Sonia Shah a second generation American Indian writes an anecdote ‘Tight Jeans and Chania Chorris’, arguing second generation immigrant problems through a radical feminist point of view. Issues she raises in her essay are very much identical to the issues concerning immigrant Australian families; being a second generation Australian Indian myself I am able to have a firsthand knowledge of the situation.
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A change from racism to racial acceptance in the American context seems to however take place at much faster rate than it had in Australia. Shah explains her strong opposition to her sister’s “budding sexuality”. In the beginning She seemed to be worried that her sister was “exploiting herself and setting herself up for the kind of exploitation and abuse”. She talks about her high school days, where she was treated as second class by her white male classmates who preferred “pretty girls from ‘nice’ white families”.
Her sister who is only a few years younger to her however received quite the opposite attention from the white male classmates, who happened to be the brothers of those, Shah was previously mistreated by. Here we are shown an American society whose values and morals have changed over time, immigrant girls are now accepted and have become equal to their white counterparts. A society where colour and race are no longer considered a means of valuing women. It is very similar to Australian society today, where there was a time when racism was very much prevalent and widespread.
Novels such as ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ by Melina Marchetta, published in 1990 deals with a very similar issue, of a third generation Italian Australian completing her last year of high school facing racial problems. This was the case in 1990 after which Australia received a significant raise in immigrants, in 2006 Australian society was made up of 60. 78% of people with ancestry other than Anglo-Saxon (the ‘white’ society of Australia.
This pushed for a social change gradual acceptance of the all races is now prevalent. However the change was certainly not as fast as the American Shah isters example. Parents of first generation immigrants in Australia are identical as in the case of the Shah family. Parents are scared of the Western sexual image, sex before marriage being a very important factor that is harshly opposed by almost all Indian parents in Australia. In conclusion Shah’s essay dealing with an American point of view of changing mentalities to race largely similar to the Australian point of view however the change has taken place at a slower pace in the later country.
