Generality:“Yellow”. 239
Xu En | 35 | she/her | nationality: Singaporean |ethnicity: Chinese
“Yellow”.
I think we’re talking about the word “yellow” in anAsian context, right?
As a Chinese person, the Yellow River comes immediatelyto mind,
followed by the emperor Huangdi. Traditionally, Idon’t think that it’s a
colour that’s associated with negative connotations.It’s the colour of
royalty and of gold.
Personally, I do not associate my skin colour withthe colour yellow. It
is simply a different shade of white/pale when comparedto Caucasian
whiteness/paleness. Not all Chinese or East Asiansare
pale/fair-skinned too. I find myself referring toskin tones as pale/fair or
dark.
When talking about fair-skinned Asians, fairness atfirst sight might
seem to target East Asians but imo it might also bean indicator for
class/wealth. (In the olden days, farmers weren’tfair. Only the rich and
noble were.)
“Asian”.
I think to be “Asian” is to be defined by a sharedsense of identity that is
rooted in a mixture of ancestry, language, cultureand shared history
from Asia. It also means being defined by the Other.
It is to receive recognition from other members ofthe same group as
belonging to the same community and/or to be perceivedas Asian by
individuals outside the perceived community.
On the one hand, your personal perceptions defineyour self
identification as an Asian but on the other, institutionsand dominant
groups also define your categorisation as an Asian.
Ethnicity|part1.
I think of myself as Singaporean Chinese. I am 1/8Peranakan (one of
my great grandparents was Indonesian); I grew up speakingChinese at
home but speak a mixture of English and Chinese atwork and with
friends; I know that my father is Hokkien and my motheris Teochew; I
celebrate Chinese festive seasons like the ChineseNew Year, the
Mid-Autumn Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival;Chinese dishes
form a huge part of my daily meals.
Unless in Singaporean context or unless I’m playingup the Chinese
aspect of my identity, I don’t feel comfortable identifyingmyself as
purely Chinese because I understand that there arepeople out there
more “Chinese” than I am, ie they are more knowledgeableabout
Chinese culture and history, more proficient in theChinese language
and its various dialects etc.
Ethnicity|part2.
I suppose I chose “Singaporean Chinese” because Ido identify as
Chinese, but I mark it with the modifier “Singaporean”because there is
diversity within the Chinese group and meaningfuldistinctions in terms
mchaos
(mchaos)
#1