Wen Gao at The Common Reader:
My husband and I, newlyweds of just one year, live an ordinary life. We drag each other to Costco on Saturdays, jointly complain about how much we hate a specific restaurant on the Delmar Loop, and endlessly debate the China and America relationship. Yes, he walks through the world with the undeniable privileges of a White American man. And yes, his “expert” insights into China often leave me caught between a laugh and a heavy sigh.
This is my seventh year living abroad on my own. Independence has been my practical necessity. Then came this marriage, and ever since I have been absorbed into a narrative I never signed up for. When I posted our courthouse wedding photos on social media, one online friend, perhaps with good intentions, left a comment: “If this is for the sake of making a living, I wish you luck.” Other responses were less generous. I was told I was being devalued by a pathetic courthouse wedding; I was brainwashed; I sold myself for a green card, and so on…. It is fascinating how people can extract an entire narrative of victimhood or greediness from a few photos.
More here.
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