As you can imagine living here in China we have seen MANY differences between our American culture and the Chinese culture. Some are only slightly different and some vastly different. It is often hard for us to remember that our culture isn't necessarily better just different than theirs. It's especially hard to remember that when it comes to things that really in our American way of doing things seem to be just plain rude if done differently.
Well, one of the most obvious differences we see between cultures is in what is viewed as masculine and what is viewed (or not viewed) as feminine. I mean, in the US, everyone knows what looks manly and what doesn't. Now I know that you can't make a gross generalization about all Americans in the same way that you can't make gross generalizations about all Chinese but by and large Americans abide by a certain norm that says what color we put our little girls and little boys in, what color of umbrellas men carry, what color bikes men ride on, etc. Well, here in China you can just throw all those ways of thinking out the door. John and I are constantly cracking up when we see something like this - pictured below.
Now this is a young man in his 20's walking to work by himself...his girlfriend/wife isn't with him and just not in the picture...he's walking by himself and carrying a very lovely pink umbrella with a little girl and boy standing under a tree kissing! John and I happened to be walking behind him on Nanjing Road (the major shopping street in Shanghai - think 5th Avenue in NY) and could not help but crack up about his choice of umbrella and how it didn't bother him in the slightest. As we were walking, another man, probably our age, rides by on a pink bicycle. And then another man rides by on a lavender scooter.
Another time, I was at Decathlon, a sporting goods store that sells a whole host of things, when a young family walked to the coats beside me. It was a mom, dad and a little boy. They were looking at all the coats for little ones and which one do you think they picked up for that little 5 year old boy - a bright, shiny, sparkly, purple one (I'm not kidding) when there was a very handsome brown one right beside it! They had him try it on and then just raved about how great he looked in. They proceeded to the checkout and bought it. All the while, my brain is screaming inside, "that is a girls coat...I mean, seriously, a girls coat - there is no mistake about it. I know because I have 3 girls and really only 2 of my "girliest" ones would wear that sparkly coat." But, alas, things are just viewed differently here. This last example is the one that really solidified the observation for me.
And, I'm not even going to touch the subject of the "man-purse" that these Chinese men carry...you'll have to wait to here John's rendition of that story!
Well, one of the most obvious differences we see between cultures is in what is viewed as masculine and what is viewed (or not viewed) as feminine. I mean, in the US, everyone knows what looks manly and what doesn't. Now I know that you can't make a gross generalization about all Americans in the same way that you can't make gross generalizations about all Chinese but by and large Americans abide by a certain norm that says what color we put our little girls and little boys in, what color of umbrellas men carry, what color bikes men ride on, etc. Well, here in China you can just throw all those ways of thinking out the door. John and I are constantly cracking up when we see something like this - pictured below.
Now this is a young man in his 20's walking to work by himself...his girlfriend/wife isn't with him and just not in the picture...he's walking by himself and carrying a very lovely pink umbrella with a little girl and boy standing under a tree kissing! John and I happened to be walking behind him on Nanjing Road (the major shopping street in Shanghai - think 5th Avenue in NY) and could not help but crack up about his choice of umbrella and how it didn't bother him in the slightest. As we were walking, another man, probably our age, rides by on a pink bicycle. And then another man rides by on a lavender scooter.Another time, I was at Decathlon, a sporting goods store that sells a whole host of things, when a young family walked to the coats beside me. It was a mom, dad and a little boy. They were looking at all the coats for little ones and which one do you think they picked up for that little 5 year old boy - a bright, shiny, sparkly, purple one (I'm not kidding) when there was a very handsome brown one right beside it! They had him try it on and then just raved about how great he looked in. They proceeded to the checkout and bought it. All the while, my brain is screaming inside, "that is a girls coat...I mean, seriously, a girls coat - there is no mistake about it. I know because I have 3 girls and really only 2 of my "girliest" ones would wear that sparkly coat." But, alas, things are just viewed differently here. This last example is the one that really solidified the observation for me.
And, I'm not even going to touch the subject of the "man-purse" that these Chinese men carry...you'll have to wait to here John's rendition of that story!
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