Guest likes asian Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 I have always been perplexed as to why many asian cultures have a derogatory word they use for whites? I visited asian countries many times (coming back to singapore in a couple of weeks) and as a tall white guy with light coloured hair and attractive features I have never found it hard to strike up a conversation or something else :-) But it seems in every asian culture there is love/hate relationship (especially in the gay world it seems) with white guys! and frankly I don't get why? I don't know how other white dudes have felt but its weird to be sought after while at the same time the object of scorn. Insights please? andykan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachyboy75 Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 ang mo means "red hair" literally in the chinese dialect, its just a term coined by singaporeans dated back to british rule. i think it does not mean anything negatively, just used by early singaporeans.hong kongers called the whites "guai lo" which means "ghost person", but with years gone by, i don't think it means negative as well.i'm sure there are terms white people call asians or chinese as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abang Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 Dear GWM,I am (still) in favour of a white man but as they said, TO EACH HIS OWN.Some prefer white man for his personality and hmm, endowment.Those who are less adaptable, may find you intimidating.I know many of my friends are "afraid" to converse with you because of the English proficiency.So regardless of race, language or religion, there is always differences in preference,Personally a white man is just another human being, not superior nor inferior than the other races. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Moon Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 I think the derogatory terms used by whites on Asians are far worse! "Chinks", "Ching Chongs", "Gooks", "Ping Pongs", "yella fella", "chigga" etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qedcwc Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) 'ang moh' is not exactly exclusive to Singapore only.Many Chinese Malaysians use that aside 'gwai lou' as well.Malays call the whites 'mat saleh'.Chinese call the Malays 'huan na' (means 'less civilized') and Indians keling-kia.Malays call the Chinese 'mata sepet' (slit eyes) and Indians 'kaki botol' (drunkards).The whites have in the past called the Chinese the 'sick men of Asia' (亚洲病夫).Derogatory remarks and name-calling exist in every society.Juz learn to be gracious and use the proper nouns so everyone can be comfortable. Period. Edited December 8, 2012 by qedcwc glowingember and angel_dust 2 "You like who you like lah. Who cares if someone likes the other someone because of their race? It's when they hate them. That's the problem."Orked (acted by Sharifah Amani) in SEPET (2004, directed by Yasmin Ahmad) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 You should be glad they call you just that because Ive got a whole lot more that I would use to call a white who isnt nice to me! And come on, whites do have a whole range of slang they use to describe asians too, no?By the way, you've got yellow fever? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moshimoshi Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 In the past (we're talking about centuries ago), Chinese folks used to resent Westerners due to the exploitation of China by Western colonialists...same story for most other parts of Asia that have been colonizedBut of course its a different story now. "Ang mo" and "guai lo" is really just a generic term to describe anyone that looks "white", it doesnt carry any derogatory meaning whatsoever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lunarstone Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 I like "white" guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest local Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Actually its not just "ang mo" Its called "ang mo kau" which means red haired monkey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlinkun Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 We can always address our western counterparts by calling them Colgate, but I think it will be more understandable if we just call them Ang Mo. https://merlinsfolio.wordpress.com/ https://medium.com/@merlincheng "On the Internet, no one knows you are a cat." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Westerners View Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 I've been in Asia since 1997 and have never been offended by this term. Any time it has been used in my presence there was never an underlying tone of disrespect. Quite the contrary, I always interpreted it as friendship. I have always found Asians to be very respectful of "whites". I thank all Asians for making me feel so welcome in this part of the world. As a foreigner I try my best to not let my "western values" and customs corrupt their values. I try to always view myself as an "ambassador" of my home country so I try to be polite and dignified in all my encounters. I'm from Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qez Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 The term was intended to be derogatory and/or to be socially alienating in the distant past.However, the term is used now simply because it has become a jargon lah.Dun believe me you go see how Barbarella from The Noose use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steve Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I have just been relocated here in singapore. Someone called me Ang Mo. I'm discreet gay to be honest but how come they know by calling me that name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 8 minutes ago, Guest Steve said: I have just been relocated here in singapore. Someone called me Ang Mo. I'm discreet gay to be honest but how come they know by calling me that name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 On 2012年12月8日 at 9:29 AM, Guest likes asian said: I have always been perplexed as to why many asian cultures have a derogatory word they use for whites? I visited asian countries many times (coming back to singapore in a couple of weeks) and as a tall white guy with light coloured hair and attractive features I have never found it hard to strike up a conversation or something else :-) But it seems in every asian culture there is love/hate relationship (especially in the gay world it seems) with white guys! and frankly I don't get why? I don't know how other white dudes have felt but its weird to be sought after while at the same time the object of scorn. Insights please? Because you have not seen an angmo/gweilo pulling a small size Asian guy by the collar and drag like a dog or shouting at bank staff to withdraw money without proper formalities just as I have seen before ! Is no wonder Madonna have to fuck these bitches on stage too ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Black Hairs Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 9 hours ago, Guest Steve said: I have just been relocated here in singapore. Someone called me Ang Mo. I'm discreet gay to be honest but how come they know by calling me that name? You are lucky not being called a white trash. haha. Ang moh means red hairs which is a standout among us with black hairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunkchaser Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 9 hours ago, Guest Steve said: I have just been relocated here in singapore. Someone called me Ang Mo. I'm discreet gay to be honest but how come they know by calling me that name? 'Ang Mo' is a general term used by locals to refer to caucasoid people, regardless of the sex or orientation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkflame Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 I think ang mo is quite a neutral term and only points out that white guys look...different. Compared to Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese etc, where there are some slightly negative words like 'ghost', 'devil', 'outsider' etc. I'm always running after you. You are my ideal. You are me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 2 hours ago, darkflame said: I think ang mo is quite a neutral term and only points out that white guys look...different. Compared to Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese etc, where there are some slightly negative words like 'ghost', 'devil', 'outsider' etc. In HK , there is a beer brand named gwei lo , promoted by a gweilo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boychaser Posted February 27, 2016 Report Share Posted February 27, 2016 On 8 December 2012 at 9:48 AM, beachyboy75 said: ang mo means "red hair" literally in the chinese dialect, its just a term coined by singaporeans dated back to british rule. i think it does not mean anything negatively, just used by early singaporeans. hong kongers called the whites "guai lo" which means "ghost person", but with years gone by, i don't think it means negative as well. i'm sure there are terms white people call asians or chinese as well... So does it apply to all white males? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkflame Posted February 27, 2016 Report Share Posted February 27, 2016 22 minutes ago, Guest boychaser said: So does it apply to all white males? All people who look white. I'm always running after you. You are my ideal. You are me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neh Neh Posted February 27, 2016 Report Share Posted February 27, 2016 I have never seen a "white" men in my life. But all Europeans so called "White" men in asean countries i met are all look "redish yellow" to me. So the word Ang Mo (red hair) is right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steve Posted September 15, 2016 Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 Yeah, why is that so? Eversince i moved here in Singapore, i'd been hearing a lot of that about me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Axel Posted September 16, 2016 Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 Even though I am not Singaporean, I am a Hokkien/Teochew speaking Malaysian. Ang mo(紅毛) literally just translates into red hair in H/T. (Don't look up for that word in a Mandarin Chinese dictionarybecause the modern standard Mandarin pronounces it as h hong Mao) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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