What he expressed seems to also suggest that if we have a chance to show how non-stereotypical we are, we then can prove how ‘white’ we are on the inside. Michael, a friend from the speed dating event said that he prefers to meet people in person because there’s a better chance for a personal connection. Senthorun shared a personal Grindr experience where someone told him that he’s ‘nothing like expected’ because of his lack of accent, and so he isn’t ‘really Indian after all’. Eric, another person in the same conversation mentioned that he’s had contradictory experiences.Īs someone who was born in Australia, Eric expressed a preference for western-cultured people. Jason also felt that other Asian men were culturally more family orientated and more open to monogamy and dating, whereas western guys appeared to be focused on sex. Another person, Jason agreed with this and said that he preferred Asian men because they were similar in their traditions. A guy called Don told me he felt more comfortable with Asian guys since more of them wanted something similar (in terms of a relationship), while Caucasian men were either interested in a hookup or seemed much older than him. Three people separately mentioned smell which I guess is fair. I wanted to pry even further though, so I inquired if there were any patterns or differences in their dating experiences when it came to dating either white or Asian men. ‘How do you know what you like until you sample all the flavours?’ philosophised an exuberant Micheal. Interestingly a lot of the people I came across were open to everyone in terms of race when I asked them. At the event, we were given 12 dates at five minutes each and no one was allowed to talk about work. I went along to the GAM 4 GAM dating event to see if I could discover anything significantly relevant to cultural perceptions. At this event, there were separate GAM (gay Asian male) 4 GAM and GAM 4 GWM (gay white male) sessions planned out for prospective singles to choose from. This divide seemed commonplace, even manifesting itself within a speed dating event in Sydney. In popular gay Asian colloquialism, there lies the cultural notion that desires revolve around two specific racial choices – rice or potato?
The tension of east and west and some of its complexities are especially exhibited in our dating scene. People whose everyday lives becomes a negotiated and cultural amalgamation of Asian, Western and queer identities.ĭo we belong to either western or eastern culture? Are our desires influenced by our struggle for identity? And what commonalities lie within our collective psychological experiences?
Reflected in the fragments of his personality are echoes of Asian gay men who live in Western countries. Ryan is a character who embodies the first-generation story of an Asian person born into Western society. In a bigger sense, I think this imaginary situation touches something deeper and real in a lot of us. Does Ryan reciprocate the young handsome white man’s affection or keep his attention on his new friend whose cultural similarities helped bring them together? Suddenly, the stranger starts to kiss Ryan’s neck and in that particular moment you enter the same space as we imagine ourselves in Ryan’s place of who to pursue. In one scene in the movie, a young Caucasian man eyes and approaches the main character Ryan as he and his love interest Ning dance in a nightclub. When asked about his reasons for making the movie, Ray answered that he noticed a lack of gay Asian men who were interested in other gay Asian men in western countries. We all knew because of our shared cultural background that we all took part on a similar journey of sexual racism. The underlying sentiments behind these words were all understood like a piece of ironic fashion though. In attendance was an audience compromised of mostly gay Asian men and we all silently acknowledged each other’s collective experiences as some chuckled at this comment.
“Kiss more Asians,” Ray Yeung joked at the Mardi Gras Film Festival Q&A for his movie Front Cover – a Chinese love drama. Advertisement Edison Chen aims to flesh out the intricacies and influences that exist within this cultural mesh.