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What Exactly Is “Ethnic”? Is The Word “Ethnic” Relevant Anymore Today?
Do I see myself as “ethnic”? Someone of “ethnic background”? I’m a Chinese person living in Australia, so I should, shouldn’t I? Depending on where you are in the world, the definition of “ethnic” seems to vary slightly. The dictionary definition of “ethnic” actually forms a firm basis to think about this word. This concept.…
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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…
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Why Males Are The Favoured Sex In Asian Cultures
“Your Arts degree is useless. You studied the wrong degree, made a very wrong decision there. You finished your degree, and you still can’t find a job. Should’ve studied something like commerce or dentistry. Like your brother. Maybe he can get you a job.” That’s what my mum says to me all the time. It’s…
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The Two Types Of Success In Asian Cultures
How do Asians define success? What does success mean to an Asian person? For different Asians living in different parts of the world, success crops up in various forms. Success in general is hard to define. For some, success is coming in first in class or landing that dream job. For others, it is finishing…
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Asians’ Youthful Looks: A Blessing or A Curse In Disguise?
A good number of Asians tend to look way younger beyond their years. Glance at an Asian person in their mid-twenties and chances are they look like a teen. Or at an Asian woman in her thirties and she’ll look like an early-twenty-something graduate. Perhaps Asians have good genes and that’s why many of us…
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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…
Mabel Kwong 