Awkward Utopia

Many have speculated on this subject, and in no place is the topic more fiercely discussed than here in China. Everyone has an opinion and everyone wants to talk about it. As many of you know, I have some minor personal experience in this field of study. My methodology has been controversial to say the least, but my thoroughness cannot be doubted.

Here are some of my thoughts.

1. Asian women always, always size up another Asian woman who is paired with a white American man. They’re not unconscious of it, either. True, they tend to size up every pair, not that most women don’t, but Asian women give it a full appraisal. We are talking overt, from the toes to the hair, 100% appraisal. You would think it would follow that they are the most knowledgeable merchants on ratings white American men, but I do not think this is the case. Analysis: Asian women, like others, appraise for the purpose of determining price signals. As Becker and Posner write about recently, dating can very much be relegated to the domain of economics, with its handy supply and demand. These women size others up because they reflexively determine their own status, the others’ relative over or underachievement, and gets a better idea of the market.
2. Dragon Fever (better known as Yellow Fever, but I so prefer the term Dragon Fever) afflicts men who cannot compete effectively in other markets. I don’t think there’s any shame in this, but we’ve all seen how the Dungeons and Dragons and manga crowds worship at any Asian woman’s doorstep. It’s a very strong fetish. Many people have wondered what it is about, but really, as I said, no shame, because it reduces to economics. Analysis: Men who cannot compete effectively for top quality women in other categories (black, white, Hispanic, whatever is more prevalent) think that they can get better quality for the same price (i.e. themselves) in the Asian segment. This market strategy is usually not conscious. Either are other price adjustments.
3. Many Asian-American or Asian parents prefer their children marry within their “blood.” Various stories have been advanced in defense of this. They are racist (don’t even get me started on how they feel about blacks, it’s disgusting) and don’t like mixed bloodlines — this is often true, but I don’t think it explains it all. There are occasionally insurmountable cultural and linguistic barriers. I know this is certainly true in my case. Some parents have also said that only ugly Asian girls go out with or marry white guys. No way. Analysis: I don’t have any. What do you think?

I am not saying that this is limited to Asians (everyone regardless of race, gender, orientation, to some degree does it), I just think it may be easier to perceive these types of signals. Maybe it’s because I am here in Hong Kong, but I remember just how obvious the “price browsing” was in Gainesville. And the women are acutely aware of it, as it occurs, so they are very mindful of appearances. If someone can find a reasonable way to tie this into the absolute obsession with reading catalogs full of prices… I mean, I will see people just reading nothing at all but prices on things that they will never buy.

But I learned in Indonesia: sometimes you don’t want the questions answered.