Reply to I am an Asian woman married to a white guy. Ask me (practically) anything.

Forum Index » Off-Topic

Reply to "I am an Asian woman married to a white guy. Ask me (practically) anything."

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]No idea what the motivation of OP was in starting the thread but let me say based on interaction with many Asians, there is a pecking order when it comes to marrying someone of another race/color.

Being married to a white guy is viewed as the next best thing to marrying within one's own race .... and depending on the looks, credentials, etc of the white guy, it may even be viewed as a "catch" of sorts by some in the Asian community.

Yes, and there is also a tendency, to want to adapt to some Western aspects. For example, most Asians in the US use a Western first name and rarely use their Asian first name.[/quote]

This is OP.  I will address this.  Assimilation means that you marry into the mainstream.  The mainstream may mean many things, but if you keep your options open and not limit yourself to your own ethnicity (which is anti-assimilation), then you will probably end up with a white person, due to sheer numbers.

And yes, immigrants adopt Western names.  You left your motherland, and took citizenship here.  That means something.  That means you say hello to everyone, learn English, eat hamburgers, and can name your kids Jennifer and Andrew without judgment.

I don't see fifth-generation Americans of Italian descent naming their kids Giuseppe or Luigi either.

But, PP, I do take issue with your sweeping generalization.  Lots of Asian friends of mine are giving their children ethnic names, so your statement isn't even true.  So: James Yu-Shing Chan, or Andrea Soyoung Williams, that kind of thing.[/quote]

OP, you are being evasive and even disingenuous in your response.

The Chinese as well as other Asians have had a presence in several countries where they were a minority and they did not assimilate to the point of marrying into the majorities in those countries except in very limited instances. You also find disproportionately more inter-marriages between Asians and whites than between Asians and other races in this country even allowing for the fact that whites are in the majority in the US. Besides, are you seriously suggesting that the Asian parents/family/community would be as positive to an inter-racial marriage between a member of their community if the person were non-white as compared to a white person - assuming all other things were equal?

As far as naming children using Western names, we don't need to look at those who have been here five generations or even fewer generations. Most Asian immigrants - and especially Chinese immigrants - use Western names even when it comes to the first generation. In fact, only South Asians seem to use names from their country of origin although they do try and adopt names that would be easier for Americans to pronounce. Even the examples that you cited are ones where James Yu-shing Chan or Andrea Soyoung Williams will go by the name "James" or "Andrea" in their everyday interactions in this country. The Chinese name becomes a middle name that is used only in limited instances.

Most of my information comes from Asians who are more candid in acknowledging some of these biases and desire to fit into the mainstream than you are willing to acknowledge.

Even the language issue is one where some immigrants take a greater pride in ensuring their progeny learn to speak, read and write their language. There are avenues that enable immigrant children to do just this through cultural and community resources precisely because the parents may not have the time to do so. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics