Two Wongs Make it Right is more than just a clever take on that old saying. It’s also the name of a funny new AMWF vlog on Youtube hosted by Chinese American “Sum Ting Wong” and his white American wife “Never Wong” (not their real names). If you’re looking for videos that explore cultural differences in a relationship with lots of humor, you must subscribe to 2 Wongs Make it Right.
Here’s the introduction they wrote on their Youtube Channel:
A channel about the life of an interracial couple, as people like to call it AMWF (Asian Male Western Female). Like every couple, we have our differences. We want to explore the differences in our culture and background and share with you all in a fun and entertaining way. 这是一个亚男西女情侣 (AMWF) 生活的频道。像每对夫妇，我们有我们的分歧。 我们会用一个充满乐趣的方式和大家探索我们的文化和背景的差异。
You can also check out this special episode on their vlog to find out how this lovely couple met each other.
I sat down with Sum Ting Wong to ask a few questions about 2 Wongs Make It Right – from how he and his wife decided to start the channel to how humor can play an important role in discussing cultural differences.
P.S.: This is just the start in what I hope will be an ongoing series about vloggers out there. If you’re a vlogger and would like to be featured here – or know a vlogger I simply must interview – please contact me today!
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Tell us about how you decided to start this Youtube channel.
Well, actually it was thanks to my sister. She recently started watching a lot of YouTube videos about the quirks of Asian Americans and it resonated with her. She encouraged us to start our own YouTube channel with our own interracial experiences. My wife is relatively shy and I wasn’t sure if she was up for it. Surprisingly, she thought it was a great idea. It has been a fun way to bond and learn from each other.
I love the name of your channel, and also the fact that you call yourselves “SumTing Wong” and “Never Wong”. LOL! What’s the story behind it?
HAHA. The Wong last name gave my non-Asian friends all sorts of opportunities to make fun of me. And of course, I always feel like I am a bit abnormal from the rest, hence “Sum Ting Wong”. Also, a wise friend of mine once told me the secret to a happy marriage is a wife who is always right! ;D
I’ve noticed you love to explore culture in your episodes. For example, one of your popular videos is all about cultural differences in the foods you both like to eat, and another one discusses differences in how you celebrate the new year. Even better, you do it with humor. Do you think it’s important to have a sense of humor when dealing with cultural differences?
When we first started our channel, we wanted a theme rather than a collection of random ideas. We have a lot of differences (both culturally and personality-wise). The good thing is that we are both very open-minded and willing to learn and accept our differences. And we always try to approach life with a healthy dose of humor. Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself a bit! This is especially important in dealing with cultural differences because something normal for one culture might be totally offensive for another. That’s why we aim to keep it entertaining while still being respectful.
What’s your favorite episode and why?
That’s a tough one. Probably our favorite episode so far has been “Food Talk: Weird Food Your Partner Eats” since food is such a big part of life! The most fun episode to film has been the “Most Embarrassing Moment” episode. We had a lot of fun laughing at ourselves taping that and hope it also brings some joy to our viewers.
What do you hope people learn from watching your videos?
Our main goal is to share differences between Eastern and Western societies through our eyes. We hope this can bridge some gaps and clear up misconceptions between our cultures while making it fun and entertaining for our viewers. In the end, love has no color. As long as you are adventurous and open minded, the opportunities are limitless.
Love the title of the channel. I keep trying to convince Andy that when we have our goat ranch in rural New Hampshire, It should be called “White & Wong Goats.”
He doesn’t think it’s as funny as I do.
Please ask him why it is not funny. Back in the 1940s there was a an uproar when they were getting ready to deport all the Asians married to Australians, particularly their women and children, Arthur Calwell made the statement that Two Wongs don’t make it white….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Calwell
“In fact, Calwell did not refer in Parliament to two men called Wong. The full quotation is:
“The [deportation] policy which I have just mentioned relates to evacuees who came to Australia during the war. This Chinese is said to have been here for twenty years, and obviously, therefore, is not a wartime evacuee. Speaking generally, I think there is some claim for him to be regarded as a resident of Australia, and I have no doubt his certificate can be extended from time to time as it has been extended in the past. An error may have been made in his case. The gentleman’s name is Wong. There are many Wongs in the Chinese community, but I have to say — and I am sure that the Honourable Member for Balaclava will not mind me doing so — that “two Wongs do not make a White”.””
Families were split. And one government official in Singapore is a grand child of one of those women who died of old age recently in Singapore. This official will not visit Australia and does not want anything to do with white Australians!
David,
Thanks for the history lesson. Very informative and good to know. And I agree that if our title were Two Wongs make it White, then it’s being disrespectful to these people. However, our title is NOT and our channel is NOT about racial issues, so I am not really sure the reasoning behind this comparison other than the similarities of the names.
Hi Autumn,
I am glad that you find the humor in our title. Enjoy your blog and your sense of humor also. Keep up the good work and I think “White and Wong Goats” will be perfect.
Channel name isn’t funny. I actually find it quite offensive as it’s exactly what the racists used to say.
Oh har har Sumtim wong…
Great even Chinese people slur Chinese people.
Pretty offensive particularly to the descendants of folks who were deported due to white Australia policy.
MW,
I understand people might have different sense of humors and it’s totally fine that you don’t find the title to be funny. However, I think maybe you misunderstood/misread the title like Dave. Our last name is Wong and hence Two Wongs. We want to discuss cultural differences and clear misunderstanding of the differences based on our experience and hence the Right part. It’s not trying to state which race/culture/country is superior. And I have used Sumting as my nickname since 10 years ago to make fun of myself since I am a bit different from the rest of my peer. If making fun of oneself counts as racism, then I should retake my ESL class.
Making fun of yourself is one thing, but what you are doing is you are reinforcing Ching Chong theory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_chong
This is something Chinese people have been mocked and slated with for the past 200 years. You are simply reinforcing the stereotype and undoing all the progress (albeit limited) that has been made.
Just because YOU think it’s acceptable doesn’t mean it is acceptable to others you don’t represent all Chinese. When you say it’s ok many think oh well ALL Chinese must think it’s ok. Some of the consequences of you thinking it ok will happen to other people, which is not on.
You have to consider the wider implications of what you say and what you do. Take for instance Bruce Lee. Bruce needed to separate himself from the crowd so when fighting made all sorts of crazy noises as his Ki to exhale. Boxers hiss, weight lifters hiss. Mixed martial artists hiss. Master Cho (Tong Long) doesn’t make a sound when he fights.
This made Bruce Lee famous.
His crazy fighting noises got other Chinese racially abused in public and got many of us beaten up. My parents generation through the 1940s-1990s were racially abused every single day with crazy Bruce Lee fighting noises. Every single day. I was racially abused in a similar way.
It got worse as this almost always escalated into violence. My dad spent the 60s and 70s fighting, he is covered with scars from the fights. I had a similar experience I have a lot of scars from the fighting and racial abuse.
So now do you understand why I take offence at your joke?
MW,
Thanks for sharing your personal story. I couldn’t imagine what you dad and you went through and I felt deeply troubled by that in our society. Racism is not ok to anyone, not just Asians. And I understand why you are offended and I apologize if you feel that way.
First, I am honored that you think I represent ALL Chinese people. I don’t, I never said I did and I am not trying to. My channel is about me and my wife and our experiences in life, that it. We like to share that in a humor way. We are just discussing the differences in our cultures, not stating which one is superior because there are pros and cons in every culture and we can all learn from each other. It’s not about race and/or racism, but if people want to make that into something it’s not, then so be it.
And if my nickname alone is going to reinforce Chinese stereotype and undoing all the progress we’ve accomplished, we have a bigger problem. If someone is racist, even if I have the whitest name, Ken Morgan, he/she will mock me regardless.
Again, I am very very sorry to hear about your past experience. Let hope our society is moving forward and be more open-minded, not the other way around.
I want to be respectful to Jocelyn’s blog, so if you want to discuss more, please feel free to email me. I am willing to listen to different perspectives.
Thanks.
You may not think that you represent the Chinese society. Many white Americans think that you not only represent the Chinese, but also all other Asians and Hapas who look Asian. That is unfortunately the reality.
Love the name of the channel and the vidoes too. They are cleverly done.
@Autumn, “White &Wong Goats” would be a nice name for a ranch. I would love to see goat meat labelled with “Product of White & Wong Goats” in a farm shop one day. 🙂
Typical Phil Chung. Is n’t he the guy who wanted the Brits to come back and retake Hong Kong in one of the other posts back in December?
Yeah that’s the guy. He is a twinkie.
David,
I don’t think it’s fair to categorize Phil just because his opinion about who should rule Hong Kong. I’ve grown up in Hong Kong and I’ve seen the pros and cons before and after the return. I didn’t think HK was perfect when Brits was ruling it and was looking forward to 1997. However, we the recent incidents in HK, I won’t say the current government is ideal either.
Alex,
I am curious what is wrong being a twinkie, just like what is wrong being a mainland born Chinese or Hong Kong grown local.
One one hand, everyone is screaming about racism, on the other hand, we try to judge people based on where they were brought up. I think we are all different based on our own experiences and we all judge. That’s human being. We can all have our own opinions. However, let’s be open minded, take a step back and try not to make conclusion of individuals without even knowing the person.
Thanks Phil,
Glad you enjoy it! Appreciate the support.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLOwKVD0bYHxaDZxXkK4piw/videos
https://www.facebook.com/Kento-Bento-1541570546113993/
Kento is definitely a funny guy. He grew up in Hong Kong and is half Chinese / half Japanese.
Hi Jocelyn,
Thank you so much for interviewing us and featuring us on your blog.
We are honored and it means a lot to us.
Always enjoy your blog. Keep up the good work.
nice to see you
Thank you man! 😀