Society & Politics

Same –sex and other Desires: Asian diversity in the face of Australian decadence

By Mridula Nath Chakraborty

Even as the country is in the grip of issues that seem to beset it from every angle, environmental concerns, racial discrimination, housing crisis, fluctuating dollar etc., the powers and parties that be are seeking to introduce yet another cog in the political machinery. Amidst the chilling winter in Australia this year, one issue seems to be giving many a heat-rash. As the ‘debate’ around same-sex marriage hots up and cries of religious alarm go up, there has been an unusual moment of ‘solidarity’ with Asia.

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21/07/15 Diaspora & Travel , Society & Politics # Arab, beauty, Black, coloured, colourism, dark skin, Dating, East Asian, European, Gay, Indian, LGBTI, Online, Persian, racism, Sexual Hierarchy, shadism, Spanish, Sri Lankan

I Am Half Spanish

By Gary Paramanathan

My best friend and I have this running joke, I’ll say “I’m half Spanish” and she’ll ask “which half?” usually this rapport is met with slight amusement or dismay by the rest of our friends. I am not half Spanish, I’m entirely Sri Lankan (whatever that means?) So why this joke? It is our special little jab, we pull it out when we sense someone is in denial of his or her South Asianess. By in denial, I mean trying to fabricate an identity that is a bit more mainstream, more appealing, and more special than the average South Asian. This kind of identity transition seems important especially in the dating world, where “mixed” is in and single origin is out. You only have to browse through any of the top dating apps to see South Asians, readily selecting “mixed” heritage.

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18/07/15 Arts & Culture , Australia , Diaspora & Travel , Meddling Maami , Society & Politics # agony aunt, marriage, Meddling Maami, office politics, olfactory, prejudice, smell, stereotypes

What level of talent do I need to have/achieve so I’m never pestered into finding a husband?

My dears! It was so so lovely to see you all at the great little bash we had to celebrate the launch of our wonderful Southern Crossings blogazine. Who cared that we were not allowed to reserve tables inside the pub? Who noticed the thunderous pouring rain in the courtyard amid the cacophonous warmth of southerners from the subcontinent and the island-continent? My dear nephews and nieces, you set the bar (ha ha, pun intended) really high with your revelling that night. Joy of joys, some of you even came and revealed your heart’s secrets and appealed to me for comfort, like old times. Now that I have had the time to think deeply and deliciously about your concerns, here’s some skerricks of advice from your loving Meddling Mammi.

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15/07/15 Arts & Culture , Australia , Diaspora & Travel , Society & Politics # Baltistan, border crossers, borders, China, Deepa Mehta, diaspora, Earth, Hindu, India, Jammu, Kargil, Kashmir, Ladakh, Leh, Lenny, Muslim, Pakistan, Parsi, Shanti Stupa, Sikh, South Asia, Tibet, travel

On not fitting into boxes: An exploration of borders and border-crossers

By Sukhmani Khorana

Born in Jammu, the winter capital of the northernmost state of India, I felt rather like the character of Lenny in Deepa Mehta’s film, Earth. For those who may not be familiar with the text, Lenny is a Parsi girl living in Pakistan at the time of partition whose life is thrown asunder as she plays neutral witness to the growing feuds among her erstwhile neighbourly Hindu, Muslim and Sikh friends and carers.

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01/07/15 Arts & Culture , Australia , Society & Politics # asylum seeker, Australian Border Force Act, Bill Shorten, detention centres, government, immigration, Manus Island, Moss Review, Nauru, Peter Dutton, refugee, Reza Berati, Tony Abbott

The Australian Border Force Act 2015: a blight on the Australian Government and on the fundamental principles of democracy

By Annatina Aguiar

The Australian Border Force Act 2015 which commenced on 1 July 2015 is a very concerning piece of legislation because of its far-reaching consequences for democracy, truth and transparency in relation to Australia’s detention of asylum seekers. It seeks to severely restrict the freedom of speech of “entrusted persons” associated with any detention centre and as such, continues to violate the human rights of asylum seekers housed in Australian detention centres.

Section 42 of the Act is one of the most disturbing aspects of the Act, entitled “Secrecy”. Pursuant to section 42, a person who is an “entrusted person” commits an offence if he or she makes a record of, or discloses, what is termed “protected information”, without express permission from the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. An “entrusted person” is defined to mean government employees, consultants or contractors. “Protected information” means any information that a person comes across while working for, or in, detention centres.

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16/06/15 Arts & Culture , Australia , Diaspora & Travel , Society & Politics # audience, Australia, Australian theatre, diaspora, India, Kiran Nagarkar, Mahabharata, Nautanki, Parramatta, performance, performing arts, Riverside, South Asia, South Asian theatre, sutradhar, Sydney

Making a Scene: A review of Kiran Nagarkar’s ‘Bedtime Story’

By Sumedha Iyer

As we took our seats in the theatre, the actors were on the stage chatting amongst themselves, rehearsing lines and practising their blocking for the evening’s performance. There was no cocoon of darkness for the audience to make themselves comfortable in as the show started – the lights stayed on even as the sutradhar/chorus A.A. Larry ordered the actors into their places. This departure from the usual theatregoing experience was intentional; the audience was to be involved in the ‘bedtime story’ to come.

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12/06/15 Arts & Culture , Australia , Diaspora & Travel , Society & Politics # Agra, Australia, communalism, diaspora, education, English language skills, immigrant, India, Israel, Mumbai, New Delhi, Perth, PhD, women

A Double–edged Sword

By Rashida Murphy

July 1985. Sahar Airport, Mumbai: In the urgent business of holding a baby in my arms while negotiating the curly line towards the exit, to where a Qantas 747 waits to take me to Perth, I forget to look around one last time. I miss the sight of Mumbai or Bombay as it was then, saying goodbye. It was never my hometown anyway. It was just where I lived. And I was on the threshold of a new life, as a desirable immigrant with double degrees and English language skills. Australia, about which I knew little except that it had large reserves of underground water and farms the size of small countries in Europe, waited.

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09/06/15 Arts & Culture , Australia , Diaspora & Travel , Society & Politics # Australia, belonging, cosmopolitan, digital media, diversity, hashtag, hipstamatic, India, nostalgia, Sydney, university, vivid

A Hipstamatic filter won’t fix your Nostalgia

There is much written about diasporic nostalgia for a lost homeland in literature, literary theory, and even media and cultural studies scholarship. As a first generation migrant from India to Australia, I also once longed for the smell of hot samosas on a rainy day, but that is only part of the tale.

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02/06/15 Arts & Culture , Australia , Diaspora & Travel , Society & Politics # Australia, humour, India, laughter, racism, racist jokes, smell, subversion

’Why Do Indians Smell?’ The Case for the Self-Referential Racist Joke

By Sumedha Iyer

“Why do Indians smell? So blind people can hate them too.” My mother told me that joke when I was in my early teens. I was both offended and energised by it. This sucks, that smelly Indian person could be me! But it’s my mum too, and she’s telling the joke. Which is delicious. Like samosas and chutney. Wait, that’s a stereotype. Am I being racist? My head hurts.

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26/05/15 Arts & Culture , Society & Politics # Aboriginal, African American, cultural appropriation, culture, Gwen Stefani, Indian, Japanese, Madonna, MIA, Nicki Minaj, pop culture

The Thing About Cultural Appropriation

by Gary Paramanathan

Cultural appropriation is rife these days, just about everyone from Miley Cyrus to your non-Japanese neighbour in her geisha outfit are edging on pushing some cultural politico over the edge. I was one of them, I was totally sold on cultural appropriation, and by that I mean how bad it was, how it needed to be stopped….etc etc. Then I started having my doubts.

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Same –sex and other Desires: Asian diversity in the face of Australian decadence

I Am Half Spanish

What level of talent do I need to have/achieve so I’m never pestered into finding a husband?

On not fitting into boxes: An exploration of borders and border-crossers

The Australian Border Force Act 2015: a blight on the Australian Government and on the fundamental principles of democracy

Making a Scene: A review of Kiran Nagarkar’s ‘Bedtime Story’

A Double–edged Sword

A Hipstamatic filter won’t fix your Nostalgia

’Why Do Indians Smell?’ The Case for the Self-Referential Racist Joke

The Thing About Cultural Appropriation

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