Ben

           Shortcomings, by Adrian Tomine, explores Ben’s outlook on personal and romantic relationships as he goes through his relationships criticizing the Asian American culture. Throughout the story, Ben remains very negatively critical of the representation of the Asian culture. He criticizes the headlining film at the Asian American film festival stating, “why does everything have to be a big statement about race? Don’t any of these people just want to make a move that’s good?” Ben refuses to acknowledge that the systems of oppression that Asian Americans face. He states, “I mean… maybe I’d care more if I ever felt like I’d been the victim of some kind of… discrimination or something, but…” Ben chooses to blame any act of discrimination on the fact that he was a nerdy kid.  Although he thinks he is not the victim of discrimination, the negative and critical mentality that he has been socialized to have makes him a victim of the systems of oppression.  He does a great job at doing the media’s dirty work by oppressing himself and his own people. The irony! In “FOB” and “Whitewashed”: Identity and Internalized Racism Among Second Generation Asian Americans, the authors argue that, “by accepting and internalizing mainstream racist values and rationales, known as “sincere fiction,” subordinates, often without a conscious aware of doing so, justify the oppression of their group, with a belief in their own inferiority.” Basically Ben in a nutshell.

           There is a pressure placed on people of color to become Americanized citizens.  Not only do they want you to drop those chopsticks and pick up a fork, they want you to drop that dragon lady and find yourself a Georgia peach.  But please, don’t think this is a match making session going on here. It is all an illusion to make Asian Americans disassociate themselves with their ethnic cultures and submit to the so-called white beauty. Lets look at the facts: Ben’s porn collection. Blonde white women.  Ben’s series of rebound girls. Blonde white women. Ben’s description of his ideal woman. Blonde…… White……. Women. And Ben did not just come to the realization that he suddenly likes blonde white women. He has been socially constructed as an American citizen to associate beauty with images of……… blonde white women, which floods the media everyday, especially in magazines. 

            In The American Image of Beauty: Media Representations of Hair Color for Four Decades, Melissa Rich and Thomas Cash’s research shows that the overrepresentation of blondes in the media, specifically in the centerfolds of Playboy magazine, encourages men to “associate female blondeness with sexuality and beauty.”  They also clarify that blondeness is only associated with sexuality and beauty, not personality.  I guess we can finally all agree that blondes don’t necessarily do it better, however the media is still blonde-stained. The very specific image of blonde white women sparks erotic fantasies for Ben who seems to want to assimilate more with his American culture rather than with his Asian culture, especially when he “takes a break” from his Asian American girlfriend, Miko, and begins dating Sasha, a white “fence-sitter.” These media representation of Americanized beauty is the basis where Ben’s beauty standards come from when pursuing both Autumn and Sasha.  He wants the perfect woman, like the ones in his porn collection, but through his dating process, he learns that they are not what he expected them to be.

             Ben’s desire for white women brings out the insecurities of Asian American stereotypes that he claims he does not have and brings out further disassociations to his Asian culture. He is extremely excited to know that Sasha is a “fence-sitter.” Ben tells Alice, “If I’m gonna try to be with a white girl for the first time, maybe it’s a good thing if shes lesbian. Maybe she wont be so uh… size-conscious. That’s just, like, a bonus. I already thought she was great. I mean she seems smart, funny…” Classic. Just when Ben thought he was not affected by negative stereotypes portrayed in the media, he exposes the insecurities that he has about his man junk and his inability to measure up to his competitor.  But, whatevs. Ben’s not going to let a little assumption like that stop him from getting the girl of his dreams. In Ethnocentrism in Dating Preference for an American Sample: The Ingroup Bias in Social Context, the authors argue that concepts of status and beauty create outgroup favoritism. Because Ben wants to be a white, privileged individual who is not subjected to inequalities, he pursues white women. 

            However, neither Autumn nor Sasha please Ben, and he is stuck holding on to Miko.  When Ben goes out to New York to visit Alice, he finds out that Miko is dating and living with another man.  Multiple photographs of her are seen in the new boyfriend’s photography shop and when Ben sees a picture of Miko lying on his bed, he confronts her. It is evident that Ben still has feelings Miko when he asks for one more chance, but Miko refuses to settle and Ben is left heartbroken.