European patriarchal power dynamics of the colonial regime. As concubinage
characterised the exercise of patriarchal power by colonising men over Asian and
African women whilst displacing “native” husbands, it served as a means of reinforcing the hierarchical power dynamics between coloniser and colonised. 25
Moreover, the exploitation of native women through concubinage helped to
undermine the traditional power structures of native societies, eroding the authority
of native men. Thus, concubinage also impacted native men’s masculinity,
establishing inferiorit y to white man’s masculinity, and this stereotype would have
lasting ramifications and continue to affect men of colour. Masculinity, not just race, became a relevant factor in applying for US citizenship. 26
Furthermore, these relationships also allowed white men inexpensive
domestic services thus allowing imperial governments to reduce wages paid to administrators and military personnel. 27 However, it also posed a potential threat to
the developing racial hierarchies, as it could lead to an emergence of a mixed-race
population. For example, government and estate administrators in 1920s British
Malaya were apprehensive that existing wages would not allow European men to sustain their European wives in a middle-class lifestyle. 28 This posed a risk of
impoverishment to the white community, which in turn could undermine imperial
prestige. To mitigate this dilemma, concubinage was promoted as a solution, as it
was assumed that ‘native’ women would cost less to maintain. Historian Ann Stoler
has suggested that, in this colony concubinage was tolerated precisely because “poor whites” were not.’ 29 Thus, concubinage aided the perpetuation of colonial rule
as it served to undermine native power structures and promote racial hierarchies.
The regulation of sexuality between races also had to be controlled not only to
maintain segregation of the races and also the ‘purity’ of the white race. Regulating
interracial sexual relations was also deemed crucial as it was believed that native
family structures and sexualities could destabilase and potentially undermine the
25 Robert M. Buffington, Donna J. Guy, and Eithne Luibheid, pp. 70. 26 Vidal-Ortiz Salvador, and A., Robinson, Brandon, and Cristina Khan, pp. 21. 27 Robert M. Buffington, Donna J. Guy, and Eithne Luibheid, pp 71. 28 ibid. 29 Ann Laura Stoler, Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Race and Intimate in Colonial Rule (California: University of California Press, 2002), pp. 174.
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