“Ethnic” Cosmetics Wednesday, Aug 13 2008 

Beauty and Discoveries , kannadian 5:07 pm

I feel the need to spruce up my image so I went looking for places online that offered cosmetics that adhered to my non-white complexion. Well I was pleasantly surprised to find two cosmetics companies that were started by South Asian women that addressed the issues women of colour experience when trying to find cosmetics – that most makeup is made for white women. How nice. Here are the links to both of them.

1. Thevi Cosmetics
2. Vasanti Cosmetics

The site that had linked these two cosmetics site also had videos up for South Asian women on how to create different eye makeup techniques. I am definitely going to try these out…as soon as I get better eyeshadow. Here is the link to the site.

 

Ignore Or Pursue? Wednesday, Aug 6 2008 

Canada and Identity and Religion , , , , , kannadian 12:16 pm

I am currently working on my own research for a Masters program I’m completing. I am looking and second generation women from a particular Indian Christian community who attend a mono-ethnic congregation. From the interviews   conducted so far it has made me really feel a connection to these women. So many of their experiences mimic my own, yet some of their perspectives on these experiences are so different from my own. I’m so curious as to what causes this difference. Is it because of a difference in personalities, or upbringing, or even our different Christian communities? How has attending a mono-ethnic church differ from attending a multi-ethnic church?

Ever since I’ve been with my partner I have wondered what it would have been like if I had closer contact with others from my ethno-religious community. Unlike his family who attended a mono-ethnic church, my family attended a multi-ethnic church and had a less emphasis on the integration of religion and culture. For many of my participants it was the opposite. I wonder what I would have been like attending one of their churches. Would I be the person I am today? Would I have even thought about being with my fiance, who is of Taiwanese descent? And now, do I want to pursue relationships with members of my community? Would I be better off or should I stop thinking that I am lacking something in my life? I’m not sure if I am being petty or if this growing desire is something worth addressing.

 

Wedding Cake Toppers Friday, Jul 11 2008 

Wedding , , , , , kannadian 3:16 pm

One of the few things that I actually care about for the wedding/reception is our wedding cake topper. I wanted one that had a South Asian bride and an East Asian groom. Well surprise, surprise they don’t have them. I don’t know why I thought that with the current increase in inter-ethnic marriages that wedding topper creators would get more creative. Most wedding toppers that were listed under the “ethnic” category (which is stupid since white people have an ethnicity also) were for couples from the same or similar ethnicity. There was a set of mix-and-match couples that was listed under every website I went to, but they had a pretty limited selection. Every “race” was represented by only one figurine for each sex except for *surprise surprise* the white category. They had theirs broken down into hair colour for added variety. Lucky them! There was an “Asian’ groom but there wasn’t a South Asian bride to choose from. So if we want to choose from that collection, I have to either be “African American” or “Hispanic”. *sigh*

 

Kismet Bridal Show Thursday, Jun 26 2008 

Blogs/Sites and Ignorance and Religion , , , kannadian 2:57 pm

My fiance and I just started to plan our wedding and by “just started” I mean that we just started yesterday. I started going through some bridal magazines that my mom’s co-worker gave me and aside from my constant gagging at the Disney fairytale bullshit that is plastered throughout this waste of paper, it had ads to sites including a bridal show. So I decided to go online and see if there are any upcoming shows that I can attend to help me get through this horrid planning that we have to undergo. Can you tell that I’m not a fan of wedding planning? So I came across a site that listed past and upcoming bridal shows in the Toronto area. Great! One thing that makes me life more easier. So I looked through the list and found a link to the Kismet Bridal Show which exhibits vendors for South Asian weddings. Perfect! Or so I thought. Under their articles section they had an articled called South Asian Religions and Tradtions. They had a pretty extensive collection of sections, which I was pleased to see. What I was not too thrilled about was their Christian section. At first I was excited that they had included Christianity in their article since I’ve noticed that most people generally ignore Christianity or Christians in and from India. My excitement was washed away though by the stereotypical depiction of a Christian wedding as a white, European wedding. Maybe I’m just not worldly enough, but I seriously doubt that Indian Christians incorporate a horseshoe into their wedding ceremonies. I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt it.

I’m disappointed (yet again) at the level of ignorance by people who are supposed to be educating and informing non-South Asians and non-Indians about the diversity among South Asians. Why are Christians, once again, ignored and assumed to only be of European descent? There are so many Christian traditions that are non-European and non-North American. Why must non-European descent Christians continue to be pushed to the sidelines and have their cultures, traditions and heritage ignored not only by the mainstream Christian community in the West but also by institutions that are supposed to be unbiased and public sources of information? Are these forms of Christianity not seen as good enough or accurate? That is definitely how it makes me feel. Now I cannot speak for all non-European descent Christians, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m not the only one that gets a little peeved at the level of ignorance in supposedly educated, liberal, progressive communities.

 

My Beef With Census Canada Tuesday, May 13 2008 

Canada and Identity and Prejudice , , , , kannadian 1:28 pm

It was recently declared by the most recent Census Canada data (from 2006) that South Asians have surpassed the Chinese with the largest population in the visibility minority category. From those that filled out their census form, 1.3 million people have South Asian ancestry.

There are two things that bothers me about these stats (other than people not filling out their surveys). First, the term South Asian is so broad and essentializes a diverse group of people into a category based on an abstract construction of race. According to the Cesus Canada, South Asians are individuals who were born in or whose ancestors were born in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Yup, definitely diverse. So why are all these countries lumped together while other categories like Chinese and Filipino are given their own? Just because we all fall under a category of “brown skin” doesn’t mean we should all be grouped into one category. I really don’t understand the logic behind the creation of these ethnic categories.

Second, the census asks people what ethnic categories their ancestors are and not what ethnic category/categories they want to affiliate with. Therefore someone like me, a visible minority whose ancestors fall under the category of South Asian, cannot claim my ethnicity to be Canadian. Some people would object to this, but I think it is important to find out how people want to identify themselves rather than forcing them into a labelled category based on their ancestry. Why should a person living in Canada have their identification constrained by how Stats Canada and other official organizations want to label them. If I want to call myself Canadian then I should be able to do that regardless of whether or not I was born in Canada or how my parents and grandparents affiliate themselves. First, second, and third generation Canadians should not be treated differently than later generations and all Canadian residents should be given the right to label themselves as they want. Limiting people’s ability to do so and restricting the access to classify one’s ethnicity as Canadian perpetuates the misguided ideology of Canada as a White nation where only “real Canadians” are those of fully European ancestry.

REFERENCES
The Globe And Mail: “Canada’s visible minorities top five million”

 

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