Challenging white privilege in Asia

White privilege is a problem everywhere, whether in Asia, America, Africa or any other continent. It is a myth propagated by the white-washed media about how "white people are superior" or "white is beautiful". It is sad that there are still people today in an increasingly globalised world who are delusional enough to believe such myths, such as those in Asia. One blog noted:

"Western countries are struggling to become a “post racial society.” In Asian countries, however, being white is definitely a plus to finding a job, renting a house or getting an Asian girl. White people enjoy all the privileges of being white even though they are far away from their home.
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Asia is believed to be a land free of racism because Asian people seem to talk less about race. However, there is no such utopia where every race and gender can be treated fairly. These examples of white privilege and racism in Asia prove racism also exists there even though many Asian people believe that racism only exists in western countries. Many Asian people never think their behavior such as favoring white people can be racism. They assume themselves to be innocent. It is necessary for Asian people to be aware of the fact that their careless behavior can also result in racism and changes to their behavior."

Yes, there is a need for awareness about white privilege especially in Asia because people need to realise that they are "worshipping" white people, consciously or unconsciously, at their own expense, and are perpetuating self-hatred of their own race or skin colour. One African American man who has lived many years in Asia summed it up aptly in his comment:

"Asians really have not evolved to the point of understanding racism as Americans do. It is a relatively new concept."

People, especially Asians, need to realise that favouring lighter-skinned people and trying to bleach their own skin in order to look like those white models in movies and advertisements are actually doing harm to themselves and others because they have not learnt to accept themselves for who they are and will have difficulty accepting others who don't fit into their norms and ideals. Likewise, white European or American or Caucasian tourists who visit Asia need to be more conscious of their white privilege and not use it to exploit the non-white locals or look down on their non-white counterparts. 
For example, I read this photo blog recently by a white woman, saying:

"There are a million incredible places in the world, but the continent that keeps drawing me back is Asia. The reasons are numerous why I always return, it's the colours though that continue to capture my attention and imagination no matter where I go."

I can't help but think to myself that perhaps another reason why she is drawn to Asia is because she enjoys her white privilege whenever she visits Asian countries. It is an unspoken fact, and although she may not think she is exploiting Asians, her ancestors unfortunately had a disturbing history of exploiting people of colour, and treating them as if they were some displays in a "human zoo" that somehow fascinated them. Could that white woman be thinking along the same line whenever she visits Asian countries to take photographs of the local people and places there?
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Last but not least, I myself am also dealing with this issue of white privilege because as an editor, I happened to be working with some white privileged authors who wrote international English books for the ELT (English Language Teaching) market. When I received feedback from one of the authors demanding that changes to some illustrations be done, such as the illustration of ice dens of polar bears in the North Pole region, because they are "awful and unrealistic", I was exasperated. I felt like saying, "What right do you have, O privileged white woman, to critique on how a polar bear's habitat should be depicted in a book when your own ancestors who hailed from Europe have invaded/colonised and stolen/plundered the land of polar bears that originally belonged to the indigenous peoples of North America? It is very easy for you to sit in your comfortable ivory tower far away from the heat and grime in countries in tropical Asia to nitpick and throw a hissy fit and expect the editors in Asia to bow down to your whims and fancies and kiss your feet. No way. In fact, the more white people choose to remain in their own delusion and demand that non-white people be subservient to them, the more I will endeavour to make known this systemic problem of white privilege in the hope that more people can be free from being conditioned by this myth and create a better and more equitable world.