these days don't want to see their rich cultural history. They want to be hip and modern, just like the Americans!
Did you know that because of these opinions, white people get treated better here? At least in terms of the service they get in restaurants. Not so much in tourist markets where they can rip you off because they'll sell you something that still sounds cheap to a white person who doesn't know any better.
But I'm sick of it. I don't want to be seen as better. I want to be seen as an equal. That's why when my friend commented that he forgot I was white, I took it as a compliment.
For a long time being "better" seemed to mean that locals didn't want to get too friendly with me. It was as if they thought I thought I was too good for that. I guess a lot of expats are only friends with other expats. I prefer the opposite. I can't relate to most (white) expats. Plus, the majority of those I met here left the country long ago. I want something more permanent than that.
I sadly believe the rich stereotype rings true, even though it doesn't fit the image I have of myself. Most white expats seem to have a higher income than we do. I'm not high class, and I don't like fancy things. At the end of the day I feel like I relate better to the locals I have met, and the non-white foreigners.
Let me use the white expat comedians from last night as an example. The first one got up and commented that Pavilion KL is a mat salleh (white person) mall because they're the only people who can afford what is sold there. I don't shop there. The other one made me cover my face in embarrassment at the things he said. I just didn't want to be associated with him.
I'm pretty sure a good portion of the white superiority undercurrent is a result of Hollywood's control of global media, on top of the history of European colonisation. At least if we had more racial diversity in film and television from the US, we might see some positive impact around the world. Not just for this sort of thing, but also in improving how white people see other races.
We were there, with two other people, after attending a local stand-up comedy performance. Race is something that's talked about a lot here. Through the course of the conversation, I learned that the other man at the table was Malay, and the girl was a Chinese/Indian mix - not because I asked, but because they brought it up. White people were being discussed at this point as the girl had a preference for them in the bedroom.
See, even in Malaysia, where the majority population is a combination of Malay, Indian, and Chinese, and the dominant religion is Islam, there's an undercurrent of white superiority.
It doesn't make sense.
Well, okay, admittedly Malaysia is a part of the British Commonwealth. There is a history of centuries of European colonisation. I've written before about how the Portuguese took control of Melaka in 1511, which was subsequently controlled by the Dutch from 1642. The Dutch had power until they signed a treaty with the British in 1824. From then on the British had control until they signed it back to the people in 1957. But that was over 55 years ago! You'd think things would have improved some since then, wouldn't you?
So, in the mind of the locals, what makes me better than actual Malaysians? Stereotypes, let me show you them.
White people are rich.
Now, by my standards, I don't feel like my family is living on a rich person's income. If we were living in California, we probably couldn't even make ends meet, let alone afford to travel as much as we do. But we're not living in California, we're living in Malaysia, so by Malaysian standards we probably are. And don't you know that having money is what some people think constitutes a person's worth?
White skin is the epitome of beautiful.
How do I know this is a thing? Because a popular beauty product you can find in stores here is skin whitening cream. This is a problem that arises when Hollywood mostly produces movies and television with a mainly white cast for a global audience. While white people are out at beaches trying to tan their skin to be darker, Asians are putting cream on their's to try and be lighter!
If you snag a white partner, you're moving up in the world.
You see it in the Asian women who only date white men. My aforementioned Indian friend? He says he prefers dating white girls. He's explicitly told me that he'll get a lot of thumbs up type stares from other locals when he's seen with a white girl specifically because of this attitude.
Locally made movies are crap; it's only worth going to see American ones.
And sadly that is why some of the culture is dying. Kids these days don't want to see their rich cultural history. They want to be hip and modern, just like the Americans!
Did you know that because of these opinions, white people get treated better here? At least in terms of the service they get in restaurants. Not so much in tourist markets where they can rip you off because they'll sell you something that still sounds cheap to a white person who doesn't know any better.
But I'm sick of it. I don't want to be seen as better. I want to be seen as an equal. That's why when my friend commented that he forgot I was white, I took it as a compliment.
For a long time being "better" seemed to mean that locals didn't want to get too friendly with me. It was as if they thought I thought I was too good for that. I guess a lot of expats are only friends with other expats. I prefer the opposite. I can't relate to most (white) expats. Plus, the majority of those I met here left the country long ago. I want something more permanent than that.
I sadly believe the rich stereotype rings true, even though it doesn't fit the image I have of myself. Most white expats seem to have a higher income than we do. I'm not high class, and I don't like fancy things. At the end of the day I feel like I relate better to the locals I have met, and the non-white foreigners.
Let me use the white expat comedians from last night as an example. The first one got up and commented that Pavilion KL is a mat salleh (white person) mall because they're the only people who can afford what is sold there. I don't shop there. The other one made me cover my face in embarrassment at the things he said. I just didn't want to be associated with him.
I'm pretty sure a good portion of the white superiority undercurrent is a result of Hollywood's control of global media, on top of the history of European colonisation. At least if we had more racial diversity in film and television from the US, we might see some positive impact around the world. Not just for this sort of thing, but also in improving how white people see other races.