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ARTICLES:
Eurasian Experience
When
Exoticism Meets Racism By Tracey Tamae Ariga December 2003/January 2004 Camera pans in on a local Athens bar, Pawpurrs. Smoke rises from random cigarettes throughout, while drinks are in the hands of all around. Lil’ Kim’s “The Jump Off” is playing in the background. Focus on the guy standing by the pool table near the front door. Beer in hand, he chats with his buddies, all the while, scanning the crowd; weary on which woman he will approach next. In the past half hour, two conversations with the opposite sex, both about three sentences long. Camera pans over to the door. A line of college students enter. Camera focuses on a woman of mixed background; the fourth person with Asian decent to enter the bar all night. She walks toward the bar with two others, and they start the night with a shot of Jagermeister, while their order of Bud Lights are placed on the counter. The girls settle at open stools along the bar after a few short conversations with friends end at the back of the bar. Guy by the pool table: Look at that one. His friends: Are you into that type? She does kinda look like Brooke Burke, I guess. Go for it, man. After chugging down the last of his beer, guy from the front pool table approaches the woman of mixed background. Hesitant, but confident that he has a topic of conversation: her undetermined ethnic background. Him: Hey. How’s your night going? Her: Pretty good. How about you? Him: It’s good. Brooke Burke, right? Her: Funny. [clearing throat…completely unamused by the comparison] You know, I’m just chilling here with some of my friends. You should go back to… Him: [cutting in] I’m joking. Ok, seriously, what is your name? Her: [annoyed and agitated] It’s Julie. Him: It’s nice to meet an exotic looking girl. I’m Tom. Her: Excuse me? Is categorization a come-on technique these days? Him: I’m just stating the obvious. You know, exotic, like the centerfold in last month’s Playboy. Her: [completely stunned, objectified...all she can do is stare in disbelief] Him: You look different from the normal girls around here. And you’re not the typical Asian girl either, all squinty-eyed, shy and giggly. You know what I mean. You’re different. You’re not like them. Her: Not like them? I am them. My father is Japanese, and I am Japanese as well. Him: You don’t look Japanese. I thought you were from Hawaii. Don’t worry...It’s ok. You’re exotic. Her: It's okay? I do not need your approval for my existence and appearance. I am also Hungarian. Two complete cultures in one complete person. Two different cultures do not mean I am neither. I am 100% both, because I am both. Him: I was just curious of your background and I didn’t come up to you because I need a lesson on race when I asked you what you are. You’re in my country and I am allowed to categorize you as I please. *** In a culture that is obsessed with understanding its own existence, as well as its immediate surroundings, the human race’s first instinct is to categorize what they see. Due to one’s personal life experiences and knowledge, inquiry of unknown information is a commonly skipped task; we see an apple and already know this is an apple that belongs in the fruit section of the grocery store, we know this is Neapolitan ice cream, made of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavorings. Maybe when we were young, we inquired about these unknown facts, out of pure and innocent curiosity. As we get older, cultural barriers and a curiosity to figure out why someone is different than us replace this innocence. The point is we are creatures that are obsessed with categorizing the objects, places, and people of our lives. *** My name is Tracey Tamae Ariga. My father is Japanese. My mother is Hungarian. I am first-generation Eurasian. I have a multiethnic background of both European and Asian decent. There it is: the explanation that I have so many times repeated, so they understand what category, what context to put me in. They, yes, you! Puerto Rican, Japanese, Indian, African American, European, the list goes on and on of people who categorize. Even the Eurasian person is guilty of categorization. Some hate, some cry, some complain, some are oblivious to it all. No matter how you relate, or do not relate to issues dealing with race, categorizing and stereotyping are here. Categorizers are in the world, in the United States, in the crowds you walk by on your very own campus. I am not here to complain. I am not here to say that people of mixed ethnic background are suffering [although some are] or that we are an oppressed people. I am here to bring attention to certain portrayals of Eurasian individuals in American society, how Eurasians are minorities within their own ethnic backgrounds, and the idea of being “Americanized” in our present day culture. I am not going to persuade you in thinking one way or another. I am here simply to inform. All have not experienced the examples that follow, but to some, these issues arise every day. To some, this is reality. The imaginary dialogue that opened this paper happens all the time. A woman is pursued for her exotic characteristics. Objectified and glamorized in the media, this unknown minority is becoming the norm. The norm of society? Maybe not. More like the norm of an accepted fantasy. Every other MTV video portrays people of mixed ethnic backgrounds with sex appeal and fortune, especially through the use of females. It has become part of the American Dream, or at least part of the American Fantasy. Korean-Caucasian Michelle Myers, who appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam in December 2001, was interviewed by EurasianNation.com and stated that, “Fetishizing has been a huge thing for me. Now that I’m older and wiser, I can look back and see that most men I’ve dated had fetishes for Asian women and that’s why they went out with me.” Popular culture is embracing this explosion of mixed ethnicity, thus the “spice” and unknown, untouchable exoticism of a far away land can be experienced in the safety of an “Americanized” ideal of what a minority should be. If we were to continue the dialogue above, we could easily imagine another friend at the bar adding to the initial comments with, “Oh… she’s not really a minority.” People make this type of statement to someone of mixed background, thinking of it as a compliment. Their ignorance demonstrates their unconscious belief that being a minority is undesirable. The mixed ethnic person is supposed to feel comforted in knowing they are “not really a minority.” This new subculture of Asian and European decent represents safety, while still taking a risk. You’re not sure if mom will be okay with it, but this is definitely safer then bringing home a woman that is 100% Japanese. It is getting a taste of this eroticized exotic fantasy, without dealing with...without dealing with what? Language barriers? Religious differences? Different foods and customs? People rely on the hope that a person of mixed background is Americanized. They get to enjoy parts of a given culture, rather than accepting the reality of a whole culture. You jump at the chance of meeting the exotic model in Puff Daddy’s new music video; shocked when you find out her father was the Chinese professor you laughed at because of his accent and his struggle with the English language the other day. So readily, one can mock an unfamiliar culture, even because of a mere accent, yet culture objectified in an exotic ideal creates the next obsession for our culture. Situations of multi-ethnic misunderstanding are created by location, upbringing, and culturally isolated situations. Due to the media attention for and increase in population of multi-ethnic people in the United States, the presence of varying ethnicities, especially in areas of California and parts of the East Coast have become recognized. However, like Professor Jennifer Chan who teaches a course on Asian-Americans of Mixed Heritage at New York University says, “For a long time, mixed race individuals have been both very present and yet absent in the cultural discussions over race.” Even within a person with multi-ethnic background’s own family, acceptance and understanding of this new “subculture” is not easily obtained. An example of one way of thought can be summarized by the words of Tom Melesky, in the article “The Dilemma of Mixed Asians in Hip Hop,” which appeared in EurasianNation’s November 2002 issue. He states, “mixed Asians do have an advantage over ‘pure’ Asians in that most people do not apply Asian stereotypes to them. If anything, the primary characteristic of a mixed Asian is that they are often mistaken for a different race, assumed to be just one of their racial backgrounds, or they are given the “you look kinda Asian but I’m not sure...” response. As a result, mixed Asian artists are able to represent themselves both as individuals and as part of a community, while at the same time avoiding offensive labels.” Many believe this to be true, thus it could very well be the reason why the “pure” cultures that make up a mixed Asian will not fully accept them as one of their own. There is a perceived lack of a common ground for struggles that certain cultures deal with. A person of mixed ethnic background is a person of mixed identity. Commonly, the decision to choose one background over the other as the dominant identifier is the chosen course. Why? So they can create the comfort of fitting into a racial category. Obviously, however, this would be to say that one culture is better, more accepted, or easier to live than the next. It is not our decision to choose what we are, more like discover who we are; the universal struggle of any race to understand its own existence. Categorization and stereotyping has had a huge presence in American society. With new cultures submerging, new stereotypes are created along with them. As racial barriers are crossed, new barriers are readily created. The obsession for categorization, even from innocent curiosity, creates a society that puts labels on everything. Human beings are not created to be categorized like the apples in the grocery store. There is no one who makes sure the green ones stay separated from the red. Like Emma Goldman said, “We are all individuals, not interesting ethnic-biological phenomena. A human being is multifaceted, and its personality is not determined purely by ethnicity. A human being is an ambiguous being in any case, at any point in time, and throughout his or her life.” The world is getting smaller and smaller, and cultural barriers are breaking down. With this, we need to grow and accept diversity. We are not faceless gene pools to be categorized by race. We need to realize that we are all made up of mixed ethnic backgrounds and should become knowledgeable in such areas to create a stronger community. You learn and experience, and so you share. Don’t be the oblivious one. Help rid the world of ignorance. About
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