I've been thinking about something for quite some time, ever since my mom mentioned this one sentence.
'The reason why Japanese/Korean fashion can't get into Singapore is because of people like YOU who can't accept things like that.'
To be honest, I associate everything to do with Japanese and Korean fashion to be 'C'. I mean, there are tons of girls out there who are Jap/Korean wannabes and they think that they will stand out if they dress such that they don't look like Singaporeans.
Surprisingly, there are MORE MALE wannabes than females and I admit, I tend to stereotype against people like these, classifying them under the same roof as 'C'. I try not to associate with any as much as I can and of course, don't follow their fashion styles because I don't want to be mistaken for a C myself.
But after pondering for some time regarding what my mum said to me, I asked myself: hey, does it even matter?
It might not be wise to mimic any form of extreme dressing style, but is it worth putting away something you like, just because you're afraid of people mistaking you for something(or someone) you're not?
I'm not saying I'm terribly fond of Japanese or Korean styles; in fact I think those styles aren't always compatible with the average Singaporean female. Consequently, local girls who sport those Japanese or Korean styles may end up looking like "posers", when in actual fact they had no such intention.
On the other hand, to everyone else around me, I might very well be viewed as one of these "wannabes" too! See, I'm wearing everything that is totally unrelated to Cs because I don't want to look like one. I'm usually wearing just a pair of jeans, a tee-shirt, my headset and cuffs because I love the feeling of seeming different. Certain observers may speculate that I dress this way because I'm not proud of my roots, and don't wish to look like a normal "Asian"?
I'll be the first to admit that at times I find myself wondering if I could be of another race; something other than Chinese. Perhaps that's what I like so much about those "pieces of cloth" I hoard in my closet.
One thing i probably regret the most is my poor command of Mandarin. How can I, a Singaporean - no, a CHINESE SINGAPOREAN - NOT be able to speak fluent Mandarin? It might have been the inherent dislike i had for the language. Who knows? =x
Even I don't have the answer to that. Illogical as it may sound, I might actually have disliked Mandarin due to the aversion i felt towards Cs. Come to think of it, I don't really like the idea of despising my own kind, my own race. After all, they're no different from me and they can choose to behave/dress/carry themselves howsoever they choose to, right?
Plus, if you think about it, some of them are, in a sense, better than those like me because they speak Mandarin and hold on to their traditions whereas we sometimes take them for granted.
There are others out there who speak Mandarin at home and yet speak English outside of it. People like Chernyu, YUANTING or Weichan are good examples of such people, but I most certainly do NOT classify them as Cs! It can however be said that most of us (with the exception of Weichan I think) have abandoned some of our Chinese culture and drifted towards western influence because of say, peer pressure? Or the media?
Ok I'm crapping a lot. My brain's kinda dead today, had to wake up really early and stuff and hey, I got my knife set yo ;)
Don't mess with me or I might just test it out on you :D Just kidding! XD