| Whats in a face? |
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| Culture | |
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3 October 2000 The factor in common here is, of course, their unusualness. Not necessarily their rarity, though that contributes, but the fact that they all, in some way, jar the socially recognised norm. That's not to say that they aren't acknowledged and recognised in society, which they undoubtedly are. It's just that a beautiful looking pair of people that actually look like they fit together is a fairytale social construct that in real life you gaze upon as a miraculous movie-scene co-incidence. A mixed-height couple where the woman has to put her arm around his shoulder always makes me smile: it's role-reversal. So what is it about Chinese/white relationships that lends them this quality of social unusualness, more so even than a black/white one? I believe that British society finds the quirk in the apparent deviation of 'normal' couplehood: in this case that they are not together for love, or even attraction, but for the purposes of experimentation. I myself am a British-born Chinese happily ensconced in the throes of a long-term relationship with a long-suffering but tolerant English gal. Our mixed status doesn't cross my mind, in part because I never think about it and also because nobody treats us as anything other than normal. So how hypocritical is it for me to see other similarly mixed couples and in my mind, briefly consider them an odd couple? It all falls down to appearance. In a country naturally inhabited by white people, the Chinese face is still a distinctive one. However, in addition, it carries with it suggestions of another world: the secluded secrets of Chinatown, the confusing and unnervingly loud spectacles of celebration and, in short, the whole gamut of incomprehensible Chinese culture. Seeing such a face, together with an obviously British one raises an eyebrow since it presents an incongruity: that the two can't possibly understand enough about each other to be having a serious relationship - hell, they probably don't even speak the same language. The relationship bears the appearance of the white partner's exploratory fumble into another world. This phenomenon is further ingrained through movies and television where a Chinese/white coupling serves to lend an air of unpredictability, often surfacing as quirkiness or mysticism. Witness Michelle Yeoh, the spy who stands up to Brosnan's Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies, Mr. Miyagi's brilliantly bizarre tutelage of Daniel-san in The Karate Kid and that creepy shop owner with the funny eye in Gremlins. OK, so maybe Mr. Miyagi was Japanese but You get the idea. Oh, and there's the adorable, adaptable Lucy Liu playing the token Chinese girl in Hollywood now. It's a part of general thinking that the Chinese face equates with a fog of incomprehensibility. Simultaneously, in real life, the intrinsic passivity of the Chinese serves to add mist to that fog through the absence of vocalised racial feelings that other clustered communities might make; the Chinese don't moan, so you never know what they're really thinking. But then, as with most things, with knowledge comes understanding. You only have to talk to a mixed race couple to see that they are just another couple. Taking a second look, you see that they've been married for years. You spy a surreptitious peck on the cheek and steal a glimpse of their loving affection. People are, after all, just people. Though don't get me wrong, the Chinese are still. Different in relationships and not all of the mystery and intrigue is misplaced. Most of the rumours are all too true, like about the Chinese making the best lovers. |
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