How do you define the perceived flaws in your perspective? What kind of acts will Western people perceive as being “flaws”? This has been really intriguing to me as an international Asian student. It’s normal that people from different cultures will have some cultural shock to each other and making comments. But a lot of cultural conflicts come from disrespect and discrimination, as big as a war and as small as a quarrel. Moreover, due to the flourishment of the internet, the act of racism and criticism can develop to international crisis between countries.
The history of racism teaches us we should be more aware of our actions and how they may be racist undertones embedded in our society
Take Asian for example, the “fox eye” trend on social media. Celebrities and influences including models, Kendall Jenner, and Bella Hadid, were part of this. The “fox eye” hashtag generated over 57k Instagram posts. When this trend was rising, many people may think it’s just a trend of makeup and they wanted to follow. But the history of racism teaches us we should be more aware of our actions and how they may be racist undertones embedded in our society. “Slanted eye” and “Ching Chang Chong” are racial comments from other cultures to describe Asian features. It’s difficult for Asian people to not think that “fox eye” has nothing to do with mocking our features.
As an international student walking on the street in a Western country, it’s quite often to hear someone say “ni hao” to me or even worse “Ching Chang Chong” and “f*cking Chinese”. But guess what? I am not even Chinese, just because people have Asian faces that doesn’t mean they should always be perceived as Chinese.
What about Asian people commenting on perceived flaws on Western culture? In Taiwan, we live in a very efficient, fast-paced society. Everything need to be done very efficiently, fast, and not wasting time. That’s why there is a serious over-work culture in Asia, and people tend to work even on weekends. However, in the UK, people live in a more slow-paced life, and respect work-life balance; shops close at 4 or 5, people usually are not working or answering calls from work on weekends. For Asian people, the slow-paced way of life is inefficient, but for Western people, they probably think they just enjoying their life more. On the contrary Western people may perceive this as Eastern people being impatient.
As a human being who lives on this planet, anyone can comment anything they perceive is unfamiliar to them no matter which nations they’re from. We should think before we comment because what we say reflects who we are. Our choice of language are not just words, they also represent our race, gender, country, and our family. There is a slang in Asia: “to the eyes of one whose heart is golden, everything and everyone looks nice and pleasant.” To be honest, we can see the culture differences as the perceived flaws or an inherent beauty, it’s really depending on “how to think about people who are different from us”.
To the eyes of one whose heart is golden, everything and everyone looks nice and pleasant
Comparing which culture is superior to other cultures is meaningless, every culture should be treated equally. We can always feel free to observe and explore the culture differences, but most importantly, we don’t make fun of people just because they are different from you. Be open-minded and show respect to different cultures, you will eventually discover the beauty of it.
