Dark Skinned Expats

[AD1985]

Hi,

Is Thailand a fairly open minded country when it comes to race? I am a dark skinned Indian and obviously don't want to be treated any differently than lighter skinned farangs.

Thanks

[dumball]

Hi,

Is Thailand a fairly open minded country when it comes to race? I am a dark skinned Indian and obviously don't want to be treated any differently than lighter skinned farangs.

Thanks

Thailand even looks down on their own 'Dark-skinned' people as a lesser form of human , work it out for yourself , money is the saving grace , have lots of money , you will get lots of 'Grace' .

[jetjock]

Don't worry as there are many skin whitener cremes available in the markets in Thailand.

[jdinasia]

Hi,

Is Thailand a fairly open minded country when it comes to race? I am a dark skinned Indian and obviously don't want to be treated any differently than lighter skinned farangs.

Thanks

You'll be treated differently.

[Neeranam]

If you wear a cobra round your neck and draw 3 horizontal lines on your forehead, they'l love you.

[Cobalt60]

Good friend and work colleauge of mine is UK born Indian parents, couldnt get him a girl at any of the usual spots. It embarrased the hel_l out of me, but there you go, its what they are like and what they like, cant force them or change it by moaning on here I suppose.

[endure]

A number of posts have been deleted. Those who find it difficult to be civil are promised a few days off to practise.

[dumball]

My first post was partialy in jest to the Thai mind set , however , i have never seen an indian man sitting in a bar alone or anywhere with a Thai lady , but then , i am just one person .

[Huey]

Hi,

Is Thailand a fairly open minded country when it comes to race? I am a dark skinned Indian and obviously don't want to be treated any differently than lighter skinned farangs.

Thanks

Im as white and pasty as can be, i look as if ive been locked in a dark room jacking up heroine for many years, however due to my blinding whiteness im seen as being semi devine by Thai men women and children alike, if i were you chump i'd stay at home.

Besides in India your dark skin colour would go against you or has the caste system been thrown to the pages of history.

Now in LOS the fact youre not Thai will stop you fitting into society perfectly, but if you want you can use the skin colour card instead of the nationality one.

Yeah the pointy hoods come out when the guy mentions he's dark skinned. Pathetic really, so he's a "chump" because what? He's dark? He's Indian??? peasent bigot.

Anyway for the OP, I'm a Black American and probably as dark, if not darker than, you (though I have seen sone Keralites that got me beat by a long shot) and I'm pretty big too. However, all that being said I have a GREAT time here. If people look at me diffrently its not said to my face, and I don't see that I am treated negativly at all. I have some good Indian freinds here, and they seem to intergate much better than I do into the society as well. If your for real, and not just a Troll trying to make a bigot magnet post, then trust me when I tell you, you'll get along just fine. And if you do not its because of WHO you are, not the color of your skin or that of your passport.

[roamer]

I return to Bangkok with a black friend of mine next month who always has a great time there. Having said that, there are people here who have a problem with Indians here and its not actually colour prejudice. If my wife and I go for a meal in the Indian district at night and she trys to hail a taxi they will invariably buzz past her, they don't do it anywhere else in Bangkok, if I hail a taxi, no problem they stop. The difference is that at night my wife can pass for Indian, I on the other hand am pasty white. As we have had explained to us by the drivers on several ocassions, they can't stand the smell of curry!!! Now thats the truth...many Thai's positively dislike those smells, in fact in one condo where we lived we got our own back on some very inconsiderate neighbours by cooking a Rogan Josh with the door open, they went ballistic, never mind that they stank the place out with their mudfish....that was ok cos that was "Thai" .

Not everyone you meet here will be an Issan taxi driver, not everyone will be prejudiced....or at least no more than they are at home !

Edited October 25, 2008 by roamer

[cobra]

At the end of the day everyone what's to get paid,

Appear as if you have money, nice clothes, stay in a nice place, believe me people will interact with you if they think some $ can be made.

What they're really thinking, how they really feel, who ever really knows and who really gives a flying f,

It's hard not to smile back to someone who smiles at you,

The LOS is that Star Wars bar, with all kinds, don't worry there's a stool at the bar for everyone, enjoy.

[kiakaha]

Hi,

and obviously don't want to be treated any differently than lighter skinned farangs.

Thanks

well dont try to get into a bar in nana plaza then

[GungaDin]

The LOS is that Star Wars bar, with all kinds, don't worry there's a stool at the bar for everyone, enjoy.

True, how very true.

AD1985

[HorseDoctor]

Yes, I would concur, Thai's are bigoted toward dark skin colour.

Look at ads , always airbrushed bright white skinned models with pencil thin upper lips, ( Always remind me of rabbits.

Thailand has quite a lot of attractive women, strangly , I think very few of them are used as models. )

Same on TV , how many actors in soaps or news anchors have dark skin?

Look at the incredible amount of skin whitening cosmetics, even anti-perspirant !

Surprised white condoms aren't popular- or are they?

I've seen blacks from the US get their teeth inspected, like horses-going through customs. I was deeply mortified for them.

Never seen anyone else go through that.

Whether your dark skin will have you treated differently than myself - I would say that all foreigners are treated with the same attitude and I don't find it particularly welcoming at all past the initial automatic smiles that tourists enjoy.

But I'm a woman so I think it may be different for foreign (but only western ? )men who enjoy having hordes of Thai women vy for their attentions.

[toybits]

Pahurat is like a big Indian Community. This is near Chinatown and an Area called Wangpurapa. They have a large Sikh temple there. Lots of other South Asians including Nepalese and Bangladeshis. Many South Asians are successful businessmen and owners of shops in many parts of Bangkok and other major cities around Thailand.

[HS Mauberley]

The fact that the Chinese have been able to pass themselves off as Thai (even whilst manipulating the economic system to the detriment of ethnic Thais) whilst Indians who've been here just as long are still classed as khaek says quite a lot about Thai attitudes. One example of prejudice: when in the past I've been giving advice to my students on where to study in England (and this is all post-grad students), the fact that a town has a significant Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi population has been enough to rule out the university, however good it might have been. That being said, I certainly wouldn't expect open hostility but I think that it's unrealistic to anticipate that all Thais are going to treat you as they treat whites.

[NanLaew]

(even whilst manipulating the economic system to the detriment of ethnic Thais)

Do you have a wiki on that statement of "fact"?

Edited October 26, 2008 by NanLaew

[Huey]

I've seen blacks from the US get their teeth inspected, like horses-going through customs. I was deeply mortified for them.

I gotta call BS on that one. 8 years comeing back and forth and I was never even stoped to have my bag checked at customs. None of my family or fellow Black friends where ever harrassed in any way. hel_l not even my Iraqi friends where ever harrassed. In fact the only time I ever saw any discrimination against me because of the color of my skin here was from WHITE people not Thais. And even then it was only twice I can remember.

And thats it folks, 8 years of doing everything, going everywhere, being single, getting married, all that..Thats it for discrimination.

Yes The advertising is out there, but unlike America, where whites still drag Black people from the backs of trucks untill they are dismembered (Google Brandon McClelland, just killed this moth 10 years since the last lynching there in Texas just a couple hundred miles away) in Thailand the color issue is more of a profitible self hate. Yes profitable because it allows a handfull of people to control what is considered beautiful and its a immage that 90% of Thais need to invest serious money to attain, and most never will. So they devalue their sence of self worth the darker their skin gets. The key word being THEIR, I have never seen them put that devaluation on me or any Blacks I know.

[Mattchu9999]

OP,

Would you want to associate with anyone who thought you less because of your skin? The nice thing about unfortunate souls whom are trapped in a world of hate is they tend to make themselves readily evident.

Perhaps you of all people will enjoy truer friendships and relationships with people who see beyond the cover of ones book.

[HS Mauberley]

(even whilst manipulating the economic system to the detriment of ethnic Thais)

Do you have a wiki on that statement of "fact"?

No. Am I wrong to say this? Perhaps. Perhaps I'm guilty of racism myself in overly conflating the bourgeoisie and sino-Thais but it's fairly clear that wealth is not distributed equally between ethnic Thais and sino-Thais; the latter account for something like 14% of the population but are clearly over-represented amongst the propertied, urbanised classes. I'm not stating or implying that there is a cabal of wicked Chinese busy organising society with the express intention of screwing over ethnic Thais; simply by acting in their own interests they can accomplish this quite by accident.

[huma79]

I gotta call BS on that one. 8 years comeing back and forth and I was never even stoped to have my bag checked at customs. None of my family or fellow Black friends where ever harrassed in any way. hel_l not even my Iraqi friends where ever harrassed. In fact the only time I ever saw any discrimination against me because of the color of my skin here was from WHITE people not Thais. And even then it was only twice I can remember.

And thats it folks, 8 years of doing everything, going everywhere, being single, getting married, all that..Thats it for discrimination.

Yes The advertising is out there, but unlike America, where whites still drag Black people from the backs of trucks untill they are dismembered (Google Brandon McClelland, just killed this moth 10 years since the last lynching there in Texas just a couple hundred miles away) in Thailand the color issue is more of a profitible self hate. Yes profitable because it allows a handfull of people to control what is considered beautiful and its a immage that 90% of Thais need to invest serious money to attain, and most never will. So they devalue their sence of self worth the darker their skin gets. The key word being THEIR, I have never seen them put that devaluation on me or any Blacks I know.

I gotta disagree with you on this one.. I've worked in both the US and Thailand for many years and from my experience there is a LOT more prejudism against dark-skinned people here than the US. In the US, the subject is very taboo and you won't often hear white people making racist comments. However, here in Thailand you will quite often hear comments about Indians or Black people. The difference is that in the US it is a small minority that is very racist. Here in Thailand, it's not so much racism, but prejudism and fear of the unknown, however it is the majority of the people who feel this way.

[sassienie]

People of colour are not so much looked down apon by Thais but rather more likely to be ignored and not given so much of a preference when it comes to service and exceptance, here`s why:

Because Thais believe Farangs without exception have loads of cash to throw around and that non white foreigners are more likely to be poorer, so therefore it is more beneficial to hang around the Farang because they have more to gain.

For example, I wager that a Japanese would be given better service than a Chinese in Thailand because Japan is given the semblance of being a rich country.

Black people from America and Europe will most often be viewed as African by Thais, the same as those of Indian decent will be seen as Indian no matter where they come from.

It`s all down to what the Thais believe is status worthy rather than being racist.

[Tyree D.]

I've seen on more than one occasion a woman with my skin tone say, "We same same" but the SAME EXACT lady go to a white man and say, "I like your skin, I don't like mine." It's all a game. And there was this Italian teacher that would hang with me and he was pretty shabby while all the girls were clinging to me. Why? Because I used cologne and looked like I had money.

MONEY NUMBA 1!!!

[Scott]

There is a lot of prejudice here. I have seen it many, many times. My friend worked in a hotel and they were instructed that if black people came in, they were full. (If they called and booked a room, they got one because they didn't know they were black--and of course Thai's don't want confrontation). The society is very hierarchical and people tend to get 'put' somewhere either higher or lower--but seldom equal and color is a big factor in doing that.

[OriginalPoster]

I gotta call BS on that one. 8 years comeing back and forth and I was never even stoped to have my bag checked at customs. None of my family or fellow Black friends where ever harrassed in any way. hel_l not even my Iraqi friends where ever harrassed. In fact the only time I ever saw any discrimination against me because of the color of my skin here was from WHITE people not Thais. And even then it was only twice I can remember.

And thats it folks, 8 years of doing everything, going everywhere, being single, getting married, all that..Thats it for discrimination.

Yes The advertising is out there, but unlike America, where whites still drag Black people from the backs of trucks untill they are dismembered (Google Brandon McClelland, just killed this moth 10 years since the last lynching there in Texas just a couple hundred miles away) in Thailand the color issue is more of a profitible self hate. Yes profitable because it allows a handfull of people to control what is considered beautiful and its a immage that 90% of Thais need to invest serious money to attain, and most never will. So they devalue their sence of self worth the darker their skin gets. The key word being THEIR, I have never seen them put that devaluation on me or any Blacks I know.

I gotta disagree with you on this one.. I've worked in both the US and Thailand for many years and from my experience there is a LOT more prejudism against dark-skinned people here than the US. In the US, the subject is very taboo and you won't often hear white people making racist comments. However, here in Thailand you will quite often hear comments about Indians or Black people. The difference is that in the US it is a small minority that is very racist. Here in Thailand, it's not so much racism, but prejudism and fear of the unknown, however it is the majority of the people who feel this way.

I don't think that it's that a small minority in the US are racist, it's that it's politically incorrect to make racist statements so most people don't. It's not uncommon to hear Thais make racist statements, it's just that most of those statements are more akin to the those that a blue-haired septegenairan American women might make than to those of a Klansman.

Edited October 26, 2008 by OriginalPoster

[akatrain]

Hi,

Is Thailand a fairly open minded country when it comes to race? I am a dark skinned Indian and obviously don't want to be treated any differently than lighter skinned farangs.

Thanks

I dont know how thais view Indians but I am bi racial, african american and white. I have skin tone similar to indian and I had no problems. No one said anything to my face. I had no problem making friends and no problem with ladies talking to me. I have had thais spark up a conversation with me everywhere from temples to reataurant bathrooms lol. The latter got me in trouble with my then girlfriend because the person was a very attractive light skinned girl that continued to follow me from the restroom to the table where my girlfriend was waiting. I only mention that she was light skinned because many say they dont talk to darker skinned farang. I think if you present yourself in a positive way and dont think of yourself as below them. They wont treat you like you are.

[wintermute]

I've seen blacks from the US get their teeth inspected, like horses-going through customs. I was deeply mortified for them.

I gotta call BS on that one. 8 years comeing back and forth and I was never even stoped to have my bag checked at customs. None of my family or fellow Black friends where ever harrassed in any way. hel_l not even my Iraqi friends where ever harrassed. In fact the only time I ever saw any discrimination against me because of the color of my skin here was from WHITE people not Thais. And even then it was only twice I can remember.

I have to agree with ya there. One of my friends is a blacker than black guy from Chicago and he never had problems in Thailand. He wasn't big on girlie venues and dated normal girls with no issues. He mainly associated with normal educated middle/upper middle class Thais in a university setting. I think the problems with race are greatly exaggerated on forums like this to make certain individuals feel "superior" in a sense.

On a sidenote the whole whitening ideal isn't to look more white as in western white but it's an old class based system on feudal farmers (who are dark) versus rich landowners who can afford to sit indoors all day and look pale. It's similar to victorian ideals and has little to do with the influences of western race issues.

[lifeisrandom]

Hi,

and obviously don't want to be treated any differently than lighter skinned farangs.

Thanks

well dont try to get into a bar in nana plaza then

why would anyone? girls there are nasty.

[lifeisrandom]

I've seen blacks from the US get their teeth inspected, like horses-going through customs. I was deeply mortified for them.

I gotta call BS on that one. 8 years comeing back and forth and I was never even stoped to have my bag checked at customs. None of my family or fellow Black friends where ever harrassed in any way. hel_l not even my Iraqi friends where ever harrassed. In fact the only time I ever saw any discrimination against me because of the color of my skin here was from WHITE people not Thais. And even then it was only twice I can remember.

I have to agree with ya there. One of my friends is a blacker than black guy from Chicago and he never had problems in Thailand. He wasn't big on girlie venues and dated normal girls with no issues. He mainly associated with normal educated middle/upper middle class Thais in a university setting. I think the problems with race are greatly exaggerated on forums like this to make certain individuals feel "superior" in a sense.

On a sidenote the whole whitening ideal isn't to look more white as in western white but it's an old class based system on feudal farmers (who are dark) versus rich landowners who can afford to sit indoors all day and look pale. It's similar to victorian ideals and has little to do with the influences of western race issues.

This is 100% correct. Thai Chinese girls, sexually, are most attracted to Indian and African men. These guys are not too plentiful and I think that is what creates the huge demand. If you are a black male, you can more or less expect to come to Bangkok and be in a relationship with a beautiful medical Thai Chinese student in a few days or less. Many farang here have perpetuated the notion that Thai's prefer white skin because they are insecure and want to feel powerful. The truth is that Thai's actually prefer dark skin to white skin.

Edited October 26, 2008 by lifeisrandom

[lifeisrandom]

The fact that the Chinese have been able to pass themselves off as Thai (even whilst manipulating the economic system to the detriment of ethnic Thais) whilst Indians who've been here just as long are still classed as khaek says quite a lot about Thai attitudes. One example of prejudice: when in the past I've been giving advice to my students on where to study in England (and this is all post-grad students), the fact that a town has a significant Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi population has been enough to rule out the university, however good it might have been. That being said, I certainly wouldn't expect open hostility but I think that it's unrealistic to anticipate that all Thais are going to treat you as they treat whites.

For the female Thai Chinese students, this is a simple a self control precautionary. They do not want to study in a school with many Indian or black males because they know that they will likely end up pregnant and will be unable to physically function in a classroom. As you know, Thai Chinese are very serious about their education and I really applaud them for not taking the American "spring break anything goes let me get rammed by three guys at once" college approach. No, they will get their education and then find a dark male to mate with later on.