on whiteness, women, and the wayward wishes of my mother
Before I was born, my mother tells me she asked God for two things:
1) that her daughter's face be small (and not round like hers)
2) and that her feet be slim (and not wide like hers)
As if these conversations with some presence upstairs weren't disturbing enough for this agnostic daughter of hers, she went on to say that upon my birth, she raged with anger at this God who would deny her the most important characteristic of all.
For indeed, I emerged with a slender face and miniature feet. But horror of horrors, her daughter came into the world a hak mui - "a dark girl" - rather than the bak sik ("white") that my mother craved.
So I can relate to this recent story in the LA Times about Asian American women in Monterey Park, Irvine, Alhambra and other LA suburbs where the ideal of white skin is an easily bought commodity.
1) that her daughter's face be small (and not round like hers)
2) and that her feet be slim (and not wide like hers)
As if these conversations with some presence upstairs weren't disturbing enough for this agnostic daughter of hers, she went on to say that upon my birth, she raged with anger at this God who would deny her the most important characteristic of all.
For indeed, I emerged with a slender face and miniature feet. But horror of horrors, her daughter came into the world a hak mui - "a dark girl" - rather than the bak sik ("white") that my mother craved.
So I can relate to this recent story in the LA Times about Asian American women in Monterey Park, Irvine, Alhambra and other LA suburbs where the ideal of white skin is an easily bought commodity.
posted by drunken monkey at 10:36 AM
1 Comments:
at the rate i'm (unintentionally) tanning, my mother is going to have a conniption by the time i get home.
does your grandmother hold the cardboard over her face while she walks? wouldn't an umbrella/parasol make more ergonomic sense?
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