May 2010 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

column
Local guys not hot enough?
by Richard Soemita
I covered a column before regarding SPGs, but lately I have
noticed that a lot of angmoh guys seem to hook up with
the local girls. This is a great thing, since I also come from
an interracial relationship. Within my Singapore circle of
friends this seems to be rather the norm than exception.
Even more female local celebs are hooking up with
Caucasians, for example: Jamie Yeo, Carole Lin, Joanne Peh,
or even local blogger like Xiaxue. This is hardly surprising
given the high influx of foreigners into Singapore and the
fact that almost 25% of the population is made up of non-
Singaporeans.
What is the reason that Singaporean girls, including
celebs, prefer angmohs rather than local guys? I have asked
some of my lady friends this question and needless to say
that they all have an angmoh partner. Some of the answers
were quiet shocking, but not totally surprising. The local
girls think that, in general, the Singaporean local guys are
really losing their “hot” and think that most Caucasians
are hot. There seems to be a lot of local girls now who
are specifically looking for angmoh partners and I would
not classify these under the SPGs. I get this request quite
often from these girls since they know that I have a lot of
angmoh male friends. I quote one of my lady friends: ‘In
all, many guys I have met who are local Singaporean men
are still mummy’s boy, in-sensitive, rude, have no manners
and some are just plain lazy to even wear proper clothes to
go on a date. There are no ugly women, but only lazy ones;
compare this statement with men - there are Hot Men
everywhere if Men are willing to put in hard work. Building
a character and hitting the gym to look at least presentable
at any situation should put the “Hotness” back to local
Men’.
The interesting thing is that it is not necessarily the
looks of the local guys, but more the attitude of the
angmohs. I’m not by far Brat Pitt or Jack Neo, but most of
the time I’m being mistaken for a local… until the ladies
hear me talking and start checking me out. Then somehow,
I see ‘she’s-interested-in-me-scale’ shooting up from 1 to
8! Because the regular complaint I get is that local guys
are so boring. But lets take a look at the local girls and
their perception of the ideal man. In today’s society, local
women are becoming more successful; both personally
and in business, due to better education and Singapore
becoming a welfare state compared to the neighbouring
countries. Ahead of HKG and Tokyo, I would say that
Singapore is by far the most westernised country in Asia.
Marriages seems to be postponed and the birth rate of
the Singaporean population seem to slacken as a result.
These women tend to focus more and more on their own
career rather than building a family and get children.
The typical local girl of around 30 therefore seems to
be as competitive and career minded as her European
counterpart. They have their own car, sometimes own
a condo and have a good salary. This particular profile
has become a ‘threat’ to the local guys, since they do
not behave like the traditional obeying Asian girl as most
local guys expect. They are the contrary: they make more
money than the local guys, think ‘European’, don’t take any
nonsense and are very demanding when it comes to a new
partner. Rumours say that this kind of type prefers to have
an affair with the older (married) guys who are financially
more powerful and mentally more able to handle these
women. After all, career comes first, but these ladies still
want to have some fun and cheating husbands seem to be
quite accepted here.
When I’m in the cab, for some strange reason
Uncle soon asks me if I’m married. When I mention the
‘Singapore girl’ they all strongly recommend me not
to get involved with them, obviously referring to the
‘danger profile’. Recently, I had a friend over from India
who decided to move back home after she has lived in
Boston for more than 10 years. She currently has a local
boyfriend from Delhi, but she seems to go through the
same ‘transformation’. Her partner can’t cope with her
because she is too westernized and she can’t cope with
him because he’s far too local in her mindset.
Basically, there is nothing wrong with the local
Singaporean guys. It is the Singaporean girls that have
changed their attitude over the last few years and of course
more exposure towards angmoh men. The grass is always
greener on the other side and this has attracted both sexes
to explore different cultures and personalities. Perhaps
it is the local guys that need to change their attitude to
a more ‘European profile’ in order to cope with the local
girl’s transformation. Because I still have to come across an
angmoh guy who wears slippers and shorts on a Saturday
dinner date, talks about his job and 2 kilo metal watch all
night and finishes his entire 4 course meal and glass of
water within 35 minutes.
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