The Wong Name

                                        ("Wong Ranch." Futurama Wiki. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.)


1)
The last name, Wong, is deeply rooted in Chinese history. The original stylization, 黄,was translated into English as Hwang, Huang, and Wong. In Chinese, the word means "yellow" and is the eighth most common surname in China. It's traditionally passed down orally through generations that this last name comes from the legendary Yellow Emperor of the Han dynasty long ago.

 To me, my name is a connection to my roots. Since I'm mixed, it's hard to claim to be part of a culture when I often hear that I "should only pick one race" to identify with. So by bearing the same name my grandfather did as he emigrated from Guangdong to San Francisco for a better life, I can feel like I'm part of something instead of without a culture completely. Although my last name doesn't define me (because there's more to someone than a label), it reminds me of my family history and is something I'm proud of.

 Having an obviously foreign last name throughout life has had its advantages and disadvantages. It's an easy way to prove my ethnicity and I can claim minority status on forms. More importantly, Wong is a fantastic name for puns ("you've called the Wong number," etc.)
However, some people make assumptions about me based on my last name, which affects the way they perceive me. Plus, I'm usually at the end of all lines since Wong starts with a W. That sucks.

Traditionally in society, women take the last name of the man they marry. Lately, however, it's become more acceptable for a woman to keep her surname or hyphenate it with her husband's name. I believe that it's a woman's choice and if she chooses to keep her last name instead of taking a man's , more power to her. After all, the practice seems old fashioned and patriarchal in nature. But I think that it's become so deeply rooted in our culture that it's less of a control thing and more of a tradition.

2)

 I can relate to Anna Quindlen and her statement about having "two me's." In my case, I live with my mom during the week and my dad on the weekends. When this arrangement first began, my mom had a more relaxed parenting approach while my dad was more strict. During the week, I did my own thing and on the weekends I was more limited. My dad expected me to spend the entire weekend with him without going to see friends or inviting anyone over. He wanted me to get to bed by 8 every night. Among other things, he wanted me to conduct myself in a way that clashed with my personality. I adhered to his rules for a while and tried to change myself to fit all of his standards. Eventually, it became too much of a struggle to switch between how I lived at my mom's house and how I lived at my dad's. Even though I wanted to be who he wanted me to be, it was more important to be myself. After talking it over, we both agreed on a solution. Looking back on it, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but it was necessary to eliminate the second and untrue "me."

Blog Post 1

Author: Wing Young Huie
Date: 1997-2000
Place of Publication: Minneapolis, Minnesota (Lake Street USA)


On first examination, we see that there is one adult monk and four young novice monks. They are preparing for a formal event (Laotian funeral service). They are wearing traditional outfits and the setting could be mistaken for Laos, aside from the large American flag in the room. Upon further inspection, Wing Young Huie's photograph shows the presence of a completely foreign culture within America. The photographer has depicted how people of different cultures have come to live in the United States still retain customs and traditions (dress/Laotian funeral) that typical Americans might see as alien. However, these groups of people do not submit to uniformity with the country as everyone must do in The Handmaid's Tale.

 Both Wing Young Huie and Margaret Atwood have created works that touch on the subject of "othering." Huie uses images of real people while Atwood fabricated a story that drew heavily from reality. In several of Huie's photographs, there are people who have been subject to othering.

Author: Wing Young Huie
Date: 2012
Place of Publication: Minneapolis, Minnesota (Lake Street USA)

In this photo, two African American young adults have signs discussing how society wrongfully perceives them (stereotypes). This example is a real-life othering. In Atwood's novel, othering takes place between genders. The society is patriarchal and women are considered vessels and are useful only for their reproductive abilities. In The Handmaid's Tale, the handmaid's outfits (red dresses and white wings) instill uniformity into the culture and are used as a way of othering individuals in society who choose to stand out. However, in the picture I chose from Wing Young Huie, the photographer shows that in America, individuality can still exist and the others are not forced to conform. This seems to be a more optimistic view of our society.