The last time I talked to my mother, I brought up that I was watching Korean content, which meant that I was thinking about how people address each other in Korea. I had to while watching the content because it’s so strong and present. It’s similar in Taiwan, which was why I brought up with my mother. She affirmed that it was still the case. People called her ‘older sister’ and my father ‘older brother’. Unrelated people, I mean.
I’ve known this since I was a kid, by the way. I called all the peers of my parents (in the Taiwanese church) auntie and uncle. We didn’t go as far with the kids to calling each other older brother, younger sister, and such, though. That’s how East Asian cultures do it. Anyone older than you are is an older brother/sister. Anyone younger is a younger brother/sister. Age is very important, and it matters if you’re older even by a day.
I was telling my mother that I had a hard time with it beacuse I just didn’t see why it mattered.
Side note: I have to say that I believe in respecting everyone just because they are a human being. I want to put that out there that I’m not hating on respecting people.
I do have an issue with affording more respect to certain people because of random factors like gender and age. I’m twice as old as the people I’m watching (the Koreans), and they have done more in their years than I have in mine. WAY more. That’s not to say that they deserve more respect, but I don’t see why they should have to call me an honorific (if we ever met, which will never happen) just because I’m older.
My mother laughed and said I was American as the reason I didn’t understand it. I said that wasn’t it beacuse Americans are VERY rigid about gender (especially now. All those terrible laws getting passed in the South around gender. Sigh), though we are less so about age. And we call everyone by their first names (again, maybe not in the South)–at least in social situations.
My mother than said that I was post–she couldn’t remember the word for what she was trying to say. I finally realized she meant to say postmodern, which was closer, but not quite right, either. I eman, I am postmodern in many ways, but that wasn’t quite right for this situation.
She finally said, “You’re very unique.” Which, yes. I would accept that. I was thinking ‘weird’ myself, which is more apt, but unique is a kinder description of me, I guess. I am pretty unique (I have given up on the strict definition of unique being singular and binary–meaning you’re either unique or you’re not. It’s been qualified for the last few decades, and who am I to fight progress?), which I usually try to tamp down.