Posted by
Ed
15 yrs ago
Mass media is the easiest place to peer into the attitudes Thais have about dark skin.
Turn on a cartoon on TV and notice the dark villains and the white heroes. Flip a few more channels or go through a stack of magazines and you'll find that being dark is almost never associated with beauty, power or success.
You don't even have to go looking for these messages; the ubiquity of advertising ensures that they come to you.
For example, take the now-removed ad on the BTS Sky Train that reads, "These seats are reserved for people with white skin" -- a play on the common signage reserving seats for the monks and elderly.
Perhaps those seats should be reserved for the mentally-handicapped marketers, advertisers and their clients who reviewed the ad and, clouded by ignorance and greed, thought it was a clever idea.
Read more: http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/life/tell-me-about-it/only-if-youre-white-238803
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Tune
15 yrs ago
So Ed, what's your point- yet another bash at white people? It seems that certain things are all very one way on this site. And of course, this comment will be removed.
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e11ie
15 yrs ago
Wow, that was a very angry comment! I don't see anything wrong with the article, other than pointing out the author's personal experience of bizarre discrimination and preference for "lighter skin" (of which White is the lightest) commonly found across Asia.
Anyhows, its not just Thailand. China also has a long history of preferring paler skin tone. Chinese believe lighter skin (as well as large noses and ears, small feet for women - and who knows what else) brings good luck. I believe in India too, lighter skin is preferred. This is not just recent but has a long history (at least in Chinese case), hence the bizarre cases of older Chinese ladies with umbrellas in sunny days. I don't think this preference came from Western media brainwashing however, although Western media does perpetuate the stereotype in modern times.
Think the author just had an unfortunate strings of unfriendly encounters, but knowing the Thais, perhaps the cause is more of an unfamiliarity rather than a discrimination.
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well, it's true for most of the world. u get get treated one way if you are white and another way if you're not.. nothing new there.
HK is guilty of the same thing, as is china, as is india as are many many many other places in the world.
colourblindness is not yet a reality.
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Ed
15 yrs ago
Wow (as I duck for cover under my desk...)
First off... let's diffuse the situation with a song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4d7Wp9kKjA
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Ed
15 yrs ago
Now that we are in a happier frame of mind we can discuss...
First of all - I did not write the article - but I do have a great deal of empathy for the guy who wrote... you will note he is a man of colour.
Second - how is the article white bashing? (and I am - a man of colour - white - a self-hating white man?)
I quite like how the author does not take the easy way out an bash the Thai people... he instead looks at the root cause of such attitudes - the media that creates this ideal that white skin is to be worshipped... and dark skin abhorred...
Racism is of course a worldwide phenomenon... I always find it quite amusing when people are shocked when they find someone who is Asian who exhibits racist tendencies that would make the KKK blush... because isn't wondering why someone of colour would be racist racist in itself.... you know what I'm sayin?
In Ed's World no judgments would be made on skin colour.... rather people would treat each based on their individual merits... there would be no generalizations because generalizations can never be absolute...
Now if only I could have the power of IRON MAN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNQowwwwYa0 so that I could enforce the rules of Ed's World (or at least a budget from the UN to try to educate people to overcome centuries of taught racism) we could all just get along...
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Tune
15 yrs ago
I am in a state of contrition- it was a moment of madness- it's passed.
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Murf
15 yrs ago
I'm white and have been treated badly based on my appearance. Anytime I'm anywhere near a US military base, I'm treated like garbage. You should get a white soldier to write about their experiences. I wonder if this author has ever been told that they aren't welcome to sit in a train car like I have (in Germany)?
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This is so funny...
In the West, companies market lotions to make the colour of woman's skin darker. in the East the -same- companies lotions to make skin fairer.
...it's simple in places northern Europe, if you're white and have no sun tan it is because you are too poor to go on holiday...in Asia if you have whiter skin it means you don't have to spend your days out in the harsh sun to make a living...
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e11ie
15 yrs ago
That is ironically funny! Our old friend "the grass is greener on the other side"... =)
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I have seen several studies of very young children in several places in the world to determine their preference for different types of body characteristics. They measured their eye movements when presented with photos of several types of people. Regardless of the race and location of the people, there was a very surprising consistency in their preferences for certain types of physical characteristics. For example, lighter complexions were preferred over darker complexions and thinner physiques were preferred over heavier physiques. When testing older children, the consistency of the results was not as close, suggesting the results of training. It seems that some universal beauty standards are innate, even though I personally object to such a narrow idea. I have a Malaysian friend who has obviously used plenty of skin lightener and her overall appearance is a little strange. I personally feel that her original darker complexion was more attractive, but my preferences are probably due to training.
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