Reading & Digesting
Getting Stared at in China
Ari James
1 Have you ever walked into a room and caught everyone’s attention at once? Have you ever been gazed at, from top to bottom, as if you were an ancient, foreign relic on display? Have you ever stared back, challenging, only to have your surveyors continue to watch you, as if nothing has happened?
2 The are daily occurrences for foreigners in China. I am stared at every single day as I go about my daily life. Be it on the street, in a store, or on the subway, I am stared at like a walking spectacle. While I cannot speak for all foreigners, I can, however, ek to critique and expand upon my own experiences in a global context.
3 Chine people are curious about the outsider, this I understand. However, staring is the least of it. Bolder strangers have asked to take a picture with me, or even of me. On a class
trip, my two clo friends and I, all women of color, noticed that people were sneaking pictures of us. Even wor, there was one older gentleman who approached us and asked to take photographs of us. Awkward and stunned into silence, he took our lack of respon as an affirmative, and began positioning us the way he wanted us. Standing or kneeling, we did it all. I feel stupid now for having gone along with it, but as our professor stood behind the man and took pictures of us as well, laughing delightedly, it was difficult to e the insidious nature behind the hilarity of the situation.
4 On my street in Nanjing, where I lived for four months, my neighbors continued to fall into a hush at the sight of me, their heads turning around quickly to watch as I neared. I have become friendly with some of them, gone so far as to chat with them, but the staring never ends. I continue to be the visiting roadside attraction, promising the audience new and exotic sights. There are hushed whispers in my wake, and every time, I wonder: when will they grow tired of me?
5 The stares are not in any way malicious. I am entirely aware of this, but they are still a
ble to catch my attention every time, to correct me whenever I dare to think that I have grown accustomed to life here.
6 As a multi-racial woman, it is difficult not to e the differences in the way varying foreigners are treated. From what I have experienced in the past, most Caucasian men em to be approached with a n of awe. The Caucasian men are asked if they are celebrities, perhaps even compared to Brad Pitt, before a request to take a lfe is pod. This could be the typical example of Western idolization in the East and the effect of years of Western media on Chine culture. But perhaps, this is also tied to the colorism1 that is often rooted in Chine culture and media.
7 From every angle, Chine people are bombarded with skin whitening products, with advertiments that feature Caucasian rather than Asian models, and whiteness continues to be idealized. The bud of bias in that very notion is that foreigners have come to be equated with whiteness. While the intent is not that of discrimination, the result is shockingly clo. Where this notion leaves the rest of us, people of color, I do not know. In a culture obsd with whiteness, where do the rest of us stand?
8 From my experience alone, the lack of reprentation, and perhaps the lack of understanding about other cultures, fuel the curiosity that many people I come across tend to posss. Curiosity is welcomed, and even encouraged. Curiosity will even ultimately be the key to fixing this problem. With education and exposure to different peoples and cultures, China can and will continue to flourish as a global hub. However, when curiosity begins to breed a lack of respect and consideration for others, that is where it has the ability to change into racism and even xenophobia.
9 As China continues to globalize in an effort to make its mark on the economic marketplace and the cultural zeitgeist, I fear that it will be the lack of empathy and innsitivity that will stand in its way. Beijing is already a global center, with foreigners on almost every street, and yet this type of innsitivity continues to occur. Foreigners are here to enrich their lives, to learn more about China’s long history, and hopefully to make a positive impact on it as well. They derve more appreciation and respect rather than mere staring eyes.
参考译文
在中国接受注目礼
阿丽·詹姆斯
你是否曾经走进一个房间，一下子就吸引了所有人的目光？你是否曾被人从头到脚审视，仿佛你是一件被展出的外国文物？你是否曾挑战性地回瞪对方，结果对方却好像什么事都没发生一样继续看着你？
对生活在中国的外国人来说，这如同家常便饭。在每一天的日常起居中，我都会被这样盯着看。不管是在街头，在商店，还是在地铁上，我都会如同一道移动的奇景般被盯着看。尽管我的经历不能代表所有外国人，但我可以在当今全球化背景下对自己的经历进行评论和诠释。
中国人对外国人充满好奇，这我明白。只是盯着看看也就罢了，但是不少胆大的陌生人甚至要求和我一起拍照，或者单独拍我。在一次班级旅行中，我和两个好朋友——我们三个女人都不是白人——注意到有人在偷拍我们。更糟的是，有一位老人走过来，想要给我们拍照。我们当时目瞪口呆，尴尬不已，而老人居然将我们的沉默视为许可，马上开始按他
想要的方式让我们摆拍。我们一会儿站着，一会儿跪着，满足了他拍照的所有要求。现在回想起来，那时的我真是愚蠢至极。但当时我们的教授也曾开心地笑着站在老人背后给我们拍照，那种欢快的场景使大家忽略了老人无礼的行为。
我曾在南京的一条街上住过四个月。每次看到我走过来，邻居们都立刻没了声音，并且马上转过头来，看着我。后来我和他们中的一些人有了交情，甚至会和他们聊聊天，但他们仍然会盯着我看。我始终是路边的风景，是路人眼中新鲜的异国情调。我走过之处，就会有人窃窃私语，每次我都在想：他们到底何时才会对我感觉厌烦呢？
这样的注视并没有恶意。我完全了解这一点，但是每当我这样被注视，我就会意识到：我原本认为自己已经完全适应这里的生活，其实不然。
作为一名族裔多元的女性，很难看不到中国人区别对待不同外国人的现象。根据我过往的经历，大多数人对白人男性有一种敬畏心理。有些人会问他们是否是名人，甚至将他们比作布拉德·皮特，继而要求和他们一起自拍。这可能是东方人对西方崇拜和多年来西方媒体对中国文化产生深远影响的典型例子。但另一方面，这也源于中国文化和大众媒体对肤色根深蒂固的认知。
不管从哪个角度观察，中国到处充斥着皮肤美白产品，广告模特也大都是白人，而不是亚洲人。白皙的皮肤始终是人们的理想追求。这种想法源于这样一个偏见：外国人就是指白人。虽然这一想法的初衷并非种族歧视，但结果却和种族歧视没什么两样。在这样一种观念里，有色人种该往哪搁呢？我实在不敢想。在一个痴迷白皮肤的文化中，我们这些余下的人该如何自处？
我的个人经验告诉我，正是因为接触不到外国文化，对外国文化可能缺乏了解，所以我遇到的中国人才会对外国人充满好奇。诚然，好奇心并非坏事，甚至应该受到鼓励。有朝一日好奇心甚至会成为解决这一问题的关键。随着教育程度的提高和跨文化交流的增多，中国能够并将成为全球中心，始终充满勃勃的生机。然而，如果人们出于好奇而忘记尊重和体谅他人，它就有可能导致种族主义，甚至产生仇外心理。
在全球化进程中，中国正努力开拓自己的市场经济，塑造具有特色的时代精神。然而，我所担心的是，不能从他人角度考虑问题、不会为他人着想将阻碍中国的发展。北京已经是一个国际中心，几乎每条街上都有外国人，但类似的行为仍在发生。外国人来到中国，希望能丰富自己的生活，了解中国悠久的历史，同时也希望对中国产生积极的影响。他们理应得到更多的欣赏和尊重，而不是作为被盯着看的对象。
