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Exposing your children to Chinese culture

Ideas on exposing your children to Chinese culture

I am of the frame of mind that we can’t give our kids Chinese “culture”. Culture comes from where we live. But we need to give them a pride in their birth country and in themselves. This involves many different types of things.

There are many Korean adoptees that have given the adoption community a wealth of information & ideas. There are parents that have made it their life work to find out how to keep their children from feeling like the only POC (person of color) in a sea of white faces. I recommend reading books that have been published regarding the Korean adoptees lives in order to help understand the types of the issues our children mighty face.

In this article I will list some of the things that I have read in various places regarding this subject.

Make sure that Asians & Asian Americans are a normal, regular part of your child's world. Parents need to work toward opening doors that lead to greater understanding of cultures & form relationships with people who may be able to act as a mentor to the child.

Explore where Asians & Asian Americans congregate in your area. Besides the obvious places (like Chinatowns), there are usually other places they can be found. One family found that the Botanical Gardens members in their area were about 40% Asian. Also, you can contact local universities to find out what type of Asian Associations they have...often these types of organizations are very welcoming to people of many different ethnicities.

Go to ethnic neighborhoods (besides Chinatowns). The more often you mingle in crowds & neighborhoods where you are the minority - the more comfortable you will get & you will start to notice the differences (subtle and otherwise) between how different groups of people interact with one another & "outsiders". Your children will also be more comfortable interacting with people "not like them".

Try to move outside of your comfort zone in terms of socio-economic groups. If you always go to chain restaurants when eating ethnic foods...try to find more authentic experiences. The bare bones "Americana" diner (the more pick up trucks & big rigs parked outside -the better the food generally), the mom & pop Mexican restaurant with no set menu, the high end Japanese sushi restaurant. Not only will this expose your entire family to a greater understanding of what different cultures serve as food (not just the Americanized version)...you & your children will also learn what different cultures regard as acceptable table manners. You may have to do some research, you may make a fool or yourself occasionally - but we all do that anyways (most times without even trying).

Read books, articles, etc, written by Asian Americans about Asian American culture in America. There are several magazines written by & for Asian Americans. You have to look for them, they will not be at the grocery store check-out, they have to be something you want to discover...because Asians & Asian Americans comprised less that 8% of the total population. You may have to order a subscription online. These magazines can be very illuminating in understanding the issues & topics of interest to Asian Americans & learning more about the Asian American racial identity.

Make sure that your children see people of different ethnicities in positions of power & authority. No one should have the picture of a Chinese restaurant owner or Korean dry cleaner as the "picture of Asians in America". Some people make a special effort for their pediatrician and dentist to be a person of color (Pakistani, African, Hispanic). If you work in a diverse setting, take your child to work with you. Don't let your child's perception be that POC are only in service positions in their world. 

Who cuts your hair? Try to find a Chinese or Chinese American babysitter/private tutor for your child.

See if there are Asian Associations in your general vicinity that offer mentor programs.

Work with your FCC to have more activities that interact directly with Asian communities, rather than parallel to those communities.

Culture camps and Heritage Tours.

If you live in a very non-diverse area, make it a priority to travel/visit more diverse areas which offer cultural experiences within not only your child's birth heritage, but others as well.

Don't just go out to restaurants to eat "ethnic" foods. Buy cookbooks, learn to cook meals & make that part of what you teach your child. Being able to make jiao zi (or whatever food you choose) will make your child more part of their culture of birth. Just eating the food will not.

Explore popular music, traditional music, etc...play it in your home as well as the music that you listen to. See if your cable company offers Chinese TV stations.

Realize that no matter how much you think you are "immersing" your child within the Chinese culture, or the culture of other people living in your country from their homeland - the vast majority of their cultural input is from your culture. From the toys & books you buy your child - to the food you eat, to the programs you watch or listen to, to the cultural attitudes that you project (consciously and unconsciously). The vast majority of us (unless we share the same birth culture/heritage as our children) - won’t ever do enough to subsume our own, dominant culture with the culture of our child's birth. (unless we choose to move to a neighborhood that our child's ethnicity is the majority, we speak our child's birth language instead of our own, etc… i.e., we move to our child's place of birth rather than bringing our child back to our homes).

If you have other idea’s, please pass them on so we can share them!

Using the term “oriental”

I don’t know if anyone else has followed the discussions on the word oriental. At first I thought it was a silly thing—but can we afford to ignore the feelings of those that live by the label? One industrious individual did a google search and posted the following information (pared down for the sake of space).

FROM GOOGLE ANSWERS-  http://answers.google.com/answers/

The political correctness of the term "Oriental" depends on where you are from and to whom you are speaking. Here in North America it is considered to be offensive. In Europe and in parts of Asia it is acceptable and in common usage.

One reason for its perceived offensiveness has to do with the meaning of the root word, Orient. This term is derived from the Latin word oriens, referring to where the sun rises in the east. Since oriental is used to describe places (and people) that are to the East only in relation to Europe, the term is considered by some to be Eurocentric.

But more likely, the real issue is its connotations stemming from the times when Europeans viewed the Orient as "exotic lands full of romance and intrigue, the home of despotic empires and inscrutable customs. At the least these associations can give Oriental a dated feel, and as a noun in contemporary contexts, it is now widely taken to be offensive." See the usage note here: ANSWERS.COM: Oriental http://www.answers.com/oriental&r=67

According to Wikipedia:

"In the United States, Ireland, Australia and East Asia, since approximately 1990 "Asian" has been considered a more politically correct term for "Oriental", which previously referred to people from China, Japan, and Korea and other East Asian countries. This is partially due to the fact that the term "Orientalism" in academia has become associated with the European colonial attitude toward the Ottoman East." WIKIPEDIA: Asian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian


"Some people think of the term oriental as offensive or politically incorrect, largely because of its perceived connection by some people with nineteenth century European and American attitudes about the region. In this world view, the East was seen as backwards, exotic, and patriarchal, while the West was seen as logical, rational, and more modern..

".. Major objection to the use of oriental is chiefly limited to North America. Its use is much less controversial in Europe, as well as in Asia where, especially in south-east Asian countries, the word is in comparatively widespread usage." WIKIPEDIA: Oriental http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental

For an interesting (and oft referenced) take on the subject, see this Usenet posting (circa 1993) by Alan Hu: On "Asian" and "Oriental" , Alan Hu http://www.modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=183. And this article on the same website: Libraries Continue to Index Asian Americans Under ''Orientals' http://www.modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=183.

As for the use of the term Oriental as it applies to food or rugs or other inanimate objects, even the most sensitive people consider that to be acceptable:

".make sure you don't use the word "Oriental" in reference to the imperialists... at least not in Washington state. The Seattle Times reports that the State of Washington passed a bill prohibiting legislators from using the term "Oriental" to describe Asians in any official correspondence, codes or legislation. The term may still be used to describe food and rugs, but not people." Political Correctness and the Power of Names by Walter Nowotny http://www.churchoftrueisrael.com/nsforum/ns7-02a.html

".The one [term] that is misused most often is "Oriental" instead of "Asian" when referring to people. Oriental is correct when referring to food, furniture or rugs, not when referring to people." Political Correctness and Diversity in Public Speaking, By: Lenora Billings-Harris http://www.sideroad.com/Public_Speaking/political-correctness.html

So, to sum up, the term Oriental, when referring to a person, region, or custom, is perceived as a derogatory relic of Imperialism by North
Americans (and some other countries), but is seen as an acceptable descriptive term by Europeans and in many Asian countries.

Search terms:
define:oriental
Use of term oriental asian
Correctness oriental asian
Correctness oriental

Our family uses the word oriental a lot—my grandparents and mother lived in Japan. My father lived in Thailand. Dion has lived in Korea. But on reflection, the use has been mostly about the objects in our homes from these areas