Indolink.com takes a look at a new book, Sexual Naturalization, by Indian-American scholar Susan Koshy, which highlights the historical role of sex (or rather the prohibition of) in U.S. immigration policy:
“…Antimiscegnation laws worked in conjunction with immigration and naturalization laws to impede the reproduction of Asian immigrant communities, position Asians as racial aliens and sexual deviants, and secure the future of the United States as a white nation.” Susan Koshy.
For nearly fifteen years, Indian-American scholar Susan Koshy has been probing certain key historical elements that impact South Asians in America. For instance, she prods the racial undercurrent that define whiteness, ethnicity, gender, color, and citizenship as it is reflected in the American response to Asian immigrants.
I thought this book might make an interesting read for many SM readers. Judging from comments left following previous posts on our site, many white people that are one half of a white/South Asian couple have enjoyed our website because it has provided them with even a little bit of extra insight into their significant other’s culture. History books that outline what it took to enjoy the freedoms we have today are always interesting to me at least.
…the law claimed that interrracial sex was deviant and dangerous and viewed the sexuality of non-whites in opposition to white middle class sexual practices and family values. Koshy goes on to reveal how, for Asian Americans, including South Asian Americans, the antimiscegnation laws reaffirmed their status as perpetual foreigners, as racial and sexual aliens. Not only were sexual relationships between the predominantly male Asian immigrants and white women outlawed, but American women who married noncitizen Asian men were denaturalized. What’s even worse, popular discourse identified Asian women as prostitutes and “bachelor ” communities of Asian migrants as aberrant and pathological sexual formations.
Koshy shows how the presence of large numbers of new immigrants often concentrated in urban centers triggered fears of lawless and deviant sexuality, the proliferation of vice and prostitution, and the contamination of American genetic stock.
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p>Some things never change I guess. Large concentrations of immigrants in urban centers seem destined to trigger fears of vice and contamination, and now terrorism in contemporary times.
Koshy reveals that laws that originally banned sexual relations between blacks and whites were eventually extended to prohibit marriages between whites and “Indians” (native Americans), “Mongolians” ( Chinese , Japanese, and Koreans), “Hindus/Asiatic Indians” (official term for south asians) and “Malays” (Filipinos).Actually the earliest antimiscegnation laws that were passed in 17th century Maryland and Virginia affected the first South Asians who were brought as indentured slaves by the East India Company to the American colonies. Thus, records from the Maryland State Archives reveal that a daughter born in 1680 to an East Indian man and his Irish wife, was branded a mullato and sold as a slave in Maryland — as a result of antimiscegnation law.
Wow!! shockingly interesting
As one of the resident SM half-breeds, big-ups to Abhi and this post 🙂
Will have to add this book to the wishlist
Thank you for this post. Also in the later half of the post you highlited how Indians too were brought in as slaves. This is a revelation. Last I heard about a similar thing was a review about this movie (can’t remember the name) which showed the plight of Indians who were brought in as slaves to work for the British in the Caribbean. Thanks again.
I think Dr. Taraknath Das was a contemporary freedom fighter of the Gadarites, who were Indian freedom fighters in the US. Gadar movement is one of the most fascinating part of Indian freedom movement to me.
I wonder how the descendents of those indian slaves have fared…. if there are any people out there who have this in their history… that would be interesting to learn about.
desitrain queried…
here you go… guiana, 1838
Ang mused
An aside, closer to home – you might have heard of Delhi (pronounced Dell-hai) – the storey is that the first postmaster for the region was indian – he basically maintained this outpost in the middle of nowhere – and all the farmers (mostly tobacco country) – came by to pick up mail from him – gradually shops took root around the postal outpost and the town took shape – the honour for naming the new town went to the first postmaster – ergo, Delhi.
Well, historically, Indian civilization has always been a slave. First the Aryans invaded and showed it light in its dark world, then Akbar introduced religious tolerance and the british brought it to civilized world from dark ages.
A little slavery here and there is like a drop in the ocean of slaves.
sweetie, it’s cute when you try to trawl. hugs and kisses xoxo
dhaavak.. you were smart enough to save yourself from the “trawl”… but now that I have said it, it seems very true – from a birds eye view, doesnt it?
too many people have “Desi” in their handle here. i’m confused.
No, you’re not. I am.
Confused (Desi)
Keep in mind that these antimiscegnation laws were at a time when slavery was the norm for non-Whites. In fact, Blacks faced similar laws and social treatment until as recently as 1968.
It’s only in the last 30 years that some sort of equality has been established. My fear is that with the evangelical loonies like Pat Robertson getting ever more popular, certain sickening episodes of American history may repeat themselves under new minority-bashing tools like terorism.
Theres a pbs doccumentary called “roots in the sand”. It was primarily about early indian famers who moved to CA. In it there were also references to antimescegenation practices. Hers the link http://www.pbs.org/rootsinthesand/a_antimisc.html
I met my husband in Trinidad, a descendant of indentured laborers (they didn’t call them slaves) and he is one of the most brilliant people I have come across. There are countless other brilliant Trinidadian/Indians (4th&5th gen Indians) so, overall I think they have done remarkably well.
Details on the first Indian-American or Desi slaves in colonial America can be found in my article at: http://www.asianamerican.net/article10.html or http://www.indolink.com/Analysis/a121403-021037.php
Print versions were published June 2001 in India-West and in August 2004 issue of Mantram.
SM readers interested in the articles may contact me at: indiaspora@gmail.com
francis c. assisi
There was raceism in the early part of America’s history? I am shocked I must read this book.
So all this book talks about is that even thought non-whites where looked as less then humans, the real crime is not letting them bang white women?
Details on the first Indian-American or Desi slaves in colonial America can be found in my article at: http://www.asianamerican.net/article10.html or http://www.indolink.com/Analysis/a121403-021037.php
Print versions were published June 2001 in India-West and August 2004 in Mantram
francis c. assisi
Francis, Fascinating info! With regards to my original query, I guess it would be hard to trace the descendents given their names, and the fact that rather heterogeneous indian features blend right into whatever population they are mixing with.
I have to get this book.
wonder what would happen if things based things off of the emotinal mentailtiy intead of who looks like what. the book does sound interesting!
My fear is that with the evangelical loonies like Pat Robertson getting ever more popular, certain sickening episodes of American history may repeat themselves under new minority-bashing tools like terorism.
well, pat robertson was pro-integration and earned the wrath of his segregationist father for that. the fact is that black americans are amongst the most evangelical of the ethnic groups in this nation. not to say that southern white christianity has not partaken of racism prior to 1965, but racism is not one of the sins of the modern day christian right from what i can tell. i have seen modern day literature which shows for example a pair of couples, one white-white but noted as christian-non-christian, and one white-black and christian-christian, and the pamphlet affirms that the latter is the proper and divinly ordained relationship, not the former.
anyway, i’m not a fan of evangelicals, but i don’t believe institutional racism is a big problem in modern day conservative christianity, at least at the elite levels of opinion leaders. even jerry falwell began to baptise and preach to blacks in the late 1960s….
To me, this was the most interesting part of the article:
This means that citizenship was so tied up with whiteness that women could lose their rights as an American if they married an Asian. We’re not talking about her children being considered non-American, we’re talking about a white woman having her citizenship stripped from her, merely for the “crime” of marrying a non-white.
Wow. I knew it, but I had forgotten.
I support the anti-miscegenation laws to preserve our great race (Indian race).
Conversation between American white and non-American brown, after seeing this post:
“Do you think I would have humped you if I could have lost my citizenship over it?”
“Yes, white women have always been dirty b****s.”
Have had this conversation many times before. Brown man firmly believes that “liberal white women” and their uncontrollable sexual desires have historically been a progressive force in miscegenation. Sheeeez. Labelling others’ behavior as deviant/exotic certainly goes both ways. 😉
There is one notable exception — Bob Jones University, the fundamentalist Christian school that banned inter-racial dating until the year 2000.
According to a Christianity Today article on the subject, “The school had justified its ban on interracial dating by saying that God created people differently for a reason.”
This article goes on to claim, “Ironically, the policy was not instituted in response to concerns of white parents, but came after an Asian family threatened to sue the school when their son, who was a student at the school, nearly married a white girl.”
Speaking of slavery and Indians in North America, has anyone here heard of China Poblana? Her story is incredible and the mark she left on Mexican culture is indelible. I first heard the name of the Mexican dress and started researching the origin. I was surprised and enthralled by her story. take a look: http://www.houstonculture.org/mexico/lachina.html
I’m not as enthralled with the La China Poblana story as you seem to be, Manpriya.
And Razib wrote:
“racism is not one of the sins of the modern day christian right from what i can tell. i have seen modern day literature which shows for example a pair of couples, one white-white but noted as christian-non-christian, and one white-black and christian-christian, and the pamphlet affirms that the latter is the proper and divinely ordained relationship, not the former.”
Sins, huh? Interesting choice of word. Anyway, I would disagree with you. Teasing the strands of racism away from religious malfeasance sounds like an unfun task, and it’s almost 8pm. So rather than go do research, I’m going to posit the following: racism was rampant in the Protestant-dominated South. Do you think it would have prospered without the support of religious leaders? Do you think it’s been eradicated from churches today?
That wasn’t rhetorical. The correct answer is “no.”
There are many churches that practice tolerance and are very inclusive racially. There are probably just as many that are strictly segregated along race lines. Not just white, but Korean, Ethiopian, Filipino, and more. They still exist, and they help foster racial misconceptions in their own congregations, even if only inadvertantly.
Funny how the white men who were harboring illegitimate children with their slaves were trying to control miscegnation.
Agree with gori gori chupke chupke. After arriving here, its unbelievable the number of times I have been asked by friends back home if I have ‘finally’, managed to ‘give it’ to a white woman. (“Kyon … kisi gori ko lagaya kya?”) And these are educated people with fancy degrees. As if its somehow a major achievement of your life… ‘better’ than doing it with a desi. (They never ask if I’ve done it with a black girl)
There is a lot of “fetishizing” (God help me, even I’m using that word now) of white women within some quarters of South Asian society, especially back in the subcontinent. You can see it in a lot of desi music videos these days too.
Not that there’s anything wrong with fancying white women, of course, but they are just normal human beings like everyone else at the end of the day.
There is a lot of “fetishizing” (God help me, even I’m using that word now) of white women within some quarters of South Asian society
Its probably in most quarters.
The movement to abolish slavery was led by Christians. William Wilberforce and the american abolitionists used religous arguments to denounce slavery. The hindutva types love to blame Christianity for slavery though slavery has been widespread in many cultures.
if only the subcontinentals knew that 60% of “goris/goras” in the US are clinically obese…haha
Ooooh what I could say about this topic.
Suno yaaron…
I have an American friend who is married to a nice bengali man. This nice bengali man is under five feet tall and very skinny. Not bad looking by face, but no looker either. Anyway, she lives in India and after years of trying to get visa for USA so he could work here to support his wife and child who reside in India, finally got the visa and got to USA where he told me, “everyone in India warned me about American women, how I have to protect myself from them and be faithful to my wife and I feel that I am very strong and I can resist anybody. No woman can tempt me.”
I’m like, “um, I really don’t think you will have a problem.”
White American Christians, particularly white Christian women and especially from the US South are more bigoted against non-whites than caste Hindus and Brahmans are bigoted against chamars, shudras and untouchables. In fact, I learnt about untouchability in this country from white christians, more than I ever did from Brahmans and caste Hindus in Kanpur and Madurai.