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anonymous
Q: How likely am I to experience racism from potential employers?
I'm a good looking, very light skinned mixed (black and white) guy from the USA. Picture Lenny Kravitz without the dreads. Will I have trouble finding a teaching job?
Any color but pink is considered to be dark in China. That's why you will definitely face alot of racism here. Schools will try to use skin color as a pretext to deduce your salary. Don't allow this nonsense reason and force them to focus on your qualifications and that you are a native speaker from "American"
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"Schools will try to use skin color as a pretext to deduce your salary"
That's a serious issues. How would you know it and what should be done about it?
Silverstein:
Even white teachers are being told they are not white enough to teach i.e not having the ideal pink-face with blue eyes. My friend has a light brown skin, they keep calling him the black guy. Why? because teachers here are considered as a negotiable commodity. They will show all your defects followed by negative feedbacks to let you feel insecure about yourself and qualifications. Avoid all this hassle by saying I worth this amount of money even if what you asked for were illogical. At least they will know you are not an easy person and then probably they will shut up because they know without a foreign teacher, there's no filthy Chian.
Try to get in at a public school, particularly a university. The advice you hear on ruthless racism generally is restricted to privates with a profit incentive.
Shining_brow:
Agreed... however, I do know some non-white people working in private mills, but it's in a T1/2 city.
It's likely that you will...you've heard about the ads...you probably even seen the ads labeled "white face only". Right there it should tell you that the place and people are a bit discriminate to a certain color. Like I said before I wonder if they know what they are doing when they do it. Because if they had that type of behavior in 'America' they would be the one's that would get looked down on. It's a bad example they set to their young one's if you're asking me!
I was asked to interview a guy my school was concerned was "not a real American". The guy had a slight tan. They same school, when desperate for staff, rejected non-white staff as being 'unacceptable' and 'not really foreign' (yeah, tell me about it...)
The racism you will face? To do well here you will need to be light skinned indeed. And thick skinned.
I suspect three things about the racism towards foreigners (in particular, teachers).
Firstly, it's more rampant (and obvious) in private schools (usually Chinese run, and by locals).
It's more prevalent in smaller cities, and poorer provinces, because those places aren't as 'cosmopolitan/'westernised'.
Lastly, more likely in schools teaching children, particularly younger ones. Universities and business colleges may be less likely to care about your skin colour.. (however, that was the basis of my racism post and expat sites...).
Also, the level of your qualifications will have an impact! The better qualified, the less likely (however, the above 3 points probably outweigh that by a lot!!)
Certainly you will, but a patient dog always eats the fastest bone so be patient, that is the first thing you should learn and internalize before you can think of making a journey to China, secondly learn how to lie to some extend. I have learned that Chinese in most cases do not lie the truth and always love fake honor, just give it to them if that will help you or stand by your rights, thirdly keep at the back of your mind that your salary will NOT be the same with that of a white folk doing the same thing you do, even if you are far more qualified than he/she is.
I was invited to sing on Jiangsu TV in Taixing during the opening of Chinese new year it was on the fourth day of this Month and I went with an American girl who was also invited, of course am far more talented in singing and my spoken Chinese is better then hers, She sang one song, just like me but she was paid a thousand more than what i was paid simply because I am a black and she is white American. this is china, keep this at the back of your mind and there won't be surprises.
In the USA, people are valued according to their qualifications and skills, in China, people are valued according to their skin color
good luck
I have indeed heard the ranking in Asia, not exclusive to China, places a premium on skin color. I am glad to say that the company(school) I work for does not discriminate. Try to get hired by Wall Street English. Good luck.
Sadly, you will face it in employment and in romance as well if you try to date. Many will admit that they look down on black people, but will be mortally offended if you call them racist.
Best of luck !!!!!
If you are black or brown - every day. If you are not white your stay in China will not be fun for sure.
If you are black or brown - every day. If you are not white your stay in China will not be fun for sure.
Yes, unfortunately. Here in China being 'white' means to the people that you know English. I became headmaster at a school and even before my first day of my new job, I was asked to 'get rid of the black guy we have'. When I asked for the reason I was told that the parents of the kids thought he was not well qualified and some of the students were scared of him [big size and big voice]. Anyway, I refused to do this and told them that if that was what they wanted to do, they should do the firing.
