A Singaporean travel content creator recently shared her experience of \u201cunderstanding what being a \u2018minority\u2019 feels like\u201d during her time abroad \u2014 garnering heated responses online as netizens slammed her for lacking empathy. <\/p>\n
Olivia, who goes by @olliechinny on TikTok, said in a post on May 1: \u201cIt took LEAVING Singapore for me to finally understand what being a \u2018minority\u2019 feels like.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the post, the 33-year-old said that she \u201cnever had to question\u201d her sense of belonging when residing in Singapore, as she is ethnically Chinese.<\/p>\n
Growing up in an \u201cartificially homogenous environment\u201d \u2014 including a Chinese school and church \u2014 meant she had \u201clittle\u201d interaction with peers from other races or cultures. <\/p>\n
\u2018This is what it feels like to be not fully seen\u2019<\/h2>\n
However, moving to Switzerland in 2019 due to family reasons and work marked a significant change.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI was suddenly hyper-aware of how different I am and how I looked as a yellow-skinned Asian,\u201d she wrote. \u201cHow rare it was to see someone who reflected me here, and how that subconsciously shapes your confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia also recounted that others often assumed she was from China, Japan, or South Korea without first asking her.<\/p>\n
Being immersed in a culture different from her own meant she sometimes had to pretend to understand underlying jokes, smiling and nodding while \u201ctrying to fill in the blanks\u201d silently.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo\u2026 This is what it feels like to be not fully seen. That this was probably also how my Malay and Indian colleagues might have felt back home,\u201d she wrote, citing instances where conversations defaulted to Mandarin and jokes based on culturally specific references. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just diversity on paper. It\u2019s more about how we make every individual feel like they belong in the room,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Netizens split over post<\/h2>\n
Many netizens were supportive of the post, recounting similar experiences.<\/p>\n
One said that living abroad would encourage people to \u201cbe more understanding of others\u201d, while another said that it \u201cchanges your awareness of identity\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever too late to learn,\u201d another netizen said. \u201cProud of you for coming to a realisation of the daily struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, others took issue with the post, including TikToker @brownmasc, who said she was \u201calready pissed off\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, was empathy not available in Singapore?\u201d she asks in a May 5 post which received over 151,100 views. In the video, she said Olivia\u2019s post suggested that she did not \u201clisten to brown people or minorities in Singapore\u201d.<\/p>\n
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