I've only
been in Taiwan for one week and at least once every day someone has mentioned
some sort of cultural clash between foreign males and Taiwanese girls. To boil
the issue down it appears that some foreigners come to Taiwan and take advantage of their
status. From what I've read and heard it's sexist, racist, and misogynistic.
The first
example of blatant sexism occurred the first night I was in Taiwan. I stumbled
across an article on Facebook where an American expat writes about all the
shortcomings, failures, and problems of girls in Taiwan. He starts of his piece with a disclaimer. Despite his distaste for
Taiwanese girls his Taiwanese girlfriend is great because she’s a “foxy freak”.
The author goes on to write about how Taiwanese girls are shallow, greedy, unintelligent,
spoiled, and think too highly of themselves. At the end of his article he goes
onto suggest what should be done with Taiwanese girls. The link is below but be
warned some of the content is extremely disturbing.
http://appnews.fanswong.com/show.php?id=363925&TORO
Within four days of my arrival there was news of a Turkish student in Taiwan who was being charged with attempted sexual assault. The police discovered 29 sex-tapes of the student and various women. It is suspected that the women video-taped had no knowledge of the filming. The student has not been proven guilty and claims to be innocent. Regardless the situation is extremely concerning.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/06/21/2003565321
There is a large difference between what we read in the news and what happens to people that we know first-hand. It may have been easier to dismiss these last two examples and forget about the issue but I know people who are personally affected. I have a Taiwanese friend who has never been out to a night-club. She fears that there is too much pressure to have sex with the foreigners that she would meet. Although she loves sharing culture and practicing her English with other foreigners the thought of going out to a night-club is intimidating. I never knew that going out to a club to dance with friends, could be so difficult for someone. I've always agreed with the Men Without Hats that “You can dance if you want to” but apparently it’s not that simple.
This post is more of an overview than a deep analysis. I plan on returning to the subject in more detail. I’d love to hear feedback on people’s thoughts or experiences. Please comment or send me an email at jpane@gwmail.gwu.edu
http://appnews.fanswong.com/show.php?id=363925&TORO
Within four days of my arrival there was news of a Turkish student in Taiwan who was being charged with attempted sexual assault. The police discovered 29 sex-tapes of the student and various women. It is suspected that the women video-taped had no knowledge of the filming. The student has not been proven guilty and claims to be innocent. Regardless the situation is extremely concerning.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/06/21/2003565321
There is a large difference between what we read in the news and what happens to people that we know first-hand. It may have been easier to dismiss these last two examples and forget about the issue but I know people who are personally affected. I have a Taiwanese friend who has never been out to a night-club. She fears that there is too much pressure to have sex with the foreigners that she would meet. Although she loves sharing culture and practicing her English with other foreigners the thought of going out to a night-club is intimidating. I never knew that going out to a club to dance with friends, could be so difficult for someone. I've always agreed with the Men Without Hats that “You can dance if you want to” but apparently it’s not that simple.
This post is more of an overview than a deep analysis. I plan on returning to the subject in more detail. I’d love to hear feedback on people’s thoughts or experiences. Please comment or send me an email at jpane@gwmail.gwu.edu
When I arrived in Japan, I made a random acquaintance. He was Canadian, but had lived in Japan for several years. Somehow we stumbled over the topic of China Airlines, a Taiwanese Airline, and shared our experiences because we both flew China Airlines recently. Unfortunately, I don't remember what he said because he started his story with, "Yeah, they're all [insert derogatory name here], so I was chatting up a China Airlines stewardess..." Not to be rude, just direct, but the first thing that passed through my mind was, "I'm sorry, do you not have the ability to 'talk' to a woman?" He preceded to womanize a Japanese woman next to us and my face just turned into a rock. It may simply be an unlucky encounter. Actually, it was an unlucky encounter. I've met several interracial couples, no couples who just happen to be interracial, who live by the philosophy, "I like you. Me too." However, I can't help but to notice the confidence boost of some Caucasian/Western men around Asian women. Is it a matter of taking advantage of Asian women who have traditionally been submissive to men (wait... isn't this the case for many Western countries as well?)? Are they just attracted to Asian women? What does that even mean? Is it for sexual reasons? Why is it so easy to draw a mental picture of a Caucasian/Western man 'chatting up' an Asian woman but strangely difficult to draw up an Asian man 'chatting up' a Caucasian/Western woman? Is this just me and my American perspective?
ReplyDeleteI am by no means referring to all Caucasian/Western men; however, for those who fall under the category of 'major personally change (in other words, huge ego boost) around Asian women in Asia,' I am unimpressed. To be more assertive, I am quite disappointed.
Not to stray off to a different country, but since I have talked to more Japanese women than Taiwanese women, I want to voice some Japanese woman's perspective. I will make the brush stroke generalization that Japanese women are passive because Japanese culture condones the idea of a 'submissive woman.' I will make another brush stroke comment that in many cases men perpetuate this tradition. However, it blows my mind when guys turn around, Western or Eastern, and complain about 'Japanese' women being passive or shallow. Before interviewing Japanese women about the phenomenon of later marriage, I also held the stereotype that Japanese women were passive and may not open up their true feelings; however, many of them did. They shared their concerns about their future - whether they should make use of their hard earned degree or start a family. They shared what they genuinely like and dislike. They shared their ambitions and their fears. To a certain extent, Japanese women are expected by their society to tolerate many of their frustrations with an opaque veil, and they are very good at it. They don't often complain about walking around in heels all day or easily get inconvenienced by people or whatever situation. Rather than taking advantage of these qualities then labeling them as boring or too passive, wouldn't it be more decent to simply ask them who they are? If which ever individual doesn't want to bother, excuse me to the utmost, but what a shame that so little has been invested in cultivating the self.
Sorry, John. I'm not angry. It just made me think about a lot of things, particularly personal experiences/observations...
Wow, I'm appalled. I think both examples show how many men still view women as inferior and as not having the same amount of dignity as men.
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