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What Does It Mean To Be Asian-Australian?
Growing up, I was always confused about what the term “Asian-Australian” meant, and today I still find it hard to define the term succinctly in a single sentence. Why? Firstly, the word “Australian” itself is a complex term. It fundamentally refers to someone who has Australian citizenship as outlined on a piece of paper. When…
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How And Why I Was A Victim of “Racism Towards One’s Own Race”
As a person of Chinese descent who has lived in different places and acquaints myself with various cultures, I am always discriminated by people of the same race as I am. To put it more simply, I am a Chinese-Australian who often see other Chinese people, especially those from East Asia, constantly distancing themselves from…
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How I Came To See ‘Whiteness’ As Just Ordinarily Beautiful
I used to be one of those people who honestly thought and held the perception that white-skinned Caucasians were the ultimate epitome of beauty. That is, when I was living in South East Asia, I genuinely regarded Caucasians and people with fair skin and blue eyes as physically attractive, thinking “whiteness” was what you needed…
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Home: It’s Where The Heart Is
In an age where so many of us are geographically on the move, what does the word ‘home’ mean today? What exactly is ‘home’? Traditionally, (the) ‘home’ is regarded as a physical place, the place you return to after a hard day at school or work. The place that you call your sanctuary. In such…
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I’m White, So That Means I’m Pretty And Smart, Right?
A couple of years ago, I was on a tram in Melbourne and overheard a very intriguing conversation about being white and non-white. Sitting in front of and facing me on this particular tram ride were two Caucasian blue-eyed, blonde haired girls who I wagered were friends, Australian and undergraduate students not much older than…
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The Diversity Of Food Festivals
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to check out the Malaysia Street Festival at Queen Victoria Market. I was expecting this event to showcase only Malaysian street food, but lo and behold, I discovered non-Malaysian food was on offer as well. I ambled up to the festival just after 1p.m. on an exquisite blue…
Mabel Kwong 