OMG, Stereotypes!

This is really bad.  I was on the subway the other day and sat next to a girl who had not one, but TWO designer bags (she was *THIS CLOSE* to being a label whore).  I didn’t get a look at her face at first, so I assumed she was one of those Asian girls who highlight their hair and shop at high end stores.  Turned out she was white.  In Toronto and Vancouver, one can find some Asian women (or more specifically, Hong Kong women) who shop at these stores, and sometimes, they’re head-to-toe label.  And these brands have to be big names to them.  For many, Tory Burch isn’t a big enough name.  It has to be Prada, Gucci, LV, Hermes, etc…

Readers, have you mistaken someone for another race/culture/ethnicity based on what he/she was wearing, or what accessories he/she had?

Integration is really a class/education thing?

Over the weekend, I had a lengthy discussion on immigration and integration with a friend. Friend believes that immigrants who are more likely to retain old country values (ranging from total arranged marriages (i.e. not “this is A, this is B. You guys go out on supervised ‘dates’ and then decide whether you like each other or not” type arrangements) to marrying young to not moving out until marriage, etc) are those who are not as educated. Educated people, my friend believes, are more open to their children adopting mainstream, Anglo-Saxon (or Francophone if you’re in Quebec) values because they’re more exposed. In fact, they probably have picked up some of the values themselves (even if it’s more old fashioned - my mother, for example, gave me an etiquette book when I was 12. This etiquette book is likely a traditional gift to a 10-12 year old who attends junior cotillions and will be a debutante in her late teens. I was not a debutante. They aren’t all that common in Toronto, unless you’re Filipina). Friend cited the European immigrants who came in the 1900s or even after WWII. Many of these immigrants only had two or three years of formal education compared to Anglo Canadians had at the time (probably Grade 8-ish). They worked unskilled jobs and their social lives revolved around their place of worship which spoke the language from the motherland and observed traditions of the country.

I think my friend is only partially right in this case. There are plenty of immigrants who are really well-educated, yet their credentials from abroad do not make them qualified for the jobs they did in the old country. Immigrants who are the most integrated, those who have picked up Anglo-Saxon values are those who were educated here. Why? Because they came young. When you’re 18 years old and away from home, the first thing you want to do is something that is considered taboo to your parents. This isn’t only something that foreign students do, but basically anyone who is going to school out of town! For some people, the new values stick, especially if you intend to stay in the new country. There aren’t parents to tell you that what you’re doing is not proper.  In addition, parents who are willing to send their kids abroad, especially girls, are probably already open-minded anyway.  It’s also the exposure that they may have career-wise.  I have noticed that many immigrants who are in, say, finance or law (especially of their senior management), are more culturally Anglo than even equally educated (or perhaps more so) and equally financially well-off doctors whose patients are primarily from the immigrant communities.  The doctor, in turn, is probably “more exposed”/culturally Anglo than someone who owns a small business.

Readers, do you think this is true? Is education the key to being more open-minded and perhaps even integrating? Or is it a combination of being educated in the new country and education itself?  Is it a class thing?

Passing on Traditions and Keeping in Touch with One’s Roots

Matthew Egan has a post in Racialicious today about his Jewish identity. At the end of the post, mentions a conversation his fiancée had with another woman, who grew up in Chinatown about understanding one’s roots. But what does that mean in the twenty-first century? Culture changes so rapidly that many traditions become obsolete. Other traditions were invented or adapted by immigrants when they arrive in their new homeland.

I often read stories about ABCs or CBCs (American Born Chinese or Canadian Born Chinese) who are conflicted between tradition and their Americanized/Canadianized identity they picked up at school. Reading these stories, I’ve always wondered WTF they’re talking about. I went to school with lots of kids who were either born in Canada or came as young children, and never have I met a parent who wasn’t accommodating to their kids’ westernized lifestyle, save for dating non-Chinese. In fact, most parents are westernized themselves. Most people I know don’t know what it means to have “traditional Chinese parents.” Perhaps it’s a generational thing. Most American/Canadian authors of Chinese descent are from an older generation, typically Baby Boomers (e.g. Amy Tan) or born during the Depression/WWII (e.g. Wayson Choy). They typically grew up in Chinatown or a small town, with parents who worked in small businesses rather than suburban-raised kids with middle-management/professional parents.

I share the same issues as Matthew when it comes to understanding my roots. Because my upbringing was “typically suburban,” and the guy I’ll likely marry isn’t of Chinese descent, I worry that I’d be criticized that I’m not able to pass on Chinese culture beyond language (speaking only), food, holidays like the Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival and perhaps one or two milestone traditions, such as a baby’s coming out/presentation at 30 days or wedding traditions (many aren’t “real traditions” as they probably only date back to the 1910s or 1920s at the earliest when people started to have love marriages rather than arranged ones).  Or would people care?  Is that really enough to pass on?  In Toronto, one can be exposed to these traditions without doing much.  All you need to do is open a newspaper.  The Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival get lots of press in a city like Toronto or Vancouver, even with non-Asian media.  Is passing on these traditions really keeping in touch with one’s roots, or is it just part of being a cultured Torontonian?

I look mixed? WTF?

I had my nails done at a salon I don’t normally go to this past weekend.  Practically all of the employees at this nail salon were Vietnamese, with one lady who was Vietnamese of Chinese descent.  Like me, this woman spoke fluent Cantonese, sans regional accent.  However, I knew that she wasn’t Hong Konger based on the WAY she spoke it.  It wasn’t an accent, but the way her voice sounded.  In any case, she later commented on how I looked “half Chinese, half ‘Canadian.’”  In immigrant Asian lingo, “Canadian” means white (in any case, “Canadian” could mean any ethnicity at all, she would have just said that I “looked” Canadian).  I do not look mixed.  I kind of figured that the only reason why she may have thought that is because I’m like a head taller than her (which means that this woman is super-petite, as I’m only 5′2″…probably slightly below average for Hong Kong Chinese women in my age group).

Why would someone say that another person looks “mixed” when the person clearly isn’t?

Obama Doll Post from Racialicious

A German toymaker launched an Obama doll recently, and people are saying that the doll is too dark, looks stereotypical etc. What they (or at least Racialicious), hasn’t mentioned, is that the doll also resembles a little kid! Seriously, if it weren’t for the US flag on the doll’s lapel, I would have thought that it was a line of multicultural First Communion dolls!

Cultural Benefits & Knowing Where You Come From

A posting from Racialicious today comes from a white woman who, like many white people, wonder why black people can have BET, the United Negro College Fund, etc, while white people can’t. The answer (besides the whole power structure thing)? White people (and many non-whites) are more likely to know their ancestry. There are scholarships and other programs that gear towards specific ancestries (some universities, for example, may offer a bursary or scholarship to people who are of, say, Swedish or German heritage) as well as television channels for specific languages. There are even festivals that celebrate certain cultures. Have people forgotten about that? If you want to celebrate your heritage, maybe you can do some research to find out where your ancestors come from. Then, find out what the culture’s (or cultures’) traditions are. In many parts of Europe, including Sweden and Denmark, people celebrate St. Lucia’s Day on December 13. There’s also Sinterklass, celebrated by kids in the Netherlands and Belgium, in early December (I know, I’m kind of in a Christmas/December mood right now). These, along with other traditions that pertain to weddings, births, etc, can be incorporated into one’s routine. It may take a bit of work, but I think it’s worthwhile. Oh, and don’t forget to share these holidays and celebrations with people outside your culture! 

(Asians and hispanics have a designated heritage month, but in most cities, it isn’t as big a deal as cultural festivals pertaining to one country. For example, I hear much, much more about the Mid-Autumn Festival or Diwali than Asian Heritage Month. Asian Heritage Month is a mere mention. Most Asian heritage related charity events (in Toronto, the big one would be the Dragon Ball) are NOT held in May or Asian Heritage Month.)

Help or leave them alone?

I was recently criticized at a certain blog for suggesting that a certain program can help students in inner cities end the cycle of poverty.  The blog seemed to imply that these programs do not work because we (as in the creators/founders/donors) are imposing our culture onto the kids.  WTF are they talking about?  Are we supposed to ignore everything and just watch?  Are you saying that someone like Oprah should just watch impoverished teenaged girls in South Africa waste away their lives because they can’t get a decent education?  I realize that Oprah can’t help every single kid at her school (and that her school has run into some issues), but helping some kids is better than helping NONE.   And since Oprah’s school is based on a curriculum sanctioned by the South African government, it’s not as if she’s bringing an American education to the kids.

So who is supposed to help these kids?  People who grew up like those kids, but have become successful? Religious organizations?  Are those people truly insiders? I’m not sure.  You become an outsider once you leave the area, even if you grew up in it.  Places change, and change very quickly.  Even kids who attend boarding school on a bursary are considered outsiders when they return for the holidays.

I guess what the blog is saying is that they don’t need any help from other people at all and that they can help themselves.  However, if you don’t have connections, I don’t really see how you can advance.  The reason why the Old Boys’ Network/Club (guys have been networking for centuries.  Women are only beginning to do this).  Those guys all know people who know people, and they would recommend someone to another person who might need help/services.  If you don’t ask and don’t do anything in return, you don’t get any results.

Does Opera Have to Be “Realistically Cast”?

Fatemeh’s article on Verdi’s Aida in Racialicious today was very interesting.  She claimed that the recent Portland production was nothing but a Eurocentric/white-washed view of Egypt, because of costumes, choreography, etc.  She also mentioned that much of the cast was white, not black, even though the opera takes place in Egypt.  Well, this isn’t Porgy and Bess.  There’s no rule saying that the entire cast has to be black (the Gershwin estate has a clause where Porgy and Bess needs to be cast with black singers, which is why, for a long time, P&G wasn’t produced often).  In any case, does opera and even live theatre doesn’t always need to be played out “realistically,” IMHO.  There are some cases when it’s necessary, but I don’t think Aida falls into that category.  I’ve seen tons of Shakespearean plays where the characters’ costumes vary from “traditional” Renaissance era pieces or costumes that reflected the play’s setting (e.g. Roman costume for Julius Caesar) to later periods.  Should the production of Julius Caesar that featured Denzel Washington from a few years back be criticized because it takes in the twenty-first century (the characters were wearing suits and had cell phones)?  What about the Disney/Elton John version of Aida, where the Egyptians were all played by white (and perhaps one or two Asian) actors while Aida and the other slaves were black (on another note:  The Egyptians’ costumes in the Broadway production were really boring/plain, while the slaves’ costumes were very colourful…music contrasted too)? And unlike the Jonathan Pryce as the Engineer fiasco when just prior to Miss Saigon’s Broadway debut in ‘91, FEW PEOPLE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THE PREDOMINANTLY WHITE “EGYPTIAN” CAST.  And why should people care?

Opera doesn’t have to be as realistic as even live theatre.  If it was, many singers would be extremely limited in terms of what they can audition for, even for a chorus role.  For example, someone who looked like me would basically be limited to basically Madama Butterfly and Turandot.  I saw a production of La Boheme a few years ago where the Mimi was Asian.  I guess Fatemeh wouldn’t like that, would she?  Nor would she have liked the fact that it took place in the 1950s rather than the 1830s (A production that takes place in the 1950s?  Might as well fast forward another 30-something years and call the production Rent, right?)

South Africa Reclassifies Chinese as “Black”

From the Wall Street Journal.

WTF?  Too lazy to create a new category called East Asian?  I don’t think it’s fair to black people of South Africa to classify immigrants from ANOTHER CONTINENT as black, do you?  It’s almost the same as classifying any non-white person as Aboriginal.

 

NUTSO!

Another “OMG SATC is sooooooo racist post” at Racialicious

See here. And I am not the only person who is completely sick of all this complaining. Can’t people just allow others to enjoy the movie without all that complaining? It’s always the following:

Jennifer Hudson’s character Louise being a modern version of the Mammy character: Well, Louise is a 20something. As I said in an earlier SATC-related post, most girls Louise’s age DO work as assistants. Unless you’re starting your own business or maybe working in a family business, there’s no way you’re going to be a CEO at that age. You have to work from the bottom up. You do crap work for crap pay.

Lily Goldenblatt not having too many lines/seen as a prop: Well she’s (they? Lily was played by twins) a kid. What do you expect? Brady doesn’t have many lines either. Or is it different because Brady is a boy (and none of the men, with the exception of Big) had lots of lines.

Asian guy interviewing for Carrie’s job: Some posters see this guy as sissy. I saw him as gay. And over-qualified. Dude worked as an assistant at Goldman (or was it Merrill?)…Carrie’s job probably pays less than $14-$16/h…and that’s if Carrie’s generous. It might even be $12-$13/h. Gay Asian Guy was probably paid closer to $20-something/h on Wall Street.

Charlotte worried about food poisoning: Lots of SATC sites and message boards looked at it as this: Charlotte either knew that she was pregnant or suspected that she was. That’s why she wasn’t drinking either.

Miranda ’s “follow the white guy with a baby line”: This is the only one, IMHO that really should be seen as being “off” when it comes to race. But you can also see it as Miranda not wanting to live in a slummy neighbourhood. Manhattan’s Chinatown (at least the last time I visited) is in worse condition than Toronto’s!

I also don’t really understand the “I can’t relate to the SATC girls because I’m not white” line. I am a total Charlotte (with a little bit of Miranda). And I am Chinese. In fact, when it comes to the Charlotte part, I might be even more Charlotte than Charlotte! I mean, I would never, ever, ever, ever go for a name like Shayla!  EWW!