Language

The proverbial value that youth have a responsibility to respect and provide continuous care for elderly members of our communities even into their old age—a notion commonly known as ‘Filial Piety’—is an idea that is intertwined with contentious discourse surrounding ‘Chinese’ identity. But for all the stereotypes surrounding filiality regarding treatment of our elderly, I do genuinely wonder if that’s just the way people rhetorically pat themselves on the back while ignoring the bleaker reality of how society continues to be largely apathetic and dehumanizing towards senior citizens. One vivid memory I have of such apathy was during a summer abroad language exchange during my undergraduate years: I was running late for a facial appointment that a relative of mine—one of many extremely conservative aunts in my family who policed my apparent ‘lack of femininity’ as an adolescent woman at every given chance—had scheduled for me in an old apartment in Yau Ma Tei. Some self-owned businesses operated out of cheaply rented buildings in the area, and my facial spa was just one of many Read More