VIETNAM — A video uploaded by a black tourist of a woman curiously touching the tourist's braided hair in Vietnam has gone viral on TikTok.

The 24-second clip by travel enthusiast Alana Rainer has garnered at least two million views and 3,719 comments since it was uploaded on June 14. 

The TikTok video, with the caption "Being black in Vietnam be like:", shows Ms Rainer standing in the middle of a group of villagers who had gathered to seemingly gaze at her in admiration. 

Ms Rainer, who did not specify the location the video was taken and later commented in her post that she is "Sierra Leonean and English", is seen smiling as a woman stands behind her running her hands down the braids. 

She did not seem to mind the attention from onlookers and added in the description: "Honestly, I personally found it so funny how amazed they were."

APPRECIATION OR LACK OF SELF-AWARENESS?

The video elicited mixed reactions from online users, some of whom deemed the crowd’s fascination with Ms Rainer to be appreciative and complimentary. 

One comment of “she touched the hair so (gently) & respectfully" attracted more than 3,000 "likes". 

Another person wrote. "They are innocent and they truly are amazed (by) your looks. You are beautiful."

A TikTok user said: "I can see clearly that they are fascinated and appreciate you."

Others, however, found the attention from onlookers to be demeaning and uncomfortable. 

One comment went: “Why do black people always allow other random people to touch our hair?”

Another remarked: “No, thank you. I'm not an animal. They can go to a patting zoo (sic).” 

Online users have also questioned Ms Rainer’s racial identity, with several commenting that she did not appear black. 

One wrote: "Not me trying to figure out who is black". To this, Ms Rainer responded: "The women are Vietnamese, and I’m Sierra Leonean and English."

Another user replied: "But you’re not really black, rather, biracial."

Last year, American R&B singer Kelis Rogers-Mora or Kelis, best known for her 2003 hit song Milkshake, took to Instagram to share a similar experience she had with two Chinese women in Singapore. 

In the video, taken in Chinatown, two Chinese women are seen touching the black singer's braids without her consent. 

While Kelis said that she felt genuine admiration from the women, many online users were appalled by the incident, criticising the women for their rude behaviour towards the singer. 

In light of the incident, several black people recounted similar experiences they had in Asia, attributing such behaviour to a "lack of self-awareness" and cultural differences.