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Assimilation and Masquerade Self-Constructions of Indo-Dutch Women

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Assimilation and Masquerade Self-Constructions of Indo-Dutch Women 03 Pattynama (to/d) 29/6/00 8:26 am Page 281 Assimilation and Masquerade Self-Constructions of Indo-Dutch Women Pamela Pattynama UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM ABSTRACT Drawing on postmodern feminist theories of culture and identity, this article explores a model of ‘masquerading’ instead of ‘assimilation’ in analysing self-constructions of migrant women of ‘mixed race’ living in the Netherlands. Rather than as assimilated objects, these migrant women, called Indo-Dutch women, are regarded as agents who effectively intervene in the construction of national identities through masquerading strategies and ways of communication. The article also shows how masquerading strategies form a part of the conflicted colonial history of Indo-Dutch women and as such constitute contemporary life narratives and identities. One incident in a life narrative is used as an example to illustrate different interpretations. KEY WORDS assimilation N Dutch colonialism N gender N masquerade N migration This article focuses on the persistent influence of the Dutch colonial past in postcolonial processes of identity formations. Drawing on postmodern feminist theories of culture and identity, it explores a model of ‘mas- querading’ instead of ‘assimilation’ in analysing self-constructions of migrant women of ‘mixed race’ living in the Netherlands.1 These migrant women are known as Indo-Dutch women. In the 1950s and 1960s about 300,000 Indo-Dutch people arrived in the Netherlands. They are the progeny of social-sexual encounters between male European colonizers and colonized Asian women during the 350 years of Dutch colonialism in the former East Indies (Indonesia). In the former colony, under very rigid colonial rule, Indo-Dutch had taken up an ambiguous, in-between position, distinct from and above the ‘natives’, but also subordinated in dominant, white society. As the mixed offspring The European Journal of Women’s Studies Copyright © SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi), Vol. 7, 2000: 281–299 [1350-5068(200008)7:3;281–299;013656] 03 Pattynama (to/d) 29/6/00 8:26 am Page 282 282 The European Journal of Women’s Studies 7(3) of their white fathers, however, Indo-Dutch possessed the Dutch nation- ality and belonged to the white community, that is, if their fathers had acknowledged them as their own. Immediately after the Second World War, during the Indonesian War of Independence (1945–9), people of mixed blood were subjected to mistrust and physical abuse or violence by Indonesian nationalists since they were considered traitors of the national cause. Many people decided to leave for Holland. These so-called Indische Nederlanders (which can be translated as ‘the Indo-Dutch’) were the first post-Second World War migrants to arrive in Holland. Nowadays, they and their offspring form the largest and most established ethnic minority group in Holland’s multicultural society.2 PROJECT ON LIFE NARRATIVES The narrative of a second-generation woman with which I have chosen to illustrate my point is one in a series which forms the basis of an ongoing research project regarding intercultural encounters and female self- constructions of identity. Personal interviews, which are taped and then later transcribed and conservatively edited, form the basis of my research. The interviewees are women of ‘mixed race’ living in the Netherlands and in Indonesia. They have either lived in the colonial society of the Dutch Indies themselves (in Holland usually called first-generation women) or were born after the independent Republic of Indonesia came into being (1949), in most of the cases after their parents’ migration to Holland (second generation). Although a free associative flow usually occurs during interviews, they are framed and steered by my specific questions pertaining to the ways in which the women negotiate between ascribed and self-acclaimed representations of themselves in a (post)colonial context of ‘race’, gender, class, sexuality and ethnicity. Life narratives are self-representations in which constructions of personal memories are crucial (Ganguly, 1992). In this case, memories of the former East Indies and the circumstances of migration are pivotal. My focus on the persistent influence of the colonial past on Indo-Dutch identifications and self-constructions however, results also from the fact that current conceptualizations of Dutch multiculturalism are interwoven with the ‘cultural archives’ produced by the colonial past (Anderson, 1983; Locher-Scholten, 1995; Young, 1995). Imbued with gender-specific myths and gendered rhetoric, colonial imagery is therefore equally oper- ative in the tensions between ascribed and acclaimed identities among different generations of Indo-Dutch women (Pattynama, 1994; Gouda, 1995).3 I wish to argue that Indo-Dutch life narratives can bring more insight into processes of identity formation when they are treated in terms of ‘masquerading’ than when the more traditional terms of assimilation 03 Pattynama (to/d) 29/6/00 8:26 am Page 283 Pattynama: Self-Constructions of Indo-Dutch Women 283 are used. Since collective and individual identifications are formed in a sociocultural arena in which ways of being are constantly renegotiated, my project endeavours to contribute to the debate on and understanding of the formation of identities in contemporary Holland (Wekker, 1998). IMMIGRATION AND ASSIMILATION IN THE NETHERLANDS The postcolonial Dutch concept of multiculturalism is often limited to social tensions and problematic differences between ‘we’ (the authentic, white Dutch) and ‘they’ (the newcomers, immigrants, non-white groups). The distinguishing element in this conceptualization is nationality. After the Second World War, the Netherlands was confronted with various groups of newcomers from further afield, mainly as a result of decoloniz- ation and labour immigration. Although Holland never wanted to perceive of itself as a destination for immigrants, it is, compared to sur- rounding countries, an immigration country par excellence. Newcomers, however, tend to be regarded as ‘temporary residents’ (tijdelijke verbli- jvers), while the term ‘immigrant’ is avoided.4 When Holland was forced to grant sovereignty to the Republic of Indo- nesia in 1949 it was considered ‘natural’ that the ‘pure’ white settlers in the previous Dutch colony, the so-called totoks, would return to Holland, but also that most people of ‘mixed race’ would give up their claim to Dutch citizenship and opt for Indonesian citizenship. The Dutch govern- ment maintained that these people belonged in Indonesia and viewed their integration in Dutch society as impossible and undesired. Conse- quently, the Indo-Dutch were initially discouraged from coming and their passage to Holland was even impeded. The emotional and historical ties to Holland of the Indo-Dutch were, however, totally underestimated. When large groups of ‘mixed-race’ people began to arrive, the Dutch government perceived them as temporary migrants and searched eagerly for an alternative, or an ultimate, destination for the Indo-Dutch. But their emotional bonds with Holland and legal position as Dutch citizens proved strong enough to give the migrants political strength. After its initial reservation, the Dutch government opted for an intensive policy campaign aimed at resocialization and assimilation of the group (Willems and Lucassen, 1994; Lucassen and Penninx, 1999: 140). SOCIAL AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Although developments in cultural studies have extensively interrogated the familiar models of assimilation and ethnic identity rooted in a male, Eurocentric tradition, the material situation in Holland differs from 03 Pattynama (to/d) 29/6/00 8:26 am Page 284 284 The European Journal of Women’s Studies 7(3) theoretical developments elsewhere. For centuries Holland disclaimed being an immigration country. In 1970, in response to the criticism of newcomers, the Dutch government abandoned the term ‘assimilation’. Nevertheless, newcomers are still expected to adapt to Dutch ways as soon as possible. The Dutch concept of assimilation is, therefore, the process by which the ethnic-cultural and social position of Indo-Dutch would be, in due course, similar to that of the supposedly homogeneous indigenous people in the receiving society. This concept of assimilation does not imply complete ‘sameness’: second and following generations may have preserved typical characteristics of the first generation. It does, however, imply that the newcomers are seen and see themselves first and foremost as members of the indigenous society (Lucassen, 1998: 11). My research takes this background into account and starts from the theoretical assumptions of ‘transformative incorporation’, which means that I take the active participation and sociocultural contributions of migrants as guidelines in my explorations (Josipovici, 1993). This starting point opens up possibilities to go beyond the usual notions of migrants as either temporary residents or troublesome minorities. Migrants will be regarded as subjective agents who effectively intervene in the construc- tion of national identities through their social behaviour and ways of communication. In line with this point of departure, my project adopts an interdisciplinary perspective by which cultures are defined as dynamic processes in which identities are constantly (re)produced. Accordingly, identity can be defined as the contingent outcome of struggles over exter- nally ascribed and self-acclaimed identities (Grossberg, 1996; Hall and du Gay, 1996). The social order
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