Monday, October 11, 2004
The Race Factor

An amazingly busy day at the blog here,I wonder why?Could it be because Rogue is away upstairs most of the time attending avrious meetings and does not have the time...for now...to call each of us suddenly 5 minutes before we are supposed to knock off and call us into her office to see her for something.Usually something rubbish but it delays people from going off on time.It won't happen today...I hope not anyway.

What race factor was I talking about?Well,it was a question I have asked for a long time but have never really got a good answer for.I am no closer to an answer.And I'd think nobody can possibly come up with an adequate answer as to why as well.

Anyway,over lunch,Jubilee,Jean Grey,Prof X and yours truly,Cyclops were talking over lunch and topics flew left,right and centre.From gifts that Jubilee can buy for Colossus,to Jean Grey's unforgettable birthday to holidays in Malaysia and finally interracial romances.There was no stand on this...neither for nor against.We were instead discussing on the rarity of a certain phenomenon.

We have always noticed a lot of Indian guys going out with Chinese babes.Or Caucasian men going out with Chinese babes.No issue.It's as common as Goreng Pisang.Hmmm,that's a weird description.But anyway,such pairings isn't anything new.In fact,there are Chinese girls who love ONLY dark-skinned men.I hope I don't sound racist here.Our discussion though was on a rarer occurrance.A Chinese man with an Indian babe.

Seriously,how many of you have actually seen a Chinese man going out with an Indian babe?In my entire 27 years of non-existence,I have seen such a pairing in the streets only ONCE in my life...so far.Yes,just ONCE.twenty-seven years and all I can conjure up is walking past such a couple for 5 minutes.You know,that's like striking a trillion-dollar jackpot/lottery or something like that.It's so rare,it's amazing.Jubilee and Prof X could not even recall having ever seen such a pairing before while Jean Grey did not say a thing so I don't know about her.Well,at least I've seen it once so I suppose,in Jose Mourinho's words,"I must be a special one".Hahahah.fancy being something special not for doing something but for having seen something.How vicarious is that?

But really,why do we NOT see such pairings on a more frequent basis?I am sure there are such pairings around one way or another(at least there is ONE!)on this island but we hardly,if ever,see them.There has to be some around,right?Don't tell me they are all hiding in the bushes or something so we can't see them.But that's not the point.The thing is:For something to occur,there must be a reason behind it.So if Chinese guys are NOT going after Indian girls,there must be a reason why.And I'd like to know why.If there is a why,that is.

Not to sound racist here but does it have to do with the colour of the skin?I am seriously questioning this because I'd have to speak from my point of view.I can't ever say I won't fall in love with an Indian girl but deep down,I know I'd really rather love to be with a Chinese girl.I can only state reasons as to why I feel this way.This statement might sound racist right now but read on to know that it's not.

I like fair girls.Period.Doesn't mean I won't like girls who are tanned,bronzed or dark but I have a preference for fair girls.This is not racism.There can be fair Indian girls too.Like Aishwarya Rai and I like her perfectly.Putting her on my top ten list should show I have no bias against Indian girls.When I said I'd rather be with a Chinese,I also have considerations for my parents.Who are both Chinese educated and it'd be horrible for them if they can't communicate with their daughter-in-law right?So what about Kantans?Those Chinese who are Chinese but can't speak a word of Chinese to save their lifes.Storm,the Office X-Men,is a Kantan.I am also unlikely to go for them.My parents will be gesticulating an awful lot,wouldn't they?So if an Indain girl can speak passable Mandarin and I love her,it'd be really great.Oh,is catering to my parent's needs being a mama's/papa's boy?A mama's or papa's boy is someone who listens to everything their parents tell them to do.But for me,I don't listen so much to what they say,my parents actually never tell me what to do.Because they know I don't listen anyway so they don't waste their breath.But that doesn't mean I don't have to consider them and their needs and difficulties...although ultimately,love and all its associated trappings is hard to predict.I may very well find my above statements coming back to bite my sorry @rse one of these days.

Still,I have not come up with a satisfactory answer.There was one speculation as to why Chinese guys prefer their girls to be fairer.Ancient times in China,fairness has always been associated with beauty and prosperity because well,fair white skin implies girls are of a royal or privileged background and do not have to work.Compare that to tanned girls who work in the fields and streets selling produce or wares under the sun.That was less desirable.Has that mentality been so deeply ingrained in us that we automatically associate fairness with beauty.

It does not help,of course,when we have so many skincare products on the market and advertised on TV that proports to whiten the skin.SKII being a leading example.The media says white is desirable and pretty.Who's to say no?Not the consumers!Are they hardselling a concept or merely reinforcing pre-conceived ones?I don't know.What I do know is that tanned is beauty too.And so is dark.If it suits the person.Isn't prettiness more to do with the face than with skin colour?Or does it have to go together?

Hard question to answer and no ready answer in sight either.Until we see more of such pairings in the public,I will probably continue to question why this is not so.And come up short on answers.