I feel really relaxed in Australia...
... because the rules of grooming seem much more flexible in this country... (except for my mother, but more on that later...).
(Luigina...white...and her Mother...green...)
... because the rules of grooming seem much more flexible in this country... (except for my mother, but more on that later...).
In Korea, the rules of grooming don't seem particularly relaxed... there is certainly a significant amount of pressure on women in Korea to be groomed rather precisely (everyone is checking their BB cream application in the subway mirrors). Australian grooming is...well...there are certainly less rules about weight and hair and skin in Australia. There are definitely heavier people in Australia...that is...with larger hips and so on...
...And the rules of grooming in Australia may change depending on your industry and your comfort level. It is not necessarily a sin if you forget to put on make-up in the morning in Australia (and plenty of my Australian friends never touch make-up...like...EVER).
...And the rules of grooming in Australia may change depending on your industry and your comfort level. It is not necessarily a sin if you forget to put on make-up in the morning in Australia (and plenty of my Australian friends never touch make-up...like...EVER).
(some of my Mother's shoes...in Australia...)
I have struggled with managing my appearance in the workplace in Korea (as I have mentioned previously) because in Korea, your employer can hire you or fire you quite easily based on your appearance alone (and I am much bigger than Korean girls; in height, in the shoulders, and around the thighs...).
Korean women know that an investment in their appearance (which may or may not involve plastic surgery...) is also a very big investment in their careers. My friends who work as translators and interpreters in Seoul are most certainly picked up by companies more frequently than other translators based on their appearance (so they tell me...), because they have to work with foreign male clients. Females in Korea are very aware of the fact they they are scrutinized highly based on their appearance, even perhaps before someone reviews their skills.
(Photo Source: 신민아 kpopfantasia.wordpress.com)
Korean women know that an investment in their appearance (which may or may not involve plastic surgery...) is also a very big investment in their careers. My friends who work as translators and interpreters in Seoul are most certainly picked up by companies more frequently than other translators based on their appearance (so they tell me...), because they have to work with foreign male clients. Females in Korea are very aware of the fact they they are scrutinized highly based on their appearance, even perhaps before someone reviews their skills.
I think the reason why Australians have more flexibility in their appearance is because there seem to be discrimination laws in place to protect workers with regards to their weight, face, ethnicity...etc etc. It is certainly illegal in Australia to fire a worker or refuse to employ someone if they are overweight or look old. In Korea, overweight individuals and people over 38 are clearly disadvantaged in employment... and height is also another basis on which individuals can be discriminated against in the workplace... based on the idea that taller employees give a better image for the company (some of my shorter Korean friends place inserts into their shoes to make them appear taller for interviews).
Anyway... whilst most Australians do not seem so aggressive about judging their employers or employees based on their weight or age...there are certainly some Australians who are very very particular about grooming.
One of those individuals would be ....my Mother....(...**stress**...)
My mother at the horse races... ;
(in a white hat...);
(in a white hat...);
In the 90s there was a phase known loosely as '90s grunge'... and during that time I cut my hair really really short and didn't wash it. I also didn't brush my hair. My best friend and I bought a skateboard with our pocket money. Then we started wearing boys clothes we bought from the op-shops in our town. It was all very strategic and I remember having a mopey expression that kind of worked well with my greasy hair and the skateboard I was dragging around. I even wore hideously baggy pants and skateboard shoes! Wow...how elegant were the mid-late 90s...mmm...
(more of my Mother's shoes...)
Anyway, I did not converse with my Mother at all in the 90s (I was broody, she tolerated it...)... the reason was certainly related to the fact that she was anti-grunge and I was pro-grunge... at least I remember carrying a skateboard and looking unclean...I think that was what I was doing... it was 12 years ago...
My mother was (still is) one of those aggressive Italian ladies who owns furs (...I don't think she wears them these days) and leathers and wears perfume. We don't even look like mother and daughter. If she was a Countess, I would be a stable girl. Grooming didn't come naturally to me (it still doesn't) and I found the idea of being 'well-groomed' an anti-feminist political movement.
(one of my Mother's trophies for 'Most Elegant Lady')
After growing up surrounded by angry Italian ladies with their clunky jewels...I now realize that these Italian women don't wear their giant earrings and snake-skin shoes to uphold their culture...they do it because they find it rather empowering...
...it doesn't make me personally want to wear any kind of gold or ruby rings or any fendi, but from the outside I think I can sort of get the idea... I still prefer Daria as a role model, personally, but to appease these Italian ladies I now wash my hair more frequently (I have even started to brush my hair too...big changes...)
My Mother... winning another prize...with sash and bouquet...surrounded by Swedish looking men...*very suspicious* ㅋㅋㅋ
My mother competes in fashions of the field competitions at the horse races in our home town. It is not really my kind of thing (because...well...I'm awkward and I like to stay out of the sun...) ...and I don't know how she swings the judges...but she seems to pick up a prize every year or every other year... basically, there are trophies and sashes and probably tiaras floating around the house.
One of my mother's wins at the Broken Hill horse races...St Patrick's day;
...it doesn't make me personally want to wear any kind of gold or ruby rings or any fendi, but from the outside I think I can sort of get the idea... I still prefer Daria as a role model, personally, but to appease these Italian ladies I now wash my hair more frequently (I have even started to brush my hair too...big changes...)
My Mother... winning another prize...with sash and bouquet...surrounded by Swedish looking men...*very suspicious* ㅋㅋㅋ
My mother competes in fashions of the field competitions at the horse races in our home town. It is not really my kind of thing (because...well...I'm awkward and I like to stay out of the sun...) ...and I don't know how she swings the judges...but she seems to pick up a prize every year or every other year... basically, there are trophies and sashes and probably tiaras floating around the house.
One of my mother's wins at the Broken Hill horse races...St Patrick's day;
Competing in these sorts of competitions seems to require some long-term planning and large monetary investments from the entrant.... Dress (or pantsuit), odd hat or fascinator (a funny shaped object you pin on your head...I don't get what the function of a fascinator is...), pedicure, manicure, professional hair stylist, matching shoes and bag, belt, accessories....Expensive...
While my Korean female friends seem to collect a huge number of logo handbags...my mother in Australia seems to be a collector of race hats and shoes...I secretly raided some of the hat boxes I found in the house and tried them on ...hmmm....not exactly something I would wear in Korea...
