Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

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Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

Post by Captain Steve Rogers »

Ever since I been in this country one thing has been certain to me and that is Cambodia being racist against colored people. Why? do I say this well it's pretty obvious since some white folks get good jobs and high paying positions because of skin color. Even if some people are more qualified than others they still choose the person with "White Complexion". What do you guys think? ( Note! this is for discussion and not to offend anybody)
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Re: Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

Post by Username Taken »

So, you're saying that you're black. Right? (Sorry, I meant 'colored').
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Re: Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

Post by Anchor Moy »

OP, I'm not exactly sure what you are saying/asking?
Cambodia being racist against colored people. Why? do I say this well it's pretty obvious since some white folks get good jobs and high paying positions because of skin color
I have heard that some schools in Cambodia prefer to employ "whiter" westerners, but that's just what I heard. Is this what you're talking about here? Are you a teacher? Tell us all :stir:

Why ? (do cambodians prefer people with white complexions).
Because Cambodians are conscious of skin colour. Light skin colour is a status symbol in Cambodia( & most of Asia) among the local population: Educated city people are "white"/poor rice farmers are "black".
Some Cambodians are perplexed by darker skinned "westerners" from US or Europe - but also by Asian-Americans - because they don't fit into their idea of what westerners should look like.
Many Cambodians have preconceived ideas about "Africans" - a lot of bad press about Nigerian scammers and drug-dealers doesn't help.

To answer your question : Partly culture and partly ignorance.
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Re: Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

Post by kiwiincambodia »

Username Taken wrote:So, you're saying that you're black. Right? (Sorry, I meant 'colored').
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Re: Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

Post by prahkeitouj »

Yes, Cambodians judge by how they look. I hate it! I was born in the city, but people asked me why I'm black? When people become rich, they become white too. If you don't have white skin, they will think you are not beautiful.
Cambodians value barang more than their citizens too, not only black people. Some positions not for local but for barang only. Some parents send their kids to school which have barang teachers.
I don't know why? I was born here but I don't understand why Cambodians think like this?
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Re: Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

Post by Username Taken »

prahkeitouj wrote:Some positions not for local but for barang only. Some parents send their kids to school which have barang teachers.
I don't know why?
You can't be serious!
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Re: Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

Post by John Bingham »

Probably because, like everyone knows - white is pure and beautiful and good. Black is dirty and ugly and bad.
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Re: Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

Post by EdinWigan »

The correct term is Black not Coloured, we are all coloured.

I guess it is rather like Victorian England. Pale skin meant you did not work outside in the fields. Lower classes worked the land and so became darker. The rich stayed in doors and remained pale in complexion.

If you then add to this that most global celebrities are pale skinned. Yes, of course there are exceptions but in the main.
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Re: Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

Post by MekongMouse »

He may have meant "people of color" which is a broad term used in the US to refer to everyone who is not white, not necessarily black people.
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Re: Why do Cambodians prefer people with White Complexion?

Post by juansweetpotato »

John Bingham wrote:Probably because, like everyone knows - white is pure and beautiful and good. Black is dirty and ugly and bad.
Ah a black Irishman. Got ya at last!
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Portrait of Empress Wu born in 624
Chapter One: The Dissemination of a Globalized Beauty Culture
http://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bi ... sequence=1

Though Wu Zetian’s reign from 690-705 A.D. was much earlier than the first major
contact the Chinese had with Westerners, in artistic representations the imperial family and
intellectuals were already portrayed with incredibly pale skin. Later phases of Chinese
history intensified this ancient appreciation of pale skin. According to Fuller, the Chinese
were fascinated by the novelty of “lighter-skinned conquerors, from the Mongols from
Central Asia to later traders and colonizers from Europe” and Japan.14 Over time, these
interactions have naturalized the association of more developed societies with
“Westernization” to the Culturally Chinese. The Chinese marveled at these foreigners who
came to trade and in some cases, aggressively attempted to conquer the Middle Kingdom.
Contrary to the West’s current dominant hegemonic belief that tan is the sign of health and
youth, the Chinese have inherited from their history an admiration for the pallor of
Europeans visitors who tried to exert their influence on the Middle Kingdom.

(14 Thomas Fuller. "A Vision of Pale Beauty Carries Risks for Asia's Women." The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/world ... iland.html (accessed March 16, 2013)
Chinese women face another outside factor that reinforces the indigenous ideal of
pale skin: modern Western culture. Over recent years, media reports have emphasized the
rise in China and Taiwan’s economic power and the Western belief that these nations are
only able to imitate, not innovate. Such a belief endorses the West’s cultural power, which
many believe the Culturally Chinese would like to emulate. According to Asian American
studies scholar Glen Mimura, skin-whitening “seems tied primarily to colonial history, a
fascination with whiteness.”15 The indigenous standard for attractiveness was overhauled,
according to Fuller, by “waves of lighter-skinned conquerors, the Mongols from Central
Asia and colonizers from Europe.”16
This Chinese projection onto the pale-skinned outsiders who came to visit their
country is a type of curious Occidentalism where Western bodies were fetishized. This
fascination with the foreign and unfamiliar maps onto another familiar perception linked to
economic and social status. According to anthropologist Nestor Castro, “There is a
universal pattern in humanity that says that the more different you are from the common,
the more you are beautiful.”17 Members of the Imperial Court, of course, were a small
fraction of the Chinese population who the everyday Chinese woman would not have
normally encountered. So too were the foreigners who came into the secluded Middle
Kingdom. The general population considered lighter, whiter-skinned people, whether nobles
or Europeans, were considered a fascinating novelty because of their minimal encounters.
In modern times, everyday Taiwanese women still do not encounter “different” looking
“outsiders” (外国人, wai guo ren) everyday. These physically different looking people are still
considered a novelty that companies knowingly use to attract customers’ attention

Jia-Rui Chong. "Beauty and the Bleach." Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/printeditio ... 5432.story

"A Vision of Pale Beauty Carries Risks for Asia's Women." 17 "Asia's Obsession with White Skin Leaves a Black Mark." Asian Pacific Post.
http://www.asianpacificpost.com/portal2 ... in.do.html
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