From impersonation to contemporary racism
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The concept of racial identity and how it is manipulated or perceived across time is a fascinating lens through which to view both historical and contemporary experiences. In Edward said's Orientalism and Vivek Bald's Bengali Harlem, we see how identities, specifically South Asian or "Oriental" Identities were constructed by Western societies to serve specific purposes, often to justify colonial domination or to classify non-Western cultures as "exotic". Interestingly in Bald's work, these constructed identities were sometimes appropriated by marginalized groups to escape racial oppression in the U.S. For example, African American man who passed as an Indian magician in Charleston to avoid racial Barriers (Bald, p.49). This shows how identity could be fluid for survival, though it raises question of whether such racial "passing" reinforced harmful stereotypes about Indians even as it allowed individuals to escape discrimination.
Fast forwarding to today, the Swet Shop Boys Batalavi highlights the complex relationship between identity, culture, and racism in a modern context. The use of Shiv Kumar Batalvi's poetry reflects feelings of displacement and identity conflict among South Asians in the global South Asian community. The duo expresses how their identities as British-Pakistani and Indian-American are shaped by both pride in their heritage and frustration with the racism they face. Batalvi's poetry adds emotional depth to their critique of being seen as "other" in the West, despite growing up there. Today, south Asians, once perceived as "exotic" and afforded certain privileges, now often face direct racism and islamophobia, particularly since 9/11 and the rise of political tensions around immigration. Relating this to Oreintalism, Edward said stated that the West constructed the "orient" as a place of "romance, exotic beings, hunting memories and landscapes" (Said, P.1), which served to dominate and control these regions. Similarly, in Bengali Harlem, African Americans leveraged the "exotic" image of South Asians to bypass segregation in the Jim Crow South. However, in 2024 this same "otherness" has become a source of racial tension and fear. The shift from using this identity for survival to facing direct racism based on stereotypes highlights how perceptions of identity evolve with political and social contexts.
One thing that's particularly worth discussing is how the use of "exotics" has shifted over time. In Bald's text, African American impersonated Indians to escape harshest forms of racism, but today, the same Indian identity often draws suspicion rather than privilege. This brings up the question: how do these shifting racial dynamics affect South Asians and other minorities today? How does the Swet Shop Boys representation of these identity struggles in "Batalvi" reflect a larger conversation about cultural pride versus the pressures of assimilation?
Both the readings and the music reminded me of the often painful nature of racial identity, especially for those living in the in-between spaces of culture and nationality.
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What really catches my attention is your penultimate paragraph where you discuss how the shifting connotation of "exotics" has changed over time. It was never the case that whites truly treated Indians better than they treated Black people, but more so that they pandered towards their 'idea' of what an Indian was. An Indian person could not simply go about their life as usual and expect preferential treatment, they had to explicitly put on the show of being "shrewd, graceful, and handsome", an act of being 'exotic'. In the case of Black people using these stereotypes to "gain a greater level of freedom", they weren't truly gaining anything, just being forced to live out a different ethnic stereotype.
It is interesting, however, to think about how the beloved stereotype of an Indian has come to be one countered by mistrust today. I can't help but wonder how that transition must have taken place. Perhaps it was easier for White people to ignore the agency and personhood of Indians so long as they "kept their place" and acted out the white-fantastical stereotype of an Indian person. Thus, when Indian people inevitably decided they didn't like being treated as toys and began to speak up for greater rights and representation, White people decided that they were not to be trusted. Certainly interesting how Whites find it easier to "play nice" with a toy as opposed to a real human person.
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@nickolas_mazza you know how I love replies!
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@nickolas_mazza I really like how you pointed out that whites weren't treating Indians any better thank Black people but were instead responding to their own fantasy of what they thought Indians were. You're right, It wasn't like Indians could live normally and get special treatment. They had to play into this "exotic' stereotype to get any benefits, and even then, it wasn't real freedom.
The shift you mentioned, from being seen as "exotic" to being mistrusted, really makes me think. It's interesting how, once South Asians stopped fitting into that stereotype and started speaking up for themselves, things changed, and they were no longer seen in the same positive light. It's like people were okay with them only as long as they stayed in their assigned roles. I also wonder how this plays out today with other minority groups.