A sarong party girl (also known as an SPG) is a woman in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and (to a lesser extent)

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

ethnicity who exclusively dates or socializes with men of

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

origin.

Etymology

The term "Sarong party girl" has its fairly innocuous roots in the late 1940s to early 1950s when

was still ruled by the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. As a general practice, the British forces personnel socialised very much among themselves, according to their military ranks and status (i.e.

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

as opposed to

enlisted men An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States mi ...

). However, there were some instances when specific local Singaporean "guests" were invited to social functions hosted by the British. The term "Sarong party" came into use to describe social functions which included local invited "ladies" who wore the

sarong A sarong or sarung () is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often has woven plaid o ...

, a native word for a wrap-around

skirt A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are fi ...

popular among local Singaporean men and women of the time.

Common stereotypes

Historically, the stereotypical "Sarong party girl" had a false foreign accent, was provocatively dressed, and exclusively dated or preferred

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

men either resident in Singapore or foreigners. The Sarong party girl stereotype in local entertainment is usually portrayed as a

gold-digging Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold ...

, husband-snatching Asian woman, and this perception contributed much to Singapore's decadent image in the 1970s, as seen in films such as ''

Saint Jack ''Saint Jack'' is a 1973 novel by Paul Theroux that was adapted into a 1979 film of the same name. It tells the life of Jack Flowers, a pimp in Singapore. Feeling hopeless and undervalued, Jack tries to make money by setting up his own bordello ...

''. Due to these stereotypes, women who are classified as Sarong party girls often have to endure negative sweeping statements. The Sarong party girl stereotype was popularised by a series of humorous books by Australian writer Jim Aitchison in the 1990s, offering a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

portrayal of the SPG and related aspects of Singaporean culture. Over time, the term has taken on a somewhat more derogatory meaning. Nowadays, Sarong party girls are no longer identified by a unique dress code or appearance, referring simply to any local woman who prefers to socialize with males of a Caucasian ethnicity, particularly for romantic or sexual relationships. A Sarong party girl is commonly perceived as a

fetishist A fetish (derived from the French , which comes from the Portuguese , and this in turn from Latin , 'artificial' and , 'to make') is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over oth ...

who is racist and discriminates against their own community and race stemming from

self-hatred Self-hatred is personal self-loathing or hatred of oneself, or low self-esteem which may lead to self-harm. In psychology and psychiatry The term "self-hatred" is used infrequently by psychologists and psychiatrists, who would usually describe ...

, while showing a favoritism towards white people and effectively abandoning their Asian identity.

Bibliography

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References

{{Reflist

External links

Dictionary definitions

from the ''Coxford Singlish Dictionary''from ''A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English''

Articles

Pejorative terms for women Singlish Interpersonal relationships Dating