Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 8

For this week's post, I ventured to Van Nuys with a few friends. We drove to watch a Muay Thai fight at one of their local gyms, but also stayed in the area to walk around to eat and explore. I would like to use this experience in order to compare ideas with our lecture, Axes of Difference.

I had always thought of Van Nuys as a predominately Asian area, as I have only ever been to the Ranch 99 Asian Market and other Asian restaurants in the area with my family. This time however, walking around I saw a few small liquor stores, a strange restaurant called "Hogley Wogley" if I remember correctly, a Denny's restaurant, an Astin Martin car dealership, a take out Hawaiian BBQ restaurant, a Taco Bell, and an old low-income neighborhood. It was quite strange to see all these clashing businesses and differences within the same few blocks.

Using Simply Maps, I looked up the dominant races of the area and found that it is comprised of Asian and Hispanic populations with a mixture of low to middle ranged income. Why was an Astin Martin car dealership was present? I have no idea. Maybe the land/rent for their business is cheap and they figure customers with the money to buy their cars will come to them.

Large Hispanic population

Large Asian population

Mixed household incomes

Anyways, thinking of Max Weber's idea of class difference, that differences often depend on culture, seems like a good comparison for my experience in Van Nuys. If you examine the Simply Maps closer, you can see that the Asian population is dominant in the bottom area with the higher income, whereas the Hispanic population is dominant in the upper area of the map with lower income. This may be attributed from their own culture pertaining to anything from religion to their occupation or lifestyles. Asians are often very hard working and persistent, as well as dedicated to their beliefs or current goals. I could definitely see this trait at the Muay Thai fight I attended; the host gym kept it very traditional, and often their own members would pray and conduct rituals before each fight. The competitors from other gyms were often Hispanic or White, and seemed confused by the ritualistic behavior - some even seemed to smirk or laugh. Although religion and culture do not necessarily make one better than another in life, it may be an encouragement/dedication that keeps one humble and motivated to continue and strive to better themselves.

Waiting for the fight to begin

I also want to quickly discuss gender differences, and how it is a floating signifier that represents different images and ideas depending on the time, context, and culture. In many cultures (especially Asian) I know that women are not regarded as equal to men. They are often not seen as sacred or strong, and are not accepted or allowed to partake in traditional rituals. For example, a few years back I attended the traditional Kantou Festival in Japan with my brother. Heavy lanterns are carried throughout the festival by groups of men who would occasionally stop and allow the crowd to take pictures or attempt to hold a lantern. When one of these groups came toward us, I learned the hard way that women are not allowed to touch or take part in this tradition. My brother held a lantern to take a picture, but I was yelled at and shooed away as I approached to touch one. This was not my first time with an experience like this either. When I was younger, I was part of a traditional Chinese lion dance group, and we would perform for special occasions such as Chinese New Year or personal weddings. At the end of a show, we would always step out of the lion in order to bow, and I often became accustomed to hearing gasps of awe when the audience saw that I was not a man. There was one show that it was requested that I could not perform, and they asked me to stand aside while a man took my place instead - as the bride and groom felt that I would bring bad luck to their blessing of the lions. So returning to my point of the Muay Thai competition I attended a few days ago, I realized that there were very few women present, and most definitely not in the ring to compete. I feel as if martial arts is still regarded as a man's sport (especially as I used to learn Kung Fu as well) and it is not the accepted image for women.

Culture plays a large role in differences, whether is it class differences or the floating signifier of gender. Although these differences are not as predominant in today's society, they still exist and can be seen when they are looked for.