【BBC】為什麼人們會覺得亞洲女性是保姆？丨取經號

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Why did people assume an Asian woman was the nanny?

為什麼人們會覺得亞洲女性是保姆？

本期導讀

近來，BBC的一段視頻在網路上走紅——一位國際關係教授在家中接受連線採訪時，他的女兒和兒子先後闖進了他的房間。隨後他的妻子沖了進來將兩個孩子帶走。本來這只是直播當中的一個小插曲，卻引發了人們對亞裔族群在西方國家的社會地位界定的廣泛討論。不同族群對彼此間的認知又有哪些誤解與偏見？不同種族的人們又是否真的能和平共處呢？

正文

本文選自 BBC

譯者：鄧小雪&倪婷

校對：曾擎禹&魯城華

筆記：徐嘉悅

策劃：徐嘉悅

Why did people assume an Asian woman was the nanny?

為什麼人們會覺得亞洲女性是保姆？

There was an unexpected distraction during a live interview on BBC News

BBC新聞在進行現場連線採訪時發生了意料之外的小插曲。

By now, most of the Internet seems to have seen the video of a BBC interview being interrupted by two small children.

到目前為止，大部分網友似乎都已經看過了BBC連線採訪被兩個小盆友打斷的視頻。

International Relations professor Robert Kelly"s interview about South Korea was briefly interrupted when his two small children walked in.

國際關係教授Robert Kelly在接受關於韓國政局情況的連線直播時，他的兩個小孩闖進了屋裡，短暫地打斷了採訪。

He managed to keep his composure, and his wife ushered the two young intruders out.

他儘力保持鎮定，而他的妻子也很快將兩個孩子帶出房間。

The video has been viewed hundreds of million times - and delighted hundreds of thousands of people on social media.

該視頻被瀏覽了上百萬次，也娛樂了社交媒體上的很多人。

But it didn"t go unnoticed that many people - including some media outlets, had assumed that Prof Kelly"s wife, Jung-a Kim, was the nanny.

但是，值得注意的是很多人——包括一些媒體，都把他的妻子Jung-a Kim當成了保姆。

It"s sparked a wider discussion about assumptions about race, gender, and mixed-race couples.

這一先入為主的成見引發了關於種族、性別和跨國婚姻的廣泛討論。

Was it reasonable to assume Ms Kim was a nanny?

認為Kim女士是保姆合理嗎？

Some families in South Korea do hire nannies - especially if both parents work long hours.

一些韓國家庭確實僱傭保姆——尤其是長時間工作的雙職工家庭。

But many people feel the assumption that Ms Kim was a helper, rather than the children"s mother, was grounded in racial stereotypes about the roles played by Asian women.

但很多人認為把Kim女士當作保姆而非孩子的母親，是一種對於亞洲女性所扮演角色的種族成見。

Not everyone thinks this is fair. Some have argued that the look of panic on Ms Kim"s face, and the way she speedily ushered out the children, suggested that she was the nanny - and concerned for her job.

但不是每個人都這麼想。有的人爭辯道，Kim女士表情慌張，她趕忙把孩子拉走說明她是保姆——因為她擔心丟掉飯碗。

But others say she behaved as only a mother would - and that she was obviously anxious that her husband"s interview not be disrupted further.

不過另一些人表示，她正是做了一個母親該做的事——很明顯她不希望丈夫的採訪繼續被打斷。

Either way, it"s fair to say Korean speakers would have known she was the mother - because during the video, the daughter appears to say: "Why? What"s wrong?" and "Mummy, why?"

不管怎麼樣，懂韓語的人應該知道她就是母親——因為在視頻過程中，女兒好像在說「為什麼？媽媽，怎麼啦？」

What sort of assumptions do people make about Asian women?

人們關於亞洲女性的成見

Conscious - or unconscious bias, does happen sometimes.

有意或無意的偏見時有發生。

When I was at university in London, most people I met assumed that I (as a British Chinese student) was studying either medicine or economics - when I was actually studying English literature.

我在倫敦讀大學的時候，我遇見的大部分人都覺得我（作為一個華裔英國學生）念的是醫學或經濟學——但實際上我是學英國文學專業的。

It was a little annoying, but not a huge deal. But sometimes assumptions can be more hurtful.

這有點讓人不爽，但不是什麼大問題。但有時候成見帶來的傷害會更大。

One journalist of Indian descent says when she went to work at a regional newspaper, the receptionist mistook her for a cleaner, and asked her: "Are you here to clean the kitchen?"

一位印度裔的記者說，當她在一家地區性報刊社工作的時候，前台把她誤認為清潔工，還問她「你是來打掃廚房的么？」

And Kumiko Toda, an academic of Japanese descent, says a majority of people who meet her for the first time ask her where she"s from - despite her growing up in the UK and having a British accent.

另一位名叫Kumiko Toda的日裔女性也表示，大部分人第一次見到她都會問她是來自哪裡——儘管她是帶著英國口音、土生土長的英國人。

It also seems to have affected how some strangers interact with her.

這似乎也影響了她與陌生人之間的互動。

"I was surprised when chatting about street harassment with my friends who are white - they had quite different experiences," she says.

Kumiko Toda說：「當我與我的白人朋友說起街頭騷擾時，她們的遭遇和我非常不同，這讓我很吃驚。」

"They said they did not experience nearly as much as I did and the comments tended to be less patronising, although just as bothersome in other ways.

「她們被騷擾的情況遠遠沒有我多。而且外界的評論沒有顯示出高人一等的感覺，不過在其他方面卻一樣令人討厭。」

"I wonder whether my ethnicity and the perception of East Asian women as being submissive has something to do with the frequency and the nature of the harassment I experience."

「我懷疑是不是因為種族膚色以及大家覺得亞洲女性都比較溫順的原因，才讓我遇到這麼多這樣的騷擾。」

Are people still surprised by mixed-racecouples?

現在人們還對跨種族婚姻感到驚訝嗎？

Another factor that may have led to the assumptions that Ms Kim was a nanny, is the fact that many still assume, consciously or unconsciously, that people tend to date others from the same ethnic group.

Kim被當成保姆的另一個原因是，許多人依然認為（或者說有意無意地認為）應該和同一種族的人交往。

Once, I was at a concert with three male friends - two white English, and one British Chinese - and everyone I spoke to assumed that I was dating the Chinese guy.

有一次我和3個男性朋友去聽音樂會，其中2位是英國白人1位是華裔英國人，每個和我說話的人都以為那個華人是我男朋友。

Tiffany Wong and Jonathan Smith, a couple in the UK, say they experienced some discrimination from strangers when they started dating, although it was very much the exception rather than the norm.

Tiffany Wong 和Jonathan Smith是英國的一對情侶，他們稱自己在開始交往時遇到了旁人的歧視，儘管這種歧視只是一個特例。

"We have had people shout stuffatus - once, when we were walking down the street, a guy yelled "it"s so sad you"re going with an Asian girl" to John," Tiffany says.

Tiffany說：「我們遇到過被路人大吼這種事情。有一次我們正在街上走著，突然一個人沖著John大吼說『你和亞洲女孩交往這真是太不幸了』。」

Some of their colleagues and family were also initially surprised when they realised they were dating someone of another race.

一些同事和家人在最初得知他們在與另一個種族的人交往時也非常驚訝。

"When I mention my fiancee at work, people normally just assume she"s Caucasian, and they might be surprised to learn she"s not. It"s not offensive - it"s just that their first thought is that you date someone from your own race," John says.

John說：「當與同事說起我的未婚妻的時候，他們自然地認為她是白種人，在知道了並不是之後他們可能會很吃驚。這並不是一種冒犯，而是說他們的第一反應是你應該約會同一種族的人。」

Does everyone make assumptions though?

是否每個人都有成見？

Some have argued that assuming that Ms Kim was the nanny is a sign of white-centric bias.

有人提出，想當然地認為Kim女士是保姆是一種白人中心主義的偏見。

But others have argued it"s a chance for people to revisittheir assumptions.

還有人認為這件事可以讓人們重新審視自己的成見。

And assumptions about race can be a two-way street.

關於種族的成見有時候是雙向的。

Helen (not her real name), a Filipina nanny working in South Korea, says she has noticed that some "Koreans are very particular aboutskin colour" and appear to discriminate against some people with darker skin.

Helen（化名）是一位韓國菲佣，她說自己感覺到韓國人對膚色問題非常在意，而且會歧視深色皮膚的人。

Meanwhile, Andrew Wood, a BBC journalist who worked in South Korea for two years, says he was often mistaken for a US soldier while he was there.

與此同時，BBC記者Andrew Wood曾在韓國工作了2年。他說在韓國時，他經常會被誤認為是美國大兵。

"Taxi drivers would rarely stop for white men on Friday or Saturday night as they allegedly assumed white men were drunk soldiers who would vomit in the back of their cabs."

「在周五或周六的晚上，計程車司機很少停下來接載白人男性，因為他們認為這些白人是喝醉的大兵，會在計程車后座上嘔吐。」

外媒簡介

英國廣播公司 (BBC)，成立於1922年，是英國最大的新聞廣播機構，也是世界最大的新聞廣播機構之一。在相當長的一段時間內BBC一直壟斷著英國的電視、電台。在1955年獨立電視台和1973年獨立電視台成立之前，BBC一直是英國唯一的電視、電台廣播公司。

學習筆記

1、harassmentn. 騷擾

when someone behaves in an unpleasant or threatening way towards you

2、patronisingadj. 認為自己高人一等的，自命不凡的

someone who is patronizing talks to you in a way that shows they think you are less intelligent or important than them

3、white-centric bias 白人中心主義的偏見

4、vomitv. 嘔吐，噁心

eject (food, etc from the stomach) through the mouth; be sick

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