5.02.2009

Why It Matters, III

Part III of my little series:
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Let's take a little quiz. The winner will get a prize. I'll have to think of one.

Premise: It is 1971. You are a little girl growing up in the United States. Your heritage is East Asian. Which of these prominent East Asian female role model will you choose to emulate?
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A. Nancy Kwan, above left, playing a hussy. I'll give you a hint here. Watch this clip - if you know me at all, you'll know this is just the kind of role model I was looking for.


B. A Housekeeper - notthattheresanythingwrongwiththat. (Do you think Mr. Eddie's Father will propose to Mrs. Livingston like The Nanny? Oh. Was that still illegal back then?)
C. A Laundress, above right, pigtails required.












D. Woman at the Well (picture above left.) Scrubs stinky American GI's backs. Then lays on back.

E. Same as D above, picture above right. What? you ask? But, but that good, strong American GI will rescue her! But she is shunned. How do you know that? Was that in the episode? Well, no. You see, that grubby little boy is hers. But she's wearing long braids. Which means she's not married. Which means that's a bastard boy. Which means he's persona-non-grata. And she's shunned. Which means she'll have to earn a living laying on her back. See D, above.

or. . . . . . . . . . . the final choice:


6. Connie Chung, newscaster, journalist.
Then along comes Connie (Connie, Connie)
And does she want to set them free
and let them see reality . . .

dumdee dumdee dumda da . . . if I only had a brain...

The correct answer will be in the next post in this series.

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6 comments:

AmyP said...

I know this is not your point at all, but W.O.W. that Nancy Kwan song is terrible! I can only imagine how bad the entire movie is.

blackbelt said...

Oh but it is. It is partly, anyway.

mamawhelming said...

I also know this isn't the point, do understand the point of your quiz and why there are so many nice pictures of Connie. Having said that, I kind of like the song, in a corny musical way. Is it so different from Ann Margaret singing "How Lovely To Be A Woman" and "I've Got a Lot of Livin' To Do" in "Bye Bye Birdie?" These are the kind of social role models preteen girls like, their parents, not so much, and embarrassing on the sexism front. All tame sexually by current standards, less so a few decades ago. I didn't see the Kwan movie, however, so do not know the context.

blackbelt said...

No mama, not so different. I'm just trying to create the whole picture of the Nancy Kwan character. Women sometime have to live with the "slut or saint" dichotomy; all the more so with East Asian women.

rosemary said...

Great pics and really meaningful expression of your experience. And Connie Chung is truly fabulous. This makes me wonder who my children will chose to admire as role models of their race.

Rebecca said...

Unreal. Great post.

BTW, I still want to have lunch - we've had some things come up recently and I've been way out of touch. Hopefully, we can still get together. My in-laws are in Norristown - is that close to you?