Tag: tradition

  • When Is It Okay To Wear Cultural Costumes?

    When Is It Okay To Wear Cultural Costumes?

    A few months ago, I was wandering through Bourke Street Mall on a summer’s Saturday afternoon and spied some buskers wearing traditional cultural attire (photo). I wondered if anyone saw this scene as racist. I stopped to watch. It stuck me as odd that they were wearing sunglasses with their outfits. There are two scenarios…

  • Hi, I’m Asian. Come In, Leave Your Shoes On. Or Not

    Hi, I’m Asian. Come In, Leave Your Shoes On. Or Not

    When I lived at home and an odd job or two needed to be done around our place, my mum welcomed the likes of contractors, plumbers and furniture delivery men into our Melbourne flat. When she opened the door, these Caucasian handymen and tradesmen always politely asking, “Do we take our shoes off?” And to…

  • Asian Girls Linking Arms: A Cultural Thing?

    Asian Girls Linking Arms: A Cultural Thing?

    Fact: many Asian girls link arms when they are out and about. When I lived in Malaysia and Singapore, I saw Asian girls and women walking in pairs through shopping malls with arms linked around the elbows, touching skin-on-skin. Sometimes I saw them even holding hands, walking and chatting with one another. Today whenever I…