Where a torn hoodie, faded jeans, massive white tennis shoes, and barely brushed hair still manages to elicit compliments, why bother?
I did my hair last week for a birthday party. This was boring; I don't intend on making a habit of it. One of my coworkers, who I have known for about a year and a half, remarked that when he knew me last year, I always looked nice like this. What happened? "Oh, I just stopped trying", I responded. He was perplexed, not quite understanding what I meant by that. Further explanation was required.
There is stereotype about female expats in Korea that you see floating around the Internet and uttered in corners of drinking holes, by people that I couldn't possibly want to have less sex with. If it is to be believed, it follows that female expats tend to be fat, loud, opinionated, ugly, bitches who are completely unmarriable. Obviously this last bit is the most damning of all insults, since the entire raison d'etre for any woman is to find a handsome man to marry and produce babies with. The richer the better. Working is for ugly chicks! Oh, fucknuts.
"You stopped trying what?", my perplexed coworker wanted to know. Wasn't it obvious? "You see", I explained, "today, I decided to brush my hair and wear blush. Last year, I did this every day. At the moment, I can't be fucking bothered. I'll brush my hair again when I go home".
There was a point sometime during my first contract where I realized that, within reason, it didn't really matter what I did. I could wake up half an hour earlier to straighten my hair and put on my best outfit, or I could pin my hair back messily and wear an unflattering sweater with slacks. As long as I showed up to class on time and brought the correct book, nobody cared.
"What about meeting guys?" my now less slightly less perplexed coworker wanted to know. I laughed at this for what I considered an appropriate period of time and started up again: "Well, Brad, I've done the expat 'dating' scene thing. Been there, done that, got bored. And I'm so negative about Korea lately that I have little interest in learning the language any more than I have to at this point; a failing attitude for breaking into the Korean dating pool, if there ever was one".
My coworker was going to break into a tirade about how the problem with female expats is that they don't get enough sex, but them he remembered that he is intelligent and doesn't actually have thoughts like this. The conversation moved to food soon after. This was excellent, since we were at a buffet and there was a lot of food to talk about.
I did my hair last week for a birthday party. This was boring; I don't intend on making a habit of it. One of my coworkers, who I have known for about a year and a half, remarked that when he knew me last year, I always looked nice like this. What happened? "Oh, I just stopped trying", I responded. He was perplexed, not quite understanding what I meant by that. Further explanation was required.
There is stereotype about female expats in Korea that you see floating around the Internet and uttered in corners of drinking holes, by people that I couldn't possibly want to have less sex with. If it is to be believed, it follows that female expats tend to be fat, loud, opinionated, ugly, bitches who are completely unmarriable. Obviously this last bit is the most damning of all insults, since the entire raison d'etre for any woman is to find a handsome man to marry and produce babies with. The richer the better. Working is for ugly chicks! Oh, fucknuts.
"You stopped trying what?", my perplexed coworker wanted to know. Wasn't it obvious? "You see", I explained, "today, I decided to brush my hair and wear blush. Last year, I did this every day. At the moment, I can't be fucking bothered. I'll brush my hair again when I go home".
There was a point sometime during my first contract where I realized that, within reason, it didn't really matter what I did. I could wake up half an hour earlier to straighten my hair and put on my best outfit, or I could pin my hair back messily and wear an unflattering sweater with slacks. As long as I showed up to class on time and brought the correct book, nobody cared.
"What about meeting guys?" my now less slightly less perplexed coworker wanted to know. I laughed at this for what I considered an appropriate period of time and started up again: "Well, Brad, I've done the expat 'dating' scene thing. Been there, done that, got bored. And I'm so negative about Korea lately that I have little interest in learning the language any more than I have to at this point; a failing attitude for breaking into the Korean dating pool, if there ever was one".
My coworker was going to break into a tirade about how the problem with female expats is that they don't get enough sex, but them he remembered that he is intelligent and doesn't actually have thoughts like this. The conversation moved to food soon after. This was excellent, since we were at a buffet and there was a lot of food to talk about.
8 comments:
hahaha! I love you. I'm going to Busan some weekend in early September to spend time on the now uncrowded beach and see you. Tell me when is good.
There are no single Korean men. They are all married; the their mothers.
I don't know that expat men stand in the corners of bars and discuss who they'd like to marry the most, but they certainly stand in the corners of bars and talk about their fixation with Korean women. For most of the expat males here, Korean women have set the standard for "beauty". I don't blame expat women when they talk about the hit their self-esteem has taken as a result of being here. Most expat males are self-obsessed douche bags who come here for a common purpose...to get laid by an Asian chick. Don't even try to refute that fact. The girls here are in a constant state of self-maintenance, are obsessed with being thin and beautiful, they're easy and in a plentiful supply. If I had 1,000 won for every time I saw a douche bag expat with a Korean chick (who's usually dressed like a prostitute), oh the things I could do with that money.
The only women that take a hit in the self esteem department didn't really have any to begin with.
I don't blame some guys for coming to Korea and being swept away by the seemingly endless current of Korean women; it's perfectly understandable. I couldn't possibly be less concerned about this. Yes, some expat women have a problem with it, but like I said... those were the ones who didn't have self esteem in the first place. A pity, but it is what it is.
I don't think that "most expat males are self-obsessed douche bags who come here for a common purpose...to get laid by an Asian chick.", any more than I think that most expat females are monstrous blobs of bitchery. Certainly both exist; there will always be people who insist on being walking stereotypes. I'm just not sure that either group composes the majority.
I don't blame expat women when they talk about the hit their self-esteem has taken as a result of being here.
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I don't know any women who talk about their self-esteem taking a hit. And I have lots of female expat friends.
I know that as a female expat, I didn't compare myself. I wasn't like Korean women. I never would be. No problems there.
OH MY GOD I'm not the only one!! I noticed that I had completely quit caring about my looks this last couple months, but when I talked about it with my other female friends, they just didn't get it. You get it though.
well Barbie, i AM that stereotype: white, fat, loud, opinionated and bitchy. And yet, my very handsome, very rich, very Korean boyfriend chose me over the thousands of beauty queens who would never ever dare go out to throw the rubbish without wearing two inches of makeup on their pretty little faces. So, how bout that?
i'll be following your blog ;)
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