Um...true, my wife is Asian and she is certainly not meek!!!! Never and I mean never piss her off, she is deadly accurate with both her tongue and knife!

Children of Asian/WASP marriges are true Canadadians, because they are niether anglo or franco, or hyphenated Canadians, just plain Canadian. They may prove very important in the future of this country.

Anybody who thinks that Asian women are somehow submissive has certainly never been married to one. What they do have is tact; confrontation is not a part of most Asian cultures. Thus, they are immune from femanazism and maintain strong control of the family and their husbands because of it.

If there are Eggs, there must also be Bananas in this diverse world....which reminds of a goofy '80s pop song with a chorus that goes: "Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so!"

Aside from the Eggs and Bananas of the world, I nominate the following as being dedicated "Coconuts":
-Colin Powell
-Condi Rice
-Sammi Davis Jr. (the late)
-Bill Cosby
-Oprah

And the following as just plain "crazy nuts":
-Dubya
-Rummy
-Condi (qualifies for 2 categories)
-Cheney the dick
-Tony Blair

Firstly, there's only one "race" of people on this planet. A mixture would have to be a "chimera," only recently contemplated by geneticists and would be embodied by a chimpanzee with a human face, or vice versa, of course. Secondly, one might suspect that there's a certain amount of arrogance in leaving your country of origin, going to another one, and then having the audacity of deciding that your new countrymen and women are not suitable mates for your children. Ugh, the human race. Come on, you guys!

However while the Chinese are one of the largest minority groups in Canada, they have the second lowest rate of mixed unions at 16% of the married population."

The above doesn't parse cleanly. Is that 16% of all new unions involving Chinese are now mixed with an average baseline of 3%
cumalative for all races in Canada? A table showing the various figures would make things more clear. Particularly what the change has been over time.

Unless same sex unions are a major factor won't the rates for men and women joining into unions outside of their race be the same?
There's an interesting thread not developed in this article about the role of prestige.

So far Truman I have not found any cases of a human embryo being combined with chimpanzee sperm or a chimpanzee embryo being combined with human sperm in a laboratory. I am curious to know what would happen. On the issue of “race” or rather human-varieties, if humans had simply stayed in eastern-Africa, so many varieties of humans would not have evolved. By the way there are also lots of cat-varieties and dog-varieties because these 2 species have been living alongside humans for a long time.

Some traditions like circumcision, unnecessary cosmetic surgery on the penis, serve no biological function and may actually impair function. Many of the traditions, created by our illiterate ancestors, do not need or merit being preserved in any guise, be it religion, culture, language etc…

Ranbir, google, "scientific american chimera" and read part of the article by John Rennie entitled, "Human-Animal Chimera," or read the whole fascinating article in the hardcopy of June 27, 2005. Remember, we're talking genome, here, eh and we don't need any such fantasies as "natural selection"--or even sexual reproduction to fashion some very disturbing PHENOMES.

Truman, you are quite right. It's time for broader, knowledge-based perspectives rather than age-old biases once meant to protect followers.

you said to the parents, an audience I too would aim the critisism at.

The life this young couple is entering into sounds absolutely scary. Two deep cultures, two strong families, many firm traditions criss-crossing and entangling with others.

Add two busy work lives, the bizarreness of our own consumer culture twisting what logic remains into $ signs and I'd bet one or both start looking for alternative culture eventually.

Talk about stress.

Ranbir, it's about embryonic stem cells, not sperm. You could also read, "Chimeras on the Horizon, But Don't Expect Centaurs," by Nicholas Wade, New York Times, May 2004. Right on, allan.

uh, Ranbir, why would anyone consider combining a "human embryo with chimpanzee sperm
or a "chimpanzee embryo with human sperm?" You DO know what sperm is, right? And equating a few differences in skin colour, height, shape of eyeball and hair texture with "varieties" (breeds) of dogs is just well...uh.. stupid. Sorry for the ad hominem.

The whole story is a non-issue and has a sour smell of fabrication about it.

The simple fact is that a quick look @ faces on any Vancouver street tell the true story and this amateur author's pathetic attempts to 'highlight an issue' are just that.

Slow time of year.....

Who are you saying who is Cantonese anyhow?
Are Hakka who live in Guangdong Cantonese? About 15+ million of them there and a Hakka nationalist uprising (the Taiping Rebellion) left 20 million dead little over 100 years ago.

I think some southern Chinese Canadian families like to see (and sometimes plan) their children marry strategically to strengthen clan genealogy (zupu). Canton will separate from China again someday soon (when China faces an oil crises), and the Li family, Chan family etc... are literally sowing the seeds of succession. Marriage between Hakka, Yue and Deochew clans could help to unite and create a stronger Cantonese nationalist identity and a more successful run at independence.

The author states that only 16% of Chinese are engaged in a mixed relationship, the lowest of any ethnic group.

I really am not sure how this fact comes about. I look down the streets of Vancouver, and see an abundanced of heteroethnic couples. In 50 years, I would presume a majority of the population in BC would have euro-asian ancestry. I do think there is a little more gender relevance though, as I do believe Asian women are more likely to be in a mixed relationships. I'd say if you look at under 35, you'd see closer to 35% of Chinese women engaged in a mixed relationship. I think there are aspects of many Asian cultures that women from those backgrounds try to avoid.

I am married to a Malay-Indian who immigrated here to be with me. Multi-cultural marriages are not easy for a number of reasons. Culture, religion, separation from family, friends and employment issues (if one spouse immigrated)

Meek? Hell, my wife is a lawyer and a pitbull when she wants to be, don’t get on her bad side! Being married to a lawyer is like being in court 24 hrs a day, with no appeal!

My wife calls herself a “coconut” because she likes living here, because of the temperature and the lack of social pressures.

We receive most of the racism from the older East Indian community here and have been insulted, stared at and not served by them. 99% of the younger Indians don’t care at all.

A mixed cultural marriage is fairly easy until you have kids, then the live and let live stuff ends because each parent will want the kid to grow up a certain way. I am lucky my wife although Muslim has a very open mind to religion (she went to a catholic school, long story) and I don’t have problems with her teaching our child her views on the subject, but I don’t want to expose her to the hate and anti-female crap that they teach at the local mosques and Muslim schools.

It does make life easier here that you can get a lot of the same foods as in Malaysia and that long distance is so cheap that we can afford to talk to her family almost every day. These two things are a lifesaver for anyone that immigrates.

Employment is a real pain in the ass. When she arrived, she was not allowed to work for 1 year, which caused her a lot of grief. Despite having a law degree from London UK, 7 years as a practising lawyer, she was not allowed to do the Bar exam directly, instead she had to go through 9 degree level exams, 9 months of articling, 3 months of Law society BS courses and 6 Bar exams to be qualified to work here. Now she is told her previous experience is worth nothing and all the stuff she did here is not considered worthwhile by the local law offices.

She is a woman, dark skinned and a mother, need I say more?

Being in a mixed marriage is not the easy path, make sure that the kids learn about both cultures.

My wife says that Canadian’s are the nicest people to ever stab you in the back. She prefers the people who dislike her to her face.

Bobb999

Your list of coconuts, what is their crime? Not playing to Jesse Jackson “poor us routine”

I loved it when Bill Cosby slammed the whole “Black culture” thing, he was right on the money. There is a whole group of people that make a living off of “black oppression thing” and they hate black people who don’t buy into it.

I know you will say there are racist whites that work hard to oppress the blacks and to an extent you are right, but the racism goes both ways.

Why is it that the Hispanic population has been able to move up through the US society far better than the Black community?

Colin "there is a whole group of people that make a living off the oppression thing."

I certainly don't think it's all about blacks. There is aboriginal oppression, womens oppression, oppression of the poor, etc., etc., etc., and then there are the oppressors who seem to hate everyone whether they buy into their schtick or not.

It's a humungous industry on both sides, I'd say.

you ask.

Perhaps it's because oppression of Blacks was an officially sanctioned practice throughout the U.S. until the late 1800s, and was still openly practiced and sanctioned in the US south for more than half the 20th century.

Some would say there are still many parts of the US including rural areas in around New Orleans (from recent new reports), where you don't want to be at night if you are not white.

Hispanics too have had their share of oppression in the US, but to be blunt, they at least enjoyed a slightly closer (in skin colour), affinity to the dominant oppressor group.

Aside from that, Hispanics were never singled out for the official and personal abuse heaped upon people who's ancestors arrived on slave ships.

There is little doubt racism cuts both ways, but like all problems it had a start and, I suspect with enough effort it can have an end.

Your wife sounds like a dynamo and a person who can demand respect.

But a lot of immigrant women without any formal education are can only dream getting back on top of the economic heap when they come to Canada.

Most, I suspect focus on ensuring their daughters and sons or their grandchildren get a kick at that can.

While I generally agree with your comments regarding Hispanic’s. I would still say that personal attitude is one of the biggest hindrances facing young American blacks. That is the message that bill Cosby and Oprah have been trying to hammer into the kids. If you romanticize the gang and rap culture, then you are trapped into a deadend.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a US sitcom that involved a Black woman that had a kid out of wedlock with a Jewish guy and the problems both their families were giving them. A refreshing change and surprising for US TV.

You are right about my wife, however a unemployed lawyer is a dangerous thing to have lying around the house, there are no innocent questions!!!

Funny one of her sisters, although a doctor is quite meek and plays the part of the obedient Muslim wife, while the other is running around the world arguing for human, woman rights. In fact she was leaving for Aceh and Sri Lanka as we were leaving Malaysia. It’s been interesting getting first hand reports about the aid efforts there.

What? These are all same-sex marriages? If men are marrying outside of their ethnic group, then it follows that similar numbers of women are doing so as well.

What a stupid statement

For my wife marriage to a “white-guy” wasn’t part of the plan, just so happened we fell in love while doing the cha-cha (seriously)

Marriage to a Canadian can mean escape from marrying a local and suffering under oppressive social rules. This can be a significant factor for educated woman in Asia and other 3 world countries.

My "Coconuts" post should be taken with a grain of salt.
I don't dislike Bill Cosby, and I applaud his intentions in addressing problems in the black community, although I'm not sure how much change he can actually bring about.
I don't even mind Oprah, though I don't watch her show. She's certainly 1,000+ times more relevant than Jerry Springer!
Cosby and Oprah seem to me to be part of well meaning mainstream American wealthy folk, still mainly white, which is what makes them look like coconuts! I'm not really criticizing though.

Now Condi's another story (much worse than Colin Powell who regretted the times he acted as lap dog for a lying admin.) She appears to be a lap dog to an admin and party which tries hard to marginalize black folk, most recently by gerrymandering Texas Congress ridings to swamp previously majority black (and Dem) ridings with white Repub Texans.
Other States have attempted to pass election laws the purpose of which is to disenfranchise black voters, by making it more difficult for them to vote (eg. having to purchase expensive official state picture IDs, etc).
Also, Bush admin. cuts to social programs for poor people, while cutting taxes for the very wealthiest (Cosby and Oprah!).Katrina... Condi's a disgrace in my view. At least Powell challenged the crazy nuts of the Bush White House now and then.

I would think having different cultural perspectives would be a greater hinderance in putting together a cohesive family than being of different skin colour. For me, having different life outlooks - inclusive of what side of the political spectrum one sits on - is a larger issue. What if Nancy didn't convert to Josh's religion? Would he still be a willing egg - or would that have caused a crack in the shell? In the US - there are greater societal barriers - such as wealth and education - that were historically drawn on racial disparaties that have caused the segregation still seen today, and which results in people like Bobb999 to call African Americans who have escaped their stereotyped niche to be called "coconuts". Such definitions imply that "black" people aren't expected to be either educated or well-to-do. Being of indefinite pedigree myself, I can honestly say that it is a non-issue in Vancouver (and it is actually beneficial when travelling since it enables me to blend in anywhere). Any university campus would attest to the fact that inter-racial relationships are possibly the rule and not the exception these days, and there must be something awry with those stats.

The song "Turning Japanese" is about masturbation--the phrase is a euphemism for onanism. I don't know why.

In regards to Steve's odd topical direction from two (supposed) racially divergent partners to a lonesome dove finding its own happy hunting ground, I think some recent research as to the non-existant mingling between the two sexes in modern Japanese cultures may shed some light to enigma of why Turning Japanese would be an analogy for turning to yourself.

Interacial marriage....

Has anyone ever seen that picture of all the UN delagates arranged in a collage geographically according to their country? You start to see how races aren't races, but the more pronounced differances in features over longer stetches of space. Nepalese people aren't strictly speaking "mixed", but actually do have both indian and chinese features.

It's ineveitable, and not really news. Asians are newer immigrants and look even more differant this time, but seriously, this has happened before. There was a time in this country were being mainstream meant you were anglo-saxon, scottish, or at worste irish. My grandparents refered to Italians and Austrians as "foreigners". How many white canadians today, who don't consider themself ethnic at all, have ancestors which come from somewhere other than the british isles? Russians used to play the role that asians do now.

Russel peters was right, we're all going to end up beige.

Also, Colin, cudos on the Bill Cosby. While not specifically relavent, that man couldn't be more on the money. Alan explains why blacks are marginalized more than hispanics, and quite rightly so, but that's doesn't change anything about how to unmarginalize them.

On "Turning Japanese".

It certainly hadn't occurred to me but maybe you're right Steve Burgess.

While looking up the lyrics I see it's by The Vapors, and there are hints backing up your thesis, such as:
-"I got your picture, I got your picture"
-"You wrote 'I love you', I wrote 'me too' "
-"I sit here staring and there's nothing else to do"
-"I want a doctor to take a picture so I can look at you from inside as well", etc.

Hey Steve, I used to notice you on Main St., near my Mt. Pleasant neighborhood: The Starbucks at 14th, or the health food store at 10th...I guess you're in the W. End now, which explains why I never see you around anymore!
I miss your late night TV show.

could be that the word "onan" is a borrowed word in Japanese meaning masturbation.

This is turning into a bit of a diversion from the original article (thanks to Burgess)...but I believe Onan was the name of a figure from mythology (I'm guessing Greek).

I forget his exact story. There was Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection.
Onan had some kind of similar kink I believe, preferring his own company, hence "Onanism".

オナニー

It's from the bible, you guys. Genesis 38,9:

"And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy bother's wife, and marry her...And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass...(what else? tg)...that he spilled it on the ground lest that he should give his seed to his brother."

Thanks, Truman, for clearing that up about Onan, the sloppy seed spiller.

Gee, if I'd only googled instead of guessed, I
could've gotten it right the first time!

re: Sam Salmon's comment about this being an non issue.

its interesting that asian's participation in inter-racial marriage is such a small percentage of all inter-racial marriages in canada. at least in Vancouver, this is an example of where perception is corrected by stats and a new reality is formed. on that new knowledge alone is justifiable for writing such an article.

I agree with Sam Salmon way up on the string there: there ain't a whole lot of new insight in this story.

The segue to onanism from the subject of causasian dudes marrying asian women does make me think, though, that perhaps an investigation into the concept of "Yellow Fever" or being a "Rice King" warrants much more study. How does living in a place like Vancouver engender/accelerate/cement the preference for Asian women among non-asian men - yellow fever is much more prevalent among white men than white women(sadly, speaking as an asian dude - must be due to my small hairless penis and being a sexless accountant - course could be my overtly chauvanistic attitude).

What role does this preference play in these bi-racial/bi-cultural marriages? How much of the attraction is purely physical vs. emotional? How much of it is based on the guy's need to fulfill his fetish, or the woman's need to escape an oppressive cultural background or assimilate into the majority? How much of it is based on love? How much of it is based on the white dude's bigger schlong? How much on blah-blah-blah - whatever.

Clinically, this would be a far more interesting topic I think than the article above - c'mon Amy, give us something new. I mean, you can ask half of the posters on this string for their input.

Incredulous is right. The deeper context of this article went unexplored.
In the future (10, 15, 20 years from now) will "race" even matter -- especially in Vancouver, where Caucasian/Other is already at 50/50?
Have you checked out a classroom recently? More Coconuts and Bananas than any other nut/fruit. And the cool thing is, the kids don't notice/care.
As a reluctant optimist (I'm workin' on it), I envision a time when skin colour, sexual orientation and religion will matter not a whit -- and we can all expend our brain matter on more important things (ie. the survival of the planet and its species, the pursuit of consciousness rather than consumerism, and that old rag, World Peace).

Peace out.

Ah, Incredulous- I have a few Caucasian female friends who date ONLY Asian men- one is living in Shanghai now and has spent the last few yrs (minus one yr she was in Vancouver)in Asia. And lately I've realized Asian guys are turning my head far more than my fellow "whities" (term my ex-pat friends and I used in Asia when referring to other Caucasians). Hm... am I developing a fetish?
That smooth chest is a bonus, don't think otherwise... us white girls are finally becoming enlightened to the myriad of choices that are out there!

Fii - rock-on my vanilla sista! So. . .what are you wearing? 8p

Hey Fii, that smoothness is like my Achilles Chest. For some reason I grew up hairy like a chia pet (tm Robin Williams) and then it went from merely long and tangled to grey. I missed out on the genetic lottery there. Fortunately everything can be rectified with wax and a lot of screaming.

I thought that this was a timely story. In the British media, this issue tends to be played out with far more regularity.
Some of the quoted assumptions that Asian family dynamics are necessarily "oppressive" as opposed to enhancing one's quality of life are of course subjective.