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LifestreamI noticed this blog (“Sex and Shanghai”) in a China-related story over at MetaFilter. If it is indeed for real, and not some 14 year old prankster, it would be one of the most aggravating, disturbing, arrogant, vulgar, self-aggrandizing and frankly racist colonial stories I’ve read all summer.
I find obvious parallels between the type of reasoning you would see in theories based on neoliberalism and ‘democratization’ and the kind of cheap tricks and baubles used by this tacky Casanova. Can’t say I’m surprised.
To approximate: Anonymous sex-blogger out of Shanghai is to degrading, belittling and preying on women what flat-earth-thinker and globalization apologist Thomas Friedman is to neoliberal punditry and the encroachment on foreign nations. In fact the likeness is striking, even if both seem to exist worlds apart.
- Somewhat related: A Foreign Affair – On the globalization, commercialization of marriage
- Maybe related: Spreading American Democracy, and teen-aged tarts
(2006-08-31) The “Chinabounder” weblog has been flagged as a possible prank / hoax. The comments still stand however and the story will be treated as if in fact true because of the seriousness of the situation. I will not bother to explain myself again with regard to the accusations levied against “Chinabounder”.
16:26 on August 9th, 2006
Please explain how it’s racist.
22:18 on August 9th, 2006
If you can’t see it yourself, there is no point in me wasting my breath enlightening you on the topic. I don’t purport to be a teacher unlike some people. I was going to add "tendencies of pedophilia" as well but I never got around to it. You figure it out. It will require some thinking outside of the box but you seem like a bright boy.
10:07 on August 10th, 2006
Ah, so in fact it was an ungrounded assertion. I see.
20:16 on August 11th, 2006
In short, it becomes "racism" the moment you start hinting there is anything special about the women in question. When you fall into the old trap of Orientalism. The fact that you in some way shower them in superlatives only aggravates the situation as the most prominent component of the racism that Asian women face is in fact embedded in sexuality as spun by colonial tales of old, and the porn industry, reckless academics as of late. Plus there is the cliché of saving these women from Asian men and general drudgery (which incidentally also has its approximate counterpart in economics). This thinking also mobilizes stereotypes and racism directed at Asian men. You may think all of this is trivial, and of no concern, but these are stereotypes that come into play time and again and have helped to sustain western, now American, colonialism and imperialism in the region for centuries. And you’re, in some small part, doing your part in making it happen. I hear all this nonsense about anti-Semitism being on the march these days, while alas more rampant, and dangerous (that is to say less overt) forms of racism are overlooked, even exploited for media profit … and blogging fame. I’m not getting further into this but I’d recommend the following reading:
Asian fetish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…
Stereotypes of Asians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…
I’d also recommend the works of one Tobias Hübinette, adoptee from Korea and a researcher that has dealt with the topic from time to time (and paid the price, been dragged through the mud for it). For example:
Asians in Swedish popular culture 1
http://www.tobiashubinette….
Though it may feel very specific, and based on popular media, the conclusions can be generalized. For instance this passage on p10:
"Consciously tramping in the footsteps of the colonisers of the glory days of European empires and contemporary American Cold War soldiers who raped and killed for centuries in the region, Stevens and Mr M sense a secure feeling of recognition among the numerous willing prostitutes shouting “fucki fucki” in stupid Pidgin English. East Asian women are short-legged, knock-kneeded and slant-eyed, lacking waists and looking stupid and even ugly, while at the same time provoking uncontrollable paedophilic and sadomasochistic sexual excitement with their childish, innocent and androgynous looks and small stature. If the Mongolian women are like countryside girls in the bed, the Chinese are raw and carnal, the Koreans are simply horny, and the Japanese women stand out in their advanced sexual habits and games, preferring to be dominated. This way of rating East Asian women is also what the Orientalist and Japanologist Boye De Mente does in his extremely popular bestseller Women of the Orient (1992) with the subtitle Intimate profiles of the world’s most feminine women."
02:48 on August 15th, 2006
Chill out. Have some fun.
http://whoischinabounder.bl…
06:32 on August 19th, 2006
Bjorn, I think you need to provide more reasons for why Chinabounder is "racist" than resorting to Said’s _Orientalism_, Spivak’s "white men saving brown women from brown men" thesis, and a problematic wikipedia entry on "Asian Fetish." This really ought to be done through a close analysis of his own postings, as egregious as this might sound to you.
Nor do I see any evidence of "pedophilia" in his actions. As far as I can tell, his affairs have been with women who by international standards are "of age" (i.e. 18 and over). Moreover, it is not uncommon in China for Chinese men to date and marry women who are much younger than they are. These days it is quite common to see 50-something men with 20-something women, whether on the streets or in the clubs.
I do think however that Chinabounder ought to be more careful in his pronouncements on both Chinese men and women, not to mention Caucasian men and women. I would say that some of his statements are rather stereotypical, though not overtly racist.
For example, saying that 90 percent of white men act in a certain way in China is not a tenable statement. I have lived in China for many years and have seen, experienced, and heard many stories. While Caucasian men do have a significant advantage in the sexual marketplace, their relations with Chinese women reveal an entire spectrum of behaviors, ethical and moral codes, and experiences. Some men stay away completely, some become deeply involved with one woman (often marrying that woman), some get into casual dating, and some (like Chinabounder) become obsessed with the art of seduction.
It is also untenable to say that Chinese men are unattractive, sexually dull, or worse. This is of course pure nonsense. Especially since women are primarily attracted to power, and there are many powerful Chinese men in China. It might be fair however to say that certain Chinese females are attracted to Caucasian males for their physical features. I have noticed that many women who become involved with a Caucasian male end up getting involved with other Caucasian males. Some women even "hunt" white men in the way that Chinabounder "hunts" Chinese women.
There may be many reasons for this. Some might be partial to men for their cultural and linguistic backgrounds, others for their looks. Even so, for the most part, women are interested in power. In my own humble opinion, power is the most seductive source of attraction for women, and an English teacher, even if white, likely has little of it, beyond his linguistic abilities. Yet in a place like China, language can go a long way, as Chinabounders experiences show.
As far as I can tell from his postings, Chinabounder’s case is rather mild, relatively speaking. I’ve seen much worse (in terms of ethics, that is). But in the end, I think it’s important to treat his and others’ interactions with women on a case by case basis, rather than making blanket statements about colonialism or imperialism. It’s also important to acknowledge that this is one man’s story. And a highly subjective one at that.
I for one would be interested to hear the other side, i.e. how the women interpret the experience. Of course there are some published or online accounts, such as Muzimei, Wei Hui, Mian Mian, and so forth, but it would be really interesting to see a Chinese woman put up a blog about her seductions of white men.
As for women’s feelings being hurt, hearts, broken, etc., you might find that it means less to them than you’d think.
After all, Shanghai has an extremely active sexual marketplace these days, and Caucasian foreigners are quite marginal to the scene. Far more active (to use your "colonial imperialism" thesis) are the overseas Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Taiwanese, Malaysians, Singaporeans, etc. who possess the wealth, status, and power to command the city’s sexual market. These are the real power brokers in the scene. Men like Chinabounder are merely small players in the sexual exploitation of post-socialist China.
05:10 on August 23rd, 2006
Generalization and Racism
source:
http://www.americanchronicl…
Any sweeping generalization of a particular race or ethnic group not factually based and derogatory is racist.
A statement that the Dinkas of the Sudan are taller than the Japanese might sound derogatory to the Japanese (assuming taller is better), but it is factually based and therefore is not racist. On the other hand, if I say Mexicans are lazy, it is first of all derogatory and second it is not based on measurable data.
To apply broad generalizations to a particular individual in the absence of any confirming evidence, such as McKinney’s assertion about the police officer, is despicable and in fact, suggests that McKinney is herself a racist.
05:22 on August 23rd, 2006
According to this point of view, Chinabounder needs to prove his generalization such as "Chinese people, in general, are ignorant of their society" or "Chinese men, in general, are unattractive, sexually dull" by some measurable data and facts. The data or facts have to directly prove Chinabounder’s racial generalization is true. Otherwise, Chinabounder is considered to be racist.
04:32 on August 27th, 2006
I don’t think we need to discuss this issue here.Maybe Chinabounder is indeed a basturd and a loser of life.He may just want to draw people’s attention in this way.If we pay such attention to him.won’t we make him achieve his goals? He isn’t worth of our thoughts.
12:06 on August 30th, 2006
The guy from sex and shanghai is just some lonely middle aged guy who has his fantasies come true on his blog and i am sure most of what he says isn’t true because what sexually uptight person would act like this, who even if what he says is true has to go all so far to just get asian girls i am sure UK has plenty of chinese but it seems he cant get any that shows he doesn’t have much game and for sure the girls he goes with are after something ellse then just his looks and personality its always funny how white men have to go to asia to get asian girls while asians are all spreaded all around the globe .
23:06 on August 30th, 2006
Well I guess the best treatment a racist loser should deserve is a worse racist comment on himself, especially when this comes from a Chinese professor in the west coping with the similar kind of moral depravity.
so here’s an ethnic Chinese male’s racist reply to Chinabounder last night. Let’s hope he recover from impotency soon…
Well Prof. Zhang might not be romantic, but that doesn’t generalizes an unromantic Chinese male profile.
I’m a Shanghai native now living in America. I fuck free white cunts here too, a white cunt is a cunt, just not a second-rate cunt. And I gave them more beautiful descriptions of their womanhood than yours. Well in general I don’t like white women: for one thing they’re too stupid, lack a profound sense of humor which only a time-honored civilization like China can afford. The white cunts are often too hairy, actually quite in line with their intellectual inferiority to Chinese women. I seldomly get the kind of creative and more refined sex from them. Anyway this is unrefined America, so one can’t be too picky for fuckmates.
This loser, Chinabounder here, is so pathetic that he must have been used for a bit foreign exotics by the least wanted Chinese girls. Otherwise being an observant writer himself, he couldn’t have come up with the nonsense generalization that Chinese girls are shy, sexually ignorant, controlled by parents, etc. Less likely would he have mentioned his only pathetic endowment: of the 4 S of male sexuality, stamina, strength, sentimentality, and size, size matters the least. Ask any Chinese woman, they knew this since the time of classical Taoism. Chinese men have much greater stamina and same girth to make their women the world’s sexiest. This is the truth I learnt from my American sluts here.
Let me also tell you about my very first girlfriend. We went our own ways studying abroad when we were teenagers. She had a few flings with her American college boys and even engaged once. She dumped her American fiance because he was just a boring Mr.Nice Guy. Now 15 years later we met again. Looking back all these years she told me I’m her one and only love just because of the kind of destructive passions we feel for each other. In comparison her American encounters were all second-rate choices she made in a time when she couldn’t be with her true love. She used the word "confess" to describe the guilt she ‘s felt about having slept with those Americans, she was such a smart girl that she stopped sex with the less desirable right after the mistakes and entirely blocked the memory of those guys since long.
Yes we are still making love, and on few occasions making baby as she felt obliged to make up things for our starcrossed love affair.
This is just how one professor in the USA, an ethnic Chinese female, views one Chinese man against her American schoolmates in her early 20′s. She married another Chinese classmate, easily more charming than the Americans, when she was 26.
So wake up from your pathetic stereotype: it’s you who lacks passions, romantic tricks, and sexual prowess. It’s a pity you never seem to be able to imagine how manly many Chinese men really are!
Now piss off and continue your gutter-slut hunt. Don’t forget some protection for yourself as most Chinese women are probably more sexually experienced than you. They are the sexiest women because their have the sexiest men. what else you think have brought China the world’s #1 population? It takes 4000 years of #1 feminity and masculinity!
07:51 on August 31st, 2006
Background to the above comment — ‘Chinese bloggers declare war on British sex-pat blogger’
http://www.boingboing.net/2…
Please note – ‘Shanghai sex blog writer hoax’
http://www.theinquirer.net/…
‘The authors have decided to close the bog down because they are frightened for the safety of expatriates in Shanghai.’
Regardless of the veracity of the hoax assertion, the writer(s) should have thought about this beforehand.
Also, some intolerable American know-it-all even "invented" a new meme — "chinavenging". I mean, come on, I’ve been involved in much more caustic hate campaigns and I’m not impressed. Sounds like someone is once again making potentially damaging generalizations about China.
04:21 on September 1st, 2006
This blog or whatever it is was originally blocked by everyone’s friend, the chinese government, then unblocked. Why? To stir up more nationalist crap.
On an international chinese website, chasedream.com, this topic is discussed in depth. While some are infuriated, most are fairly casual and find some of the blog funny and even true in some respects.
This blog only exposes the ugly, nazi-nationalist side of china which is a direct side effect of 1. being closed and 2. people being bombarded with mind bending propaganda all their lives.
This just goes to show how far China has to go to become a truly developed country. Shiny (empty) buildings and a (smoking, broken) maglev doesn’t make you developed. Yes, this stuff does go on in the west, especially in the US with an almost pop culture flare to it. Don’t believe me? check out the "yo mama" jokes on MTV, or watch a non-white comedian on stage (they are much harsher on their own ethnic group than on white folks).
Yo mama is soo black…
Yo mama is sooo white…
Which car holds the most latinos…
Whose are the toughest vegetable stand owners, Jamaicans or Koreans, etc.
Chinese people need thicker skins, they are not the center of the world and no one is above being barbed.
07:40 on September 1st, 2006
Hey White Women Saver…your rant gave me a good laugh this afternoon. Thanks! i especially liked this part:
"Yes we are still making love, and on few occasions making baby as she felt obliged to make up things for our starcrossed love affair."
Whatever it is supposed to mean, it had me almost wetting my pants in laughter…
07:46 on September 2nd, 2006
Please note — ‘Shanghai sex blog writer hoax’
Please note that the hoax is unproven.
No one in the group has stepped out in public so far.