As a Chinese-American, I think we are raised to care a lot about materialistic things. Do you think its too much? Girls are given a lot of pressure to be thin. To look good. To do well in school. Not enough emphasis is placed on being happy.

^ maybe when our parents were escaping their birth countries they didn't have the chance to be the hot girl/guy, so now they are trying to make up for it. I darno, i don't see it as being materialistic, cos if u look good, then generally you feel good.

Eh i dont think this is something that has to do with race at all. A white or black person can relate to this just as any asian person can.

I know what you mean. my parents are still living at a time when women stayed at home and accepts abuse from men. *sigh*

No matter what they say, I'm going to do what I feel is right, fair, and just.

I don't think it has to do with specifically any one race. But I think Asians are typically disproportionately concerned with looks and appearances. We seem to value it so much more than some other cultures.

Like everytime I watch TV with my Asian raised friends, they are all judgemental about how the movie stars look. They are very critical of the girl actresses' looks and they will compare themselves to movie stars. They will make fun of people who fall short of ideal standards.

I'm assuming the friends you were talkin about are girls? lets face it girls are natural born haters. Black people will do the same exact thing. They're heavily into fashion too. Look at them wearing rocawear, sean john, baby phat, etc... White people and abercrombie, a/f, lucky, j crew.
How america has the whole "model/playboy/barbie" look.
Of course there's always exceptions but yeah i still think every race is equally guilty of it.

yeh i totally agree

Yeah... girls can get really critical of each other. I don't think guys even care that much. But then you never know. I mean, its just not cool for guys to act like they are too much into fashion, but nowadays you hear more about stuff like metrosexuals. -->Guys who are straight but like to dress good.

yeh foreal, a lot of girls dress a certain way and use all kinds of designer names that cost so much money....just to show it off to other girls. Many guys don't even kno the difference between certain designer clothes in comparison to clothes that aren't deisgner.

I mean it's hard to spot out a "fake" immitation purse or shoes, or something, without examining it. If most people can't tell the difference between these, then whats the big deal?

Define materialistic. Are ya talkin bout just looks or objects/possessions? Cuz to answer your question....I'd say yeah...
I think a lot of asian people feel that appearance and success holds a lot of weight. What better way to show that off than by possessions and materialistic things. My folks are very good with their money but they also like to have nice things. My mom pressures me to look nice and presentable. My pops probably has more fashion sense than I do, lol. (I think he's just trying to deny the inevitable if you know what I mean. Still cool though)
Cuz you know, when you do something they feel is "shameful" to the family appearance/name or some crap they'll be like "what would other people think?" or "aren't you ashamed of what...blah blah blah?".

i like 2 look at least presentable when i leave the house... my parents r okay w/ w/e i wear except 4 some really skanky outfits.. but i'm not raised 2 care 4 the outside of stuff..

lol, yeh but i also know a $hitload of white girls who thinks everybody must have expensive brand name stuff.

I don't know if I'm wading into deeper water here, but I've also heard of teenage girls in Japan who sell themselves just so they can afford expensive name brands like gucci and the sort. Maybe they just greedy, lol. But, feh, I could never imagine doin that just so I can bling bling.

Hello,

I have been living in sydney for 2 years and i woul;d certainly agree that asians are superficial. Goven that it is based on a limited experience of course.

firstly, when I lived in korea i was asked more in my job interview about my photo than about my credentials. perhaps culturally there is more weight put on the association of facial features and personality than in other countries. (in some countries photos on CV's are illegal)

thats a mew point, were talking about generalisation. and as an individual its all i can do.

in my experience, the whole spectrum of asians I have met have been more concerned about material things than white or black people (middle easterners are worse, but thats another topic). men and women. old and young.

has anyone on this forum not been frustrated by a hot asian woman with an idiot in a BMW? it happens with whites and blacks too. but I am convinced that its more frequent in asians. I would also say that it does not die with ex pats. I have met so many well educated and eruditre asian women in australia and theyt are concerned about the most trivial of things. fully aussie boomerang throwers, but still wanting to "be seen" with a nice bag in a nice car.

lets not let this conversation be bogged down by political correctness.

lets bash out this issue.

as a red headed irish man

I fully believe that asians are the most superficial race in this great place we call planet earth

I will buy a BMW tomorrow

"As a Chinese-American, I think we are raised to care a lot about materialistic things. Do you think its too much? Girls are given a lot of pressure to be thin. To look good. To do well in school... "

Asians that are materialistic have lots of money to spend. Generally speaking, asians (age 30+) are hard working and saves a lot too. There is nothing wrong with how one wants to spend their hard working money.

Compare to other race, asians are not that materialistic. There is nothing wrong wanting to be thin ( why? do you want to be fat instead?). Also, there is nothing wrong wanting to look good ( you want to look bad instead?). As for doing well in school.... ( you want to do bad in school instead?)... Most of these are good pressure are they?

The people that drive me crazy are the one the wears all these brand name stuff and buys this and that. However, they cannot afford to pay their landlords on time and owe credit card companies hundreds of dollars. Wanna guess what race these people are?!?!?!?!!! I feel sorry for the collection people that have to collect money from these people.

I passed by a Louis Vuitton store in LA, peeked inside and there were 90% Asians.

What's with women and handbags.

yeah i see where it comes from.

maybe. in most asian cultures, it's difficult to be a real oneself, people tend to overly judge you. it's easier to surrender to the pressure.

Perhaps this preoccupation with materialistic thing stem from a lack of self-confidence, self-respect and even self-love. Somehow they feel inferior and makes up for it by showing off labels and bling. "Look at my Prada glasses, if I can afford Prada, I am just as good as a White person."

Nah ... I think Asian women in Asian countries are more into brandname bags than those who live in the west. And for sure those women don't carry the bags to compete against any white people.

From the fobs I see around NY, no asians dont care that much how they look. lol Asian Americans may be another story.

yes
A lot of Asians these days are too obsessed with material possessions. I have heard people say females from Hong Kong believe that a "good" boyfriend buys stuff for his girlfriend. The fact that Asian countries are becoming more developed will only make this worse. At the same time, we see a lot of Asian guys who are obsessed with expensive cars and dressing up like "gangstas." The more I think about it, the more I realize that Buddhism has a positive influence on our race.