Untangling the "Mongolian spot": The legacy of colonial Indonesia's racial science on Dutch parenting websites

Abstract

This thesis explores the legacy of colonial racial science in contemporary Dutch society by studying the presentation of the “mongolenvlek” on informational parenting websites. The research question of this thesis is: What is the meaning of the “mongolenvlek” and its association with Indonesian heritage in the context of Dutch parenting websites and Dutch colonial history? It explores the historical context of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia and the racial identities that emerged from it. Through an analysis of the informational parenting websites and their forums, racial terminology and assumptions are identified. These racial terminologies and assumptions directly connect CDM to racial heritage. In this way, the construction of the “mongolenvlek” becomes a racial marker by which racial identities are determined. However, reconsidering the history of racial science shows that these racial identities are based on social constructions known as the racialised common sense. Moreover, exploring the Dutch colonial history through the narratives of Indo-Europeans shows that these racial identities were imposed through identifying racial markers on physical appearances and maintained through oppression and violence. Revisiting the representation of CDM on parenting websites with these findings, we find that the “mongolenvlek” is a contemporary uncontested racial marker. This uncontested acceptance is due to the fact the Dutch colonial history is “unremembered” and thereby absent from the collective body of Dutch history. Thus, this thesis demonstrates the need for a greater historical awareness and a critical examination of racial thinking to identify colonial biases and create a more inclusive society.