Les blanches exotiques

this blog is making me laugh. so. hard.

let me explain. i am a white girl (woman). and i have had the experience of being the ‘exotic’ one. and it sucks! so good for you for pointing out how exoticization is wrong! it took personal experience for me to understand this. 

this is what happened. i went to high school in south america, in a region where almost no one was blonde and blue-eyed (like i am — yes, i really am a whitey). so i was a racial minority for the first time in my life (i am from the american midwest originally….95% white tribal territory).

note: i understand that is it very different to be a white american living in south america as a minority vs. a PoC minority in other parts of the world. there is a privilege that comes with being white, no matter where you are. i am not saying that what happened to me is equivalent to being exoticized as a PoC in the U.S. i give these examples because, after they happened to me, it allowed me to understand why PoC in the U.S. get so pissed (and rightfully so) at similar comments. and i give these examples because even though your blog is satirical, it’s as if so many of your posts actually happened to me! so i thought i’d share.

let’s see what people said to me as a white person in south america:

‘can i touch your hair?’

‘can i have your eyes?’

‘you are so exotic!’ (yes, i really was told this)

‘you look just like Britney Spears!’ (no, i do not. but all white people look the same, apparently…)

‘hey gorgeous. i want to eat you out.’ (because apparently every 17-year-old blond girl is a sex maniac just like in porno.)

‘are you sarah’s sister?’ (sarah was another american in my city…because apparently all white people are related.)

‘oh, you live next to the mormon temple. you must be mormon, right?’ (every taxi driver who ever dropped me off. no, i am not mormon. but apparently every white person is a mormon elder.)

i’m giving these examples not because the people in this country were ‘reverse racist’ (hah! not a thing) but because it was an experience that i had that taught me a lot about what it is like to be the ‘other’. i wish that more white people had this opportunity. your blog, in a sense, allows them to have a similar experience, to have the mirror turned upon ourselves so that we reflect on exactly what message we are sending to PoC when we exoticize them.

so. thank you. keep up the good work. humor is a great way to reveal the cracks in society and to get people to think critically.

emma in nyc

Mod note: I personally found this both interesting and relevant. I’ve received quite a few messages about how white people are exotified in other countries, and it does happen. This is us acknowledging that fact.