Dating The White Guy!

We explore the White male dating phenomenon, from its stereotypes, the biases Malaysians may possess on Asian female-White male couples and why some Asian women choose to exclusively date them

- Pamela Victor

You might have heard the stereotype of the “Sarong Party Girl” (SPG) during the early 90’s, which was popularised by a series of humorous books by Jim Aitchison and the more recent novel by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan entitled Sarong Party Girls offering a satirical portrayal of the SPG and related aspects of Singaporean and Malaysian culture. The SPG originated in colonial Singapore when British soldiers brought local women to social parties. Sarong, a delicate wrapped skirt, suggests the European view of exotic beauty and the submission of East to West. Over time, the stereotype of the SPG coarsened into a gold-digging Asian parasite that uses her ruse to seduce hapless white men. The SPG is also deemed to be a sexually adept goddess who’s caught in between Western liberal fancies and her Eastern roots resulting in preference towards the White male, also because of their ‘colonising’ status in Asia back in the day.

Today, the term smacks of sexist biasness and is deemed politically incorrect. Still, many Asian women who date Caucasian males find themselves stereotyped and objectified. Many Malaysian women are often immediately stereotyped once seen with a white guy in public, sometimes they are vilified by family, friends and even strangers (some of the most common stabs thrown at them are scattered around this article in pink). Meanwhile, a certain segment of us would prefer to exclusively date white men.

Why are we still so fixated on the whole Malaysian woman-Caucasian man identity? It’s a never-ending topic of discussion amongst other women (and men) be it from your circle of friends, or even those looking in from the outside.

Why are we so engrossed or rather obsessed about a Malaysian woman dating a Caucasian man?