1. Stereotypes: Perception or Reality?

In this increasingly globalized, inter-connected, ever-changing world, time has become a priceless commodity, that we are constantly trying to find new ways, gadgets, etc, to minimise and save time. Personally, I feel that we have become so obsessed with saving time, that we apply the same strategies we use when doing our work or school assignments, to when meeting or judging people. With wireless, home-delivery, Speedpost, MSN, SMS, MMS, credit card bookings, and the countless number of technological innovations that are available out there to give us what we want, and when we want it, we have become a "me" generation. And with that, the exacerbation of stereotypes.

In this first entry, I decided to write a personal reflection, as I felt that the content regarding perception and communication that was covered last week is very relevant to countless of my personal experiences. I will also be looking at stereotypes in Singapore from a social constructionist perspective. I realized that in Singapore, we are extremely judgemental and stereotypical, which is ironic, considering the fact that we represent an amalgamation of cultures, influences, languages and views. With such diversity, you would expect less stereotypical perceptions and categorization. However, with the country working by the second, time is precious. This is reflected by the people who shove on the trains, and are constantly on the look-out for a seat, and by those who are constantly running for buses, taxis, etc.

In Singapore, the mass media, our society and our education system contributes to our influences of selection. All these form our social network, and thus contributes to our preferences, beliefs, value systems, and stereotypes. As a result, the conversations I have had with people have given me insights to their perceptions and stereotypes, and in many instances, even I was the subject of controversy:

A: Your name is Steve Andre? Are you Catholic?
S: Hmmmm, no.
A: But you have a middle name?
S: You can have a middle name and not be Catholic or Christian right?

J: Are you Singaporean?
S: Yes.
J: But you don't sound like one...?
S: Ermmm... how is a Singaporean supposed to sound?
J: I don't know... you have an accent..
S: Oh... you mean, I don't speak in Singlish!

R: What are you?
S: Erm.. human?
R: No, what's your race?
S: Human race?
R: Seriously la.. are you Malay, Chinese or Indian?
S: Oh.. you mean ethnic group or heritage? Well, I have Indian and Chinese heritage..
R: Oh... Do you have a Chinese name?
S: No....

D: Oh, are you fasting?
S: No. Why would I?
D: I don't know.. all my other Muslim friends are fasting..
S: I'm not Muslim..
D: Oh.. I thought you are Malay...

Those are just snippets of conversations I have had with people in Singapore. I realized that we have become so accustomed to categorizing people into the categories of Malay, Chinese, Indian or Others, that we immediately associate people to a particular ethnic group if we see any resemblance, in terms of outward appearance or behaviour in reference to our preconceived notion of the individual ethnic groups. From a name, people like to see what ethnic group you belong to, and from there, religion, and then; economic background. From the way you talk, people here also draw conclusions on whether you are a Singaporean, or judge your level of Singaporean-ness. If you speak proper English, chances are; you are not a Singaporean. I find that absurd, that we think so little of ourselves, that we assume that our people can only be Singaporean, when they stutter in Singlish. Not like I have any objection towards Singlish, I myself switch from proper English to Singlish time to time, but people tend to view speaking proper English as a foreign 'thing'. Let's give our schools and English teachers more credit, please?

With a population of approximately 4.84 million people, at least 1 million people in Singapore are non-Singaporean born residents. These 1 million people constitute of immigrants, PR-status holders and new citizens. Thus, how would we classify them? We have thousands of Japanese, Indonesian, Thai and Filipino expatriates working and living in Singapore. Additionally, 9 million tourists visit Singapore annually. At such crossroads of cultural fusion and interaction, I would think Singaporeans would try to keep an open mind and move with the changing times. Not only is Singapore getting smaller, the whole world itself is shrinking, kudos to new communication technologies and globalization. Singapore is reminiscent of any other cosmopolitan city such as, New York, London, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.

(At my best friend, Adrianna's 21st birthday bash - multi-cultural/ethnic Singapore)

Looking at this issue from a social constructionist perspective, I feel that Singaporeans use the tools provided by their culture to create collective representations of their reality. That is why, they tend to have the perception that if you're Malay, you're supposed to think a certain way, and if you're Indian, you're supposed to look a particular way. Plus, Singaporeans are guilty of not experiencing the world directly, and constructing their world of communication by what they learn in school, experience around them, and hear from other people.