Danielle Marie Herrera
Prof. Maira
ASA 4 A04
16 May 2017
The film On Orientalism featured Edward Said providing an in-depth explanation of the term "Orientalism" and why it is important to the Asian-American community. According to Said, the term aims to answer the question of why there exists a preconceived notion of Asians in Western culture. The term "Orientalism" literally refers to the West orienting itself as being opposite to the East; therefore, when the West describes the "Orient" as barbaric, backwards, and simple, it implicitly defines itself as civilized, progressive, and complex. Orientalism still manifests itself today.
The sixth chapter of Shah's Laotian Daughters titled "Family, Culture, Gender" appears to be unclear on whether she is clearly critiquing or complicating the idea of Orientalism. In the chapter, she contrasts Laotian and American culture to challenge the stigma against teen pregnancy in Laotian women, since it is common tradition for teen Laotian women to become pregnant. However, in making such distinctions, Shah appears to be perpetuating a separation between Americans and Laotians and creates generalizations about authentic culture in each context. A phenomenon mentioned that I found particularly easy to relate to was code-switching, or a change in behavior based on context. I have definitely felt the need to code-switch based on whether I am around my conservative Asian family or liberal schoolmates and teachers; this code-switching could manifest itself through my clothing choice, language, or mannerisms. A mere change in the way I carry myself - a subdued head vs. a confident stance - can serve as examples of code-switching.
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