Multiethnicity in multicultural Singapore: critical autoethnography to understand racism in Singapore
Farah BAWANY
ABSTRACT In this article, I chronologically trace my lived experiences as a woman of color, growing up in multicultural Singapore. Exploring these moments while considering the racial politics embedded within institutionalized multiculturalism serves as an evocative illustration of the challenges and nuances of navigating multi-ethnicity in Singapore. These vignettes though personal, reveal the ways in which my multi-ethnic background manifests in different experiences, varying according to the ethnicity I openly identify with. Simultaneously, I unpack the double burden of being multi-ethnic in Chinese-majority Singapore—from identity-crises and the inescapability of phenotype. Often in these vignettes, I am silent, and respond only in thought. These thoughts however are lent a voice, in this auto-ethnographic text, liberating me from the silences that often characterize my position as a minority. These described moments also are revelatory of the hegemonic ideologies that are socially integrated and communicated insidiously albeit subtly, and their hierarchizing effects on ethnicity.
KEYWORDS:
Autoethnography; Multiculturalism in Singapore; ethnic minority; multi-ethnic; racism
Notes on contributor
Farah Bawany identifies as a critical anthropologist and ethnographer of digital cultures. Her research interests span social media, online identity, cultural studies, gender studies and media representations. As a woman of color, she is personally invested in using research, writing, and teaching as modalities to forward practical projects in creating a future that is egalitarian, just and kind.