Korean Job Discussion Forums

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

This is from a post in Job Related. I wanted to see what people thought. It was a surprise to me that people found "white boy" to be racist so I want to get other people's input.

Koreans prefer to have a "White Boy" tutor their kids in English.

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

I don't really have a problem with it. Maybe depends who's saying it. I kind of imagine it's a kyopo who's jealous because it's hard to get jobs.

query29 · Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Location: right behind you

"boy" makes the phrase sound derogatory, but have we gotten to the point where simply stating the ethnicity of someone is considered racist?

If so then my black friend is going to be pissed!

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

dogshed · Joined: 28 Apr 2006

Captain Corea · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Location: Seoul

I asked before... at what age is it not appropriate to call someone a boy?

If you said a White Male, I don't think people would have objected.

cwemory · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Location: Gunpo, Korea

"white boy"'s only racist if it has "punk ass" before it.

oneofthesarahs · Joined: 05 Nov 2006 Location: Sacheon City

cwemory · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Location: Gunpo, Korea

Nemesis · Joined: 29 Jan 2006 Location: Shanghai

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

I think the problem isn't with the word "white" but with the word "boy". If the phrase had been "white guy" or "white male" then it wouldn't be offensive. Maybe its that "boy" implies immaturity and ignorance.

After some reflection, I'm starting to understand why it would be offensive to some people.

The context of the sentence was to describe a race/gender WITHOUT any racist undertones. Obviously, due to the nature of writing on a message board, the message can easily be misinterpreted. Depending on the tone of voice and the inflection of the words, I can understand how someone could interpret that as a derogatory statement.

Qinella · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib

"Well, Debbie thinks this is all about her biological clock, and I.."

"She stopped screaming long enough to tell you that?"

"Huh? No no no no, no, the other Debbie. Debbie the teacher.. ?"

"Oh, you mean.. Black Debbie."

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa--why is she "Black" Debbie?"

"No, not in a BAAAD way. It's just to tell them apart, because she's.. black!"

Tell me who and I'll roll through with a cookie for your whole crew. (No Google, son.)

Beej · Joined: 05 Mar 2005 Location: Eungam Loop

"White Boy" is used a racial slur. I was called it a lot growing up. Has nothing to do with age, just skin color. As far as racial slurs go, it just doesnt pack the punch that the N-word or other slurs have. "Honkey"never caught on. Maybe whites dont care about being called names?

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

Isn't a 'boy' a male of less than 18 years old? By the general rule of thumb used in western countries.

So, who would want someone less than 18 to teach their children? I would consider that too young to be an experienced teacher.

Therefore, if you take out the meaning of 'boy' to be younger than 18, then what we are left with is the other usage of 'boy'. The kind of usage we associate with racist southern Americans when addressing black men.

So I voted yes. It is a racist term.

But it could be said by white people themselves with a sense of humor.

tomato · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 4:14 pm Post subject:

It implies racism on the part of Koreans, not on the part of the speaker.