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slavic-roots-western-mind · 1 month

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Life in China Observations #4

It's been a while since I last did this, so let's go again!

Identity is complicated The question "where are you from" can be just as complicated as it is simple. For many people, their country of birth is where they're from, which is usually the case here. However, if you happen to be born in country A to parents from cultures B and C, immigrated and became a citizen of country D and now attend university in country E and are now on an exchange program in China, the question "where are you from" is not that easily answered. From what some of my friends told me, where you're from is actually the place where your dad was born in even though you may have been born in a different city which is a pretty interesting concept known as the "ancestral home" - 祖籍 (zǔjí) or 籍贯 (jígùan).

You have to make the first step I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but people are constantly doing something and unless you specifically and intentionally reach out and work on your friendship, you may end up drifting apart. Maybe this is a specific thing, but back home I could go a few weeks without really reaching out to my friends and then someone would suggest grabbing lunch together and it would be like no time had passed at all since we last saw each other. Here? Quite different.

Beauty and pop trends There are all sorts of weird and wonderful trends that you can come across in China. From using bread as a study tactic to decorating your workplace with banana plants, I feel like the more I assimilate here, the bigger the reverse culture shock will be when I go back home, and not just for me. dr.candiselin covers some of these trends on Instagram (not a promo post!), and I recommend checking out her content, it's quite brilliant.

Taobao You can buy anything on taobao. Literally. I saw someone selling a house there. I was previously a little shocked to see animals such as cats and bunnies being sold, but after seeing houses and cars being sold I honestly don't know what else is there to surprise me with.

Prepare in advance (foodwise) for the lunar new year During those 8-12ish days during the holdiays a lot of stores were closed. The convenience store outside my campus was open thank God, because otherwise I would have been living on instant porridge and instant soup which was my main food source 2 weeks prior due to being ill and there is only so much instant oatmeal that you can eat before slightly losing it.

Being ill is a nightmare And I mean the mandatory-bed-rest-no-going-out-for-at-least-5-days ill kind. You need to go to the hospital or a clinic to get a note to give to your school otherwise the day's you're absent will be counted, and once they reach a specific percentage you won't be allowed to take the exam (which can seriously mess with your grades, even more if you're there as an exchange student).

The weather can change at the blink of an eye I remember back in December the weather was in the negative digits and then suddenly the next day it was around 20 celcius?? The very next day it went to 3-4, and even now in March it's very all over the place. The weather forecast is not that useful because I'll leave the dorms wearing my coat in the morning only to return carrying my coat, jumper, long-sleeved shirt and wearing only my t-shirt.

More affordable beauty products I saw some products go for around $80 online?? And here on Taobao they cost under $10? I'm assuming it's the shipping costs that drive up the price so drastically, and now I'm pondering whether it would be cheaper to order online or to travel to China every couple of years just to stock up on beauty products.

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olderthannetfic · 1 year

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I hope you are not bored with the BL talks, but I found out a bit that it seems the eastern perception and western perception on BL felt different, but not in a way that most people talked about. I find it a bit odd that more mlm on the US like BL than any other place. I dunno, I used to find it odd cause I relate BL as something more feminine oriented (not saying it dictates someone gender roles, but target audience is a thing). I wonder if it relates to US gender roles and lgbt culture, then stuff like censorship because US seems to go harder on LGBT censorship. At the same time, I realized that it should not be weird if cis gay men in some places read BL more or relate to BL more, considering how it is one of the easiest "gay content" you can find on the internet. Though, just like most of the people who talks about BL and on tumblr, I'm not a gay men, my views might be bullshit and biased.

The US has more censorship? What the fuck are you smoking?

The US is bad at putting queer characters in action blockbusters, but it isn't particularly censored. There have been gay bookstores going back decades. There have been film festivals. We queer people have it good in the US compared to many countries, including a lot of the ones with BL industries.

BL isn't a genre in the sense that it doesn't have specific mandatory genre elements that define it, but it certainly has strong aesthetic trends when compared to gei komi or gay art films by dudes or whatever. It makes sense that people would often prefer one or the other.

My guess is that the readership split is like it is most places: dudes who really like the tropes from "women's" media will gravitate to BL. Many a dude has said that if you want a romance novel, you find a female author. Dudes who aren't looking for that vibe will gravitate to media made by men with an intended target audience of men.

I've seen the stats that Viz in the US is finding that a sizeable chunk of the buyers of BL titles in English are dudes. If I had to guess why, I'd say it's because the US is more prone to assuming that all m/m content is for mlm, and the places one can buy such content aren't like "THIS IS THE GIRLS' SECTION!!!" A guy doesn't have to walk into a store or section aimed at women where women will side-eye him and be uncomfortable to see him there in order to buy BL.

Because the general public in the US has no clue about BL, a guy won't be seen as any more or less effeminate for consuming this particular m/m media vs. other m/m media. (Though a bigot might think he's unmanly for liking men in general.)

The default US view is to accuse women of "stealing" while actually trying to steal BL from us, which is a huge cultural difference from a lot of places with bigger BL industries. I'm sure that has an effect.

But frankly, if a lot of US mlm are buying BL openly, it's probably just because it's relatively easy to openly be a gay man in the US, so they don't care if people know they're buying girly m/m books. Maybe being out in Taiwan is okay, but Japan? China?! Things are improving rapidly in some countries, but that doesn't make them great.

I dunno, man, are we comparing the spending habits of out mlm to other out mlm, or are we comparing the proportion of people who admit what they're reading? Which specific countries are we comparing? There are a lot of factors to consider here.

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alatismeni-theitsa · 2 years

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Hello!

I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of modern views on hair and hair binding in Greece. I tried finding information on modern views myself but I have not found anything. I really loved your posts on modern views for veiling.

Thank You!!!

When it comes to Greek women, veiling and hairbinding and head covering is simply very old and folky fashion, and only part of our traditional clothing. In the older times covering your hair was a sign that you were married but you could also cover it (the hairbinding happened then) because you didn't want hair to get on your face while you were working in the fields or fall in the food you're preparing.

Today since uncovered hair is not considered promiscus behavior and hair is just hair for us, often Greeks wonder why other cultures or religions (or even our own clergy within its circles) can give such erotic and/or beautifying significance to women's hair to the point that covering it is a sign of modesty. (We gave hair some such significance in the olden days, like... before 1920 for most cases). Today hair is a beautiful part of a woman but just as ordinary to show as her hands and face.

I'm not sure if the head covering for women became more prominent after Muslim Turks conquered the Eastern Roman empire. But as you saw even before the Roman Empire women veiled, too, and I've seen that some Greek orthodox women covered their hair in the Byzantine empire as well.

Of course here I must mention that Greek Orthodox nuns and priests and monks are covered from head to toe in black even today. The difference is that men of the clergy must keep their hair somewhat long but tied back. In their official attire they usually wear a cap and sometimes it's long enough (when it's a mitra) to cover all their hair. But I don't think that for the men this happens because of modesty, compared to women.

Just the other day I saw a Greek Orthodox nun on the street who also covered her face, save for her eyes (first time I saw that). Before joining the clergy willingly they know what the attire is and I assume they have no problem with it. But most Greeks do find it restricting as an idea. I haven't heard of Greeks offending nuns because they were covered, though. They have offended Muslim women because of islamophobia, something that I don't subscribe to, but I'd like to present the situation in Greece regarding this type of religious covering.

Many Greeks fear that if they encourage the Islamic headcovers, Islamic culture(s) will become so prominent in the country that the overwhelming majority of Greek women, who don't veil, will be subjected to harassment by the Muslim men who will consider them immoral. Mandatory and Non mandatory Islamic headcovers have been connected in the ethnic collective mind to oppression, because of recent anti-islamic rhetoric but also because of Greeks' (and Christians in general) very recent history of oppression under the Muslim Turks and Arabs. And of course Erdogan is getting bolder every year, making Greeks more afraid of the Turkish nation (and hence their traditions, clothing, and religion which is Islam).

It's also weird to Greeks when foreign Hellenic polytheist women want to veil because of religion, because veiling for religion is also an old notion for Greek women (more so the reasons they veiled in antiquity). Even the grandmas go to church with their hair showing. Some might veil/cover but I don't remember seeing them tbh. (Maybe if they cover they are veeery old and widowed possibly).

Generally head covers can be considered symbols of slavery of the mind and body for the reasons due to how many Greeks view the Islamic nations but also because it is a very outdated practice. In the first "modern" years when Greek women past their teen years strolled around with their head uncovered they were challenging old systems of purity and sexuality. It was their own revolution, although we don't hear much about it because the most recent revolution (following the free hair) was the skirts above the knee. From the comments I've seen over the years from Greeks I could describe it as the society seeing it as "needlessly going backwards" for a Greek woman (or any woman) outside the clergy to veil for cultural or religious reasons. They just don't see the need to cover the hair just as women from some isolated African tribes don't see the need to cover their breasts. And suddenly introducing a cover can change the moral image women who don't cover have about themselves in an uncomfortable way.

The headcover, as I mentioned, used to be a symbol of a woman "belonging" to a man (only her man should see her hair long and untied) or being "mature and contained" because of her covered hair and that's considered a backwards notion today in Greece. It's also a fashion choice very associated with some rare isolated widowed grandmas so... not a good look 😅 When Greek women had to cover their hair when they entered a mosque in their travels they've told me "I felt like a grandma", to give you some examples.

Anyways, that's a second reason that the overwhelming majority of Greek women wouldn't choose to veil today. They do it only when they wear traditional clothing and then the headscarf doesn't have any negative meaning for them in this context.

Interestingly enough I think that if a Hindu woman wore a sari and her hair were covered she wouldn't be harassed, or that she would be less harassed compared to a visibly Muslim Pakistani woman. That's because of Greece's fear of nations who are mostly Islamic. Roma women in Greece also cover their hair often but it's seen as part of their ethnic attire so it's not a point of discussion. (For many Muslim women of the head cover is of course also traditional but in this case Greeks give more importance to the religious reason they wear it).

Obviously I don't think anyone should take off a traditional and/or religious headcover from anyone but I wanted to explain the thought process behind how many Greeks think about different types of headcovers.

I tried to explain things as thoroughly as possible but if I have missed or misrepresented something let me know, and add on this post if you have different experiences than mine!

#veiling #headcovering #hijab #answered #veil

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peppertaemint · 1 year

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It’s weird for me to watch the reactions on my timeline, even adults are reacting like it’s a surprise and they need time to "process"… huh, okay… I mean, were people still hoping for an exemption at this point? I still had a bit of hope at the end of last year but since then it was quite clear that they couldn’t count on it. I’m actually quite happy right now that everything is settled and they have a clear plan. And them coming back in 2025 is a scenario I wasn’t even hoping for, it really is the best we could get in my opinion. I understand the younger fans being sad but when it comes to adults, I find it quite concerning to react the way some do. As much as I love the members and especially Jimin and Jungkook, my life does not revolve around them, I find it a bit sad to see that for so many people it seems like the band is most important thing in their lives :/

Hello Anon. Your Ask is from October 2022, but I think in light of certain things it might be interesting to answer it now.

Was it a bit jarring to see BTS fans unable to cope with the reality of military service? Yes, because I think most of us who got into K-pop after already being into K-media/culture weren't expecting an exemption. I also understand it must be surreal for some people who don't live in countries with mandatory service, or those who don't know others who have done mandatory service. Both Pakistan and Israel have mandatory service, so it's not necessarily out of the ordinary for some of us (and especially for those who pay attention to K-media).

I do think the idea of the exemption is something the fans will stay bitter about for a long time (forever?) judging by tweets and other posts I keep seeing. Not having an exemption is a hit to the whole brand image of exceptionalism/not K-pop. Only the plebeian K-pop stars have to go for service, not the venerable BTS. That ... will always be offensive to me, as a BTS fan and a K-pop fan.

Now that it's happening (Jin has enlisted), the usual crud has started and will continue forever more. I don't like people using service as a "gotcha" and making cruel comments while someone is serving their country. Yes, BTS fans do this about everyone else who serves, but that doesn't mean other fans need to return the favor. Like, have some decency. Jin looks healthy and quite good in the photos that were released, so can't we all respect him for doing his duty, regardless of opinions on the political war machine or selfish fan war egotism? I'm definitely a pacifist, but my being a pacifist does nothing for people who live in countries with mandatory service.

The other thing is that with the news of Hongseok's (Pentagon) medical discharge, I really hope that everyone can reflect on their behavior, and that does include SHINee fans. I didn't see it myself, but I saw shawols chastizing others for their reactions (gotta love shawol behavior standards, lol). Mental health isn't a competition, nor is military service on the whole. Not being able to complete your service as intended, whether that be full discharge or changing the type of service, would be incredibly difficult for the person involved. Shame, guilt, embarrassment, humiliation - enlisting would have been hard enough; not finishing as intended is not what anyone would want. Let's keep positive thoughts for all involved.

#those positive thoughts include BTS btw #idk there's so much right now about how stratified 4th gen is and the tribalism really gets to me #can we have basic human decency first #ppl can enjoy their fan rivalries second #bts enlistment #bts ask #kpop and mandatory service #kpop #kpop ask

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womenfrommars · 2 years

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Wait you got whole classes dedicated to other countries?? That’s great but yeah if ur wondering Americans usually do not get that. We sometimes have foreign language classes but it depends on the school and it’s often only counted as an elective and being in the class doesn’t mean that the teacher will actually do anything. And it’s just learning the language and absolutely nothing else, if you’re lucky enough to even have that offered. We don’t even learn about other North American countries. Honestly most schools don’t even teach about how the USA government works. Civics got taken out of most curriculums along with home economics. Even if you are able to get certain classes there’s not really anything keeping teachers from giving students inaccurate or biased information because “muh freedom and state’s rights” or something. Schools will pass students even if they didn’t learn anything because of some laws that got passed in like the 90s. It depends a lot on where in the US you live, if you went to public school or if your family could afford private school, etc. There’s also weird zoning laws that effect where you’re allowed to go to school, so if you live in a neighborhood with a “bad school” ur pretty much stuck there unless ur parents are able to sort it out. And then there’s big differences with rural vs urban vs suburban schools. Most states have their standards for education posted online but no one follows them and it’s practically incoherent anyway. American schools basically just teach simple math and English (those are the best taught subjects here, there’s other stuff though) and have students memorize whatever is on the standardized tests that week. Schools here tend to function more like combo daycares/prisons and less like places for learning, especially high schools. Like there’s the internet but independent study with no structure or direction doesn’t always have the best outcomes. I think that’s why young people are so insane here, but it’s whatever I guess… None of this applies to colleges theres different problems there. (Sorry for rambling in ur inbox ❤️ I couldn’t tell if that was a serious question or not)

No honey I was obliged to learn English, French, and German and in those language classes they also teach you a little bit about those countries' culture and history. It doesn't go the other way around. Nobody else in Europe really has mandatory Dutch classes because my country isn't relevant enough lol. I think everyone in Europe learns English as a second language and maybe also a third and/or fourth language depending on their geographical location and school system. My school also offered Latin and Ancient Greec but that was fully optional. Some schools also offer Mandarin Chinese or European Spanish but that's rare since they are not obliged to. I kind of assumed all Americans had to learn Mexican Spanish as well but apparantly that's just optional rip

We do learn how the country is governed. You kind of already learn by reading the news but it is also discussed in a social sciences class that focuses on socio-political issues. I don't know what that is even called in English but I had it for just one year and my teacher was a major clown lol. We also have a class that teaches you the basics of all major religions and we followed that up with a little bit of philosophy. We also followed another class for just one year that focused on teaching how to conduct scientific research. The religion class was very biased and my teacher kept simping for Islam even when acknowledging one of Muhammed's brides was underaged. We also learned about the Kaaba going by the Islamic story when that's not historically accurate. In general all my teachers for that class were Christian so we mostly focused on Christianity. It also brought out the edgy Reddit atheist in some of us.

In general everyone follows a different curriculum because there are different levels of education depending on how gifted you are. For the level I followed I had to go to high school for 6 years (counting "middle school" as well). After the age of 15 we had some more freedom in which subjects we wanted to keep following but it's very limited choice so not exactly pick and choose. My dumbass chose the two most difficult math classes rip

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