We all have one thing in common: diversity!!
Celebrate it every day!
Next Monday night at 8pm we'll be talking cultural diversity right here on Getting Real!
“So where are you from?”
“I’m from Australia. I was born here.”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant. I mean, where are your people from?”
Nothing annoys me more than those questions. Don’t get me wrong – it’s great that people are interested in my cultural background. However, along with the amazement that I speak English well, the shock that I am outspoken, and the attempts to relate to my heritage by regaling the wonders of our exotic mainstream cuisine, I usually resent how it’s phrased and said.
We live in a multicultural nation where within our communities, there’s a slice of the world everywhere you go. From the people you know and meet, the places you pass by, what your religious faith is, the food you eat, what your hobbies are and what you own, it’s impossible not to attribute this all to the many different cultures around us. But there is still a lot out there for us to learn about others and of ourselves. We do hold certain presumptions about what culture means to us and what we think we know about other cultures. Sometimes, that can hold us back.
Living in a coastal city, there have been many times where I’ve felt taken aback when such queries are asked as well as the derogatory remarks that follow. Unfortunately, in recent years, I haven’t gone out on Australia Day as I fear for my own safety (in the form of escalated racist backlash). But I also fear for my father’s. With the current political stance and despite having arrived thirty years ago, he still believes people still see him the same way – a Vietnamese refugee.
But really, it shouldn’t hold neither me nor anybody back from learning about others and themselves.
We still have some work to do and this learning curve is ongoing. That, one day, we no longer see the acceptance, the ability to understand and to help another human being as an astounding feat but, just being another human being.
So whether you’re curious about another culture, wondering about what cultural diversity means and why we should celebrate it, not hate on it – we want to hear from you on Monday 17th March 2014, 8pm AEST!
Thank you @Chessca_H and @Myvo for facilitating 🙂 you were awesome and have a great night everyone 🙂
Good evening everyone!
Welcome to this week's Getting Real session! Tonight @Chessca_H , @Rosie-RO and myself will facilitating and chatting about cultural diversity!
In Australia, we do come face-to-face with so many experiences and so many cultures! It's practically impossible not to say otherwise. It's awesome learning about others and having others learn about us too. Sometimes, we do hold some misconceptions about other cultural backgrounds or may even be unaware of what prejudice that some people face in our society. We'll be talking about the positive, the negative and the damn ugly when it comes to cultural diversity as well as how we can take steps into celebrating it, rather than hating on it!
As always, we'd like this to be safe, fun and informative for everyone involved (this includes those who are following/reading along!). If anything comes up for you that you feel you need to speak to someone one on one about, there are services available if you click emergency help and info.
No matter where we come from and what we practice, the one thing all of us have in common is that we’re, well… different! So just to kick things off: How big of a part of your life do you feel your cultural identity is?
Hi guys 🙂
How big of a part of your life do you feel your cultural identity is?
Well I am a first generation Australian. I am Eurasian. My Mum is from England and my Dad is from Hong Kong. For me, I don't identify with being asian at all! So it frustrates me so much that I look asian! I am totally English at heart! I embrace my English heritage with pride. Unfortunately though, I do get written off as being Asian because of how I look. Which is a real shame! It is hard when people judge you based on how you look! 🙂 I should point out there is nothing wrong with being Asian lol Many of my besties are Asain! But my Dad wasn't around a lot when my brother & I were little, and we lived in a small central QLD town where we were the only Asians, so I didn't have any Asian influence whilst growing up. If I did, I suspect things would be very different! 😛
@jey Welcome to tonight's GR session! Dude! Haha, I'm also a first generation Australian and although, I live in a coastal 'city' (I say, 'city', because it's not very progressive), it's not exactly a nice cup of tea when you're different. During the early 2000s, it was pretty rare to see an Asian face. At that time, our city was starting to have attract Japanese tourists that would come here for the beach life. Because of this, soooo many people would ask me whether I was Japanese.
Such great responses! Really cool to see how different we all are 🙂
Do you think that your cultural experience has been a good one or not so much? Why (or why not)?
Do you think that your cultural experience has been a good one or not so much? Why (or why not)?
I don't have a definite answer for this question. Reason being, is that I believe that a cultural experience is not a one-off thing but ongoing. Every single day, we do encounter someone or something that is familiar or unfamiliar to us. I believe that sometimes, we don't realise that we may have misconceptions or are relatively ignorant of another culture until we actually come to see or meet a person, object or custom. For me, it's been good because I've met so many people with such different cultural backgrounds and it's wonderful to know that there's uniqueness and individuality.
What a great point @Myvo ! I would have to agree with your point on this being difficult to answer due to the ongoing nature of our experience.
Alrighty, it seems that we have some very different experiences with our cultural identity as well as whether it's been fantastic or awful for ust too. Onto the next question...
Different cultures can give people different perspectives. What about your cultural background do you feel gives you a unique perspective on life?
Different cultures can give people different perspectives. What about your cultural background do you feel gives you a unique perspective on life?
Hmm~well, it can get pretty difficult for me. I'm half Chinese-Vietnamese and growing up, my mum wanted my siblings and I to 'favour' our Chinese side more. Needless to say, it didn't really work out and I suppose that some people may refer to me as Westernised. It's very annoying when some Asian students or friends say so and somehow compete about who is or isn't more Chinese. Linguistically and in physical appearance, I identify more with my Viet side than anything else. I'm not exactly a great fan of where I live as it's very pro-Lib and they sort of suck at celebrating cultural diversity. Fortunately, I've been travelling to the capital city for uni, so in terms of learning about other cultures has been more pleasant and enoyable for me without any nonsense.
Oh man, with all of these cultural perspectives, I think we can write a saga and sell a best-seller. I love these! 
Next question: A lot of people like to call Australia a “cultural melting-pot”. Do you think that’s true?
A lot of people like to call Australia a “cultural melting-pot”. Do you think that’s true?
I think its true that there are a lot of different cultures that operate within Australia, but the acceptance of different cultures that the phrase implies isn't there in my opinion. I think Australia has a ways to go until tolerance in present at a majority level.
@Chessca_H Totally agree with that one. I see Australia as a cauldron of water with pools of different coloured oil. It looks seriously looks like that everything gets along but it doesn't seem to go as planned. <bad analogy right there>
@Myvo I think that's a pretty good way of putting it! Not a bad analogy at all 🙂
Hi all! 🙂
How big of a part of your life do you feel your cultural identity is?
Hmm, I don't know... I think it' somewhat of a big part. My Italian heritage definitely dictates a few tranditions in our family, and I think it influences some of the values I hold also. I also have British/Scottish heritage, which I do identify with, but I think that I relate more strongly to my Italian heritage because my Nana's Italian traditions have been a lot more noticeable and had a lot more influence on my life.
@delicatedreamer Welcome welcome! British, Scottish and Italian! That sounds awesome 
Do you think that who you're surrounded with can sometimes influence how you identify yourself culturally?
@Myvo wrote:
@delicatedreamer Welcome welcome! British, Scottish and Italian! That sounds awesome
Probably. I think identify as more Italian when I am with Italians, or with my Italian family members. When I'm not with family I find it harder to identify myself as Italian because I look like my British/Scottish family a lot more than my Italian family (red hair, freckles, pale skin). I find it awkward to identify myself as Italian to people who don't know me because I feel like they won't believe me because of how I look, even though I identify with it quite strongly.
Do you think that your cultural experience has been a good one or not so much? Why (or why not)?
I think my cultural experience has been good on the whole. I think I've been very lucky in that I've been able to feel part of another culture (Italian) while still feeling comfortable in the Australian culture. I know that other people have more difficulty being part of multiple different cultures (due to racism etc), so I think I've been very lucky.
Do you think that your cultural experience has been a good one or not so much? Why (or why not)?
Whilst I like to think I am a "pioneer" for the new world where racial boudaries are blurred (lol) I would still prefer to look like the culture I strongluy identify with. It is kind of cool to be a "half-blood" (to borrow a term from Harry Potter lol), I mean it does make you a bit more interesting. And it is fun to learn about different heritages etc. But it sucks when you dont look like your mother or when people assume things about you by the way you look. When I moved to the city I started at a school with lots of Asian students, I found I was stuck in the middle! Not Asian enough for the "Asian group" and too Asian for everyone else! It was very confusing!
Hey all sorry I'm late 🙂
How big of a part of your life do you feel your cultural identity is?
It is everything, I am African and I live in a Western Society with an American sounding accent. My culture is an important part of my life and I wouldn't be the person I am without it.
Do you think that your cultural experience has been a good one or not so much? Why (or why not)?
I've had moments, I have and still experience a large amount of racism and sometimes I get judgment from my own culture for not being Zimbabwean enough but at the same time I have very strong views, my culture has made me strong and has made me the fighter I am today.
@ruenhonx Welcome! Hmm~yes, I also experience that kind of racism too for supposedly not being enough of one culture. Can be pretty hard when you identify with more than one culture or being a part of various communities.
Different cultures can give people different perspectives. What about your cultural background do you feel gives you a unique perspective on life?
Absolutely, I am Zimbabwean, I lived in New Zealand and now Im here, so I've experienced a lot and through where I have been and what I identify with I do have a unique perspective and I feel I am more open minded because of my diversity. I am more positive because I have seen how people in Africa are still so happy in poverty and I am Christian as many Africans are but I am more open minded and accepting of everyone because of the people I've met and things that I have done.
Different cultures can give people different perspectives. What about your cultural background do you feel gives you a unique perspective on life?
Hmm. I don't know. I think my Italian background gives me a different perspective on family to most people, because Italian families work slightly differently to Aussie families. Apart from that I'm not really sure... It's something I might need to think more about!
@delicatedreamer How do you feel your family operates differently from aussie families?
