There are some very distinct social differences between the U.S. and India; one of these is the social acceptance of staring. In India, not only is it completely socially acceptable but it's the norm to blatantly stare at anyone walking by. Well, as long as that anyone is white.
Everywhere we go we are a major object of attention and everyone stares; we are the only white people I've seen in Visakhapatnam so far and we stand out quite a bit. However; the types of staring can vary.
1) The Gape-and-Recover
This type of staring is usually reserved for use by children or mothers with children. It starts with a startled gaping from afar, but once they recover from their shock they they will approach us and talk to us. They ask us what our names are and laugh at our inability to pronounce theirs.
2) The Drive-by
When scooters drive us as we are walking, they can tell when coming from any direction that we are white. As the scooter passes us, everyone riding turns his or her head to keep us in their line of sight. This usually makes us worried for the lives of the passengers because no one on the scooter is watching where the scooter is headed.
3) The Rickshaw Duck
We mainly travel around Visakhapatnam on rickshaws, which has a low-hanging roof which blocks the view of our faces from the average passerby. In order to see our faces, people on the road come as close as they can to the rickshaw while traveling on their scooter, rickshaw, bike, or car and duck their heads as low as they can in order to see our faces in the rickshaw.
4) The Leer
My least favorite of the stares; it's quite unsettling and causes me to locate and move towards the nearest guy who's on the program with me. It involves a group of men standing together just watching us as we walk down the street; occasionally there is an attempt of contact. This usually just means the boldest of the group comes over and asks for a 'snap' or a kiss, at which point C, the lone male in our group, shoos the leerers away.
5) The Pass-by
This is my second least favorite type of staring; beaten only by the leering stare. It's similar to the drive by but is specific to buses. It happens often; buses pass by and everyone on the bus presses themselves to the window and watch us pass; this means there are usually upwards of 50 pairs of eyes silently watching from the bus window as it passes. Even worse is when the bus is stopped and as we walk past the bus every eye is on us as we slowly pass the long bus.
While all this staring can be unsettling, a majority of the time it comes from a pure curiosity at the oddity that is white BYU students wandering around.
Everywhere we go we are a major object of attention and everyone stares; we are the only white people I've seen in Visakhapatnam so far and we stand out quite a bit. However; the types of staring can vary.
1) The Gape-and-Recover
This type of staring is usually reserved for use by children or mothers with children. It starts with a startled gaping from afar, but once they recover from their shock they they will approach us and talk to us. They ask us what our names are and laugh at our inability to pronounce theirs.
2) The Drive-by
When scooters drive us as we are walking, they can tell when coming from any direction that we are white. As the scooter passes us, everyone riding turns his or her head to keep us in their line of sight. This usually makes us worried for the lives of the passengers because no one on the scooter is watching where the scooter is headed.
3) The Rickshaw Duck
We mainly travel around Visakhapatnam on rickshaws, which has a low-hanging roof which blocks the view of our faces from the average passerby. In order to see our faces, people on the road come as close as they can to the rickshaw while traveling on their scooter, rickshaw, bike, or car and duck their heads as low as they can in order to see our faces in the rickshaw.
4) The Leer
My least favorite of the stares; it's quite unsettling and causes me to locate and move towards the nearest guy who's on the program with me. It involves a group of men standing together just watching us as we walk down the street; occasionally there is an attempt of contact. This usually just means the boldest of the group comes over and asks for a 'snap' or a kiss, at which point C, the lone male in our group, shoos the leerers away.
5) The Pass-by
This is my second least favorite type of staring; beaten only by the leering stare. It's similar to the drive by but is specific to buses. It happens often; buses pass by and everyone on the bus presses themselves to the window and watch us pass; this means there are usually upwards of 50 pairs of eyes silently watching from the bus window as it passes. Even worse is when the bus is stopped and as we walk past the bus every eye is on us as we slowly pass the long bus.
While all this staring can be unsettling, a majority of the time it comes from a pure curiosity at the oddity that is white BYU students wandering around.
Lauren this post was quite interesting. I love your blog :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you have analyzed, categorized and ordered the types of staring. It sounds very unsettling, but then, I am sure the American way of looking like we couldn't care less about anyone else, or the attempt to be subtle while actually leering out of the corner of one's eyes. A sense of humor like yours helps you handle these cultural oddities. It sounds like the people of India are kind of refreshing in their blatant ogling.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are having such a great experience. But tell those men (learn the telugu for "beat it, buster!") that there will be no "snapping" coming from your direction.
Love what you are sharing.
Oops. I had an incomplete sentence in that post. Doh.
ReplyDelete