A video depicting a Chinese man chastising a mixed-race couple for dating has gone viral, attracting so many views and comments that even the Minister for Law and Home Affairs, Mr K Shanmugam has commented on his own Facebook page.
Among other things, this anonymous Chinese man accused Mr Dave Parkash of “preying” on Chinese girls. While this exchange captured on video is clearly a racist and bigoted one, it is also extremely sexist.
While not immediately obvious, what this unnamed Chinese man is saying is that women can’t make up their own minds. But rather, that they are easily misled and therefore open to be “preyed” upon. This man is therefore not only racist but also sexist – viewing women as victims who are unable to decide for themselves who they want to be with.
Coloured by his own racial prejudices and misogyny, this hitherto unidentified male was unable to recognise that Mr Parkash’s partner was with him because she wanted to be with him. Instead, he chose to view her through the lens of a weak and easily misled woman that is susceptible to predation.
It is easy enough to spot the evident and patently racial bigotry in this video, but, how often do we recognise the stereotypical view of seeing women as weak and unable to discern for themselves? Or is this belief so deeply ingrained and so seamlessly woven into the narrative that we cannot even spot it? Is this form of sexism so much a part of our subconscious that it is hiding in plain sight?
If so, I challenge you to really consider this issue.
In his woefully misguided and ignorant fashion, this Chinese man probably viewed himself as the hero trying to protect hapless women from falling prey to the wiles of minority men without ever stopping to think that women are empowered enough to decide who they wish to love, date or marry.
So, even as we take such behaviour to task for being utterly racist, we should also take it as an opportunity to reflect on the inherent sexist biases that are so apparently displayed in this video clip and tackle that too!