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🧵 Thread (13 tweets)
I’ve been wanting to find a way to talk about this and corroborate it with other people’s experiences and perspectives to figure out what’s going on. I think “scary Indian man” is a cultural idea quite unique to Singapore... but maybe it’s just me? https://t.co/cVAlkx5TZc
Happening to me again in my elevator with an old man: it seems like people (in SG?) love to stare at me when they think I can’t see them, and look away when I look their way. there’s something rather dehumanizing about this. Am I being paranoid 🤔
Looking at old photos is interesting and revealing - I used to have a habit of twisting myself into as little space as possible, crossing my legs, covering my mouth. Blending in or being invisible was never an option for me, but it looks like subconsciously, I used to try https://t.co/dLEl6IB3W6
Body language is fascinating, isn’t it? Look closely at what everyone is doing with their hands and shoulders https://t.co/m7XQ5HeNrI
it's not hard to infer what Kaya would think about me if I were a teenage boy in their shoes https://t.co/cicvW0ckv2
Here’s an interesting comparison - high ranking military officials, by themselves, and in the presence of the Minister of Defence. Watch the hands https://t.co/BcwbxOnwTH
Hands (Context: Mike Pence’s wife is in town and she visited some art therapists at KK hospital) https://t.co/ZkmWDvAwC8
High status human explains thing to regular humans https://t.co/NblKdCGg0a
apologetic body https://t.co/8mFJSxuyag
@visakanv Britain is 95% white, but only 49-70% in cities. Different countries and races have different acceptance here. In cities, Indian looking people are seen as “normal” I think. Slight stereotype for - high achievers -amazing food -lovely accent -running cornerships (esp Sikhs)
@visakanv What else? . Indian men perceived as small here! Awareness of Pakistan as distinct from India. Kids used the slur “paki” in my days at school - widely seen as a totally unacceptable word now, punished in schools, tho I’m sure it still gets slung around.
@visakanv Generally, I feel ya. People stare at my super short hair. At least with kids it’s cute and funny. Many people look *pointedly away* from my lack of bra, except older women who openly roll their eyes. Hard to be sure, but we smart apes, we know if we’re secretly being looked at.