Little Miss Brown America
A 24-year-old woman wins a beauty pageant in America. She is of Indian origin. Oh.
Even for those who avoid beauty pageants for a range of reasons could not dodge the controversy Nina Davuluri's winning generated as the online barrage of abuse which followed.
To make this easier - there are two distinct strands in the online racist backlash.
Brown equals terrorist and brown does not equal American. Both are borne of stereotyping.
Then there is the response of the brown population of Indian origin who are not quite certain about whether or not and to what extent they should take offence to the stereotyping.
Davuluri was born in Syracuse and raised in Oklahoma and Michigan. Her parents are originally from Andhra in South India and they left for America in 1981 before she was born.
This is an American story that has left the Americans stunned in their disbelief at her winning and the Indians unsure in equal measure. The issue here is as much about discrimination as it is about identity. And herein lies the paradox of the diaspora.
For most Indians situated in the diaspora or the 'ethnic demographic', identity is a plural, dynamic concept.
Achieving any degree of integration or acceptance with the culture of the host country involves a mixed bag of skills, all gained as part of daily negotiation. To prove that you are just a regular person. That you do regular things like recycling or gardening and that you have regular needs. But you are also somehow different. It requires active participation, negotiation, dialogue.
Deciding what to keep (typical model minority aspirations, a Bollywood dance routine) and what to lose (traditional clothes, an accent) - how much to fit in and how much to not care - is very much a part of the process.
Obviously, there is any number of permutations and Davuluri probably got - by chance or choice – the combination right that helped her win. American born and bred helped, maybe, maybe not. What with being brown-skinned, etc.
Her response to the vitriol has been to reassert that she is American. So Indians in India need not claim this story as their own and neither must they assume that Davuluri needs their help in standing-up to the racism.
What the win does bring to focus is that it represents a reality in America, of a change that is hard for some sections to accept. And America is not the only country that may be living in denial. Who has not read reports on 'Auckland's brown future'? That future is here.
Just to give perspective, for instance in New Zealand, about one in 4 people in the workforce is born overseas; in Auckland this figure rises to 45 per cent of the work force. This means, in all likelihood, you will see or interact with someone different from you. This is ok.
Still, the reality of multiculturalism is safely contained within the confines of festival celebrations only is arguably a manifestation of sorts of denial.
Visibility is confused with integration. The 'other cultures' is something to be peeked at from a distance so that everyone can go back to their own safe silos at the end of play.
Unimaginative, yes. Unsurmountable, no.
Auckland is a city that boasts of being the most multicultural, multi-ethnic and diverse city in the region. Which means, there are more different people here than anywhere else.
The way for NZ to cope and avoid a Daluvuri, is to unpack and understand who the new Kiwis are that are shaping Aoteoroa and New Zealand today and for the future. Everyone has a role to play, including the mainstream media and the ethnic communities (Indian community included) that endorse and perpetuate convenient stereotypes.
And operating within the 'other', the act of expressing identity is resistance to stereotyping.
A 24-year-old woman wins a beauty pageant in America. She is of Indian origin. Oh. Even for those who avoid beauty pageants for a range of reasons could not dodge the controversy Nina Davuluri's winning generated as the online barrage of abuse which followed. To make this easier - there are two...
A 24-year-old woman wins a beauty pageant in America. She is of Indian origin. Oh.
Even for those who avoid beauty pageants for a range of reasons could not dodge the controversy Nina Davuluri's winning generated as the online barrage of abuse which followed.
To make this easier - there are two distinct strands in the online racist backlash.
Brown equals terrorist and brown does not equal American. Both are borne of stereotyping.
Then there is the response of the brown population of Indian origin who are not quite certain about whether or not and to what extent they should take offence to the stereotyping.
Davuluri was born in Syracuse and raised in Oklahoma and Michigan. Her parents are originally from Andhra in South India and they left for America in 1981 before she was born.
This is an American story that has left the Americans stunned in their disbelief at her winning and the Indians unsure in equal measure. The issue here is as much about discrimination as it is about identity. And herein lies the paradox of the diaspora.
For most Indians situated in the diaspora or the 'ethnic demographic', identity is a plural, dynamic concept.
Achieving any degree of integration or acceptance with the culture of the host country involves a mixed bag of skills, all gained as part of daily negotiation. To prove that you are just a regular person. That you do regular things like recycling or gardening and that you have regular needs. But you are also somehow different. It requires active participation, negotiation, dialogue.
Deciding what to keep (typical model minority aspirations, a Bollywood dance routine) and what to lose (traditional clothes, an accent) - how much to fit in and how much to not care - is very much a part of the process.
Obviously, there is any number of permutations and Davuluri probably got - by chance or choice – the combination right that helped her win. American born and bred helped, maybe, maybe not. What with being brown-skinned, etc.
Her response to the vitriol has been to reassert that she is American. So Indians in India need not claim this story as their own and neither must they assume that Davuluri needs their help in standing-up to the racism.
What the win does bring to focus is that it represents a reality in America, of a change that is hard for some sections to accept. And America is not the only country that may be living in denial. Who has not read reports on 'Auckland's brown future'? That future is here.
Just to give perspective, for instance in New Zealand, about one in 4 people in the workforce is born overseas; in Auckland this figure rises to 45 per cent of the work force. This means, in all likelihood, you will see or interact with someone different from you. This is ok.
Still, the reality of multiculturalism is safely contained within the confines of festival celebrations only is arguably a manifestation of sorts of denial.
Visibility is confused with integration. The 'other cultures' is something to be peeked at from a distance so that everyone can go back to their own safe silos at the end of play.
Unimaginative, yes. Unsurmountable, no.
Auckland is a city that boasts of being the most multicultural, multi-ethnic and diverse city in the region. Which means, there are more different people here than anywhere else.
The way for NZ to cope and avoid a Daluvuri, is to unpack and understand who the new Kiwis are that are shaping Aoteoroa and New Zealand today and for the future. Everyone has a role to play, including the mainstream media and the ethnic communities (Indian community included) that endorse and perpetuate convenient stereotypes.
And operating within the 'other', the act of expressing identity is resistance to stereotyping.
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