Monday, March 23, 2009

Some pretty in your face sexism

There are some amazing example of sexism, especially in the older generation. This is my favorite:

I was at a girlfriend's house, Shannon Chen.

"Hey, you know why i like the foreigner," she said. "I will tell you my grandmother’s Chinese name.”

"Ok," I said.

“It is dung de de (Waiting for little brother)”

“You telling me her name or what she is doing?”I replied.

“Her name is ‘Waiting for little brother.”

“Her name is waiting for little brother? You serious?”

“That is her name. It is common in her era, because you know how much they favour the boy.”

“Sorry, that is pretty in your face sexism. I was taken way back there.”

She explained her grandmother’s brother was fifth born and her sisters were named: ‘want little brother’, ‘looking for little brother’ and ‘hope to have little brother’, and they wore their names with pride. Apparently, their parents had to do it in order to show respect to the other members of the family by recognizing their failure to produce males.

She then told me another name in Taiwanese that topped all of these. According to Shannon, it translated as: Don’t Worry, I know I Am a Piece of Shit Girl, but It Is Okay, My Parents Are Not Wasting Any Time Raising Me Well.

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