UK
Increasing diversity
Within the United Kingdom, there have been enormous changes in terms
of 'culture' over the past few decades.
This has been affected
by the increasing ethnic diversity of the population, as well
as changes in the media, education and of course, music and fashion.
A popular pastime of politicians seems to be to try and define
what it means to be 'British' - the fact that the UK is made
up
of four different countries, each with their own regions, makes
this an almost impossible task.
Factors such as language, food
and nationality all play a part.
Food
In the past, many people would think of fish and chips or something
stodgy as being typical of at least British food.
But that has
changed. In April 200, the then foreign minister Robin Cook claimed
that chicken tikka masala had become the national dish - thereby
reflecting the ethnic diversity of the country.
A recent survey
of restaurants in Britain has found that Chinese food is the
most popular choice. Like the chicken tikka dish, much
Chinese food
has been adapted for British tastes - usually to feature a
'gravy' or sauce. 
Fashion
Case Study 1: Ruzina Khatun
I feel comfortable wearing eastern clothes at home and when going
out to relative's house. In addition I like wearing salwar kameez
because they are loose and fashionable and you can get many different
designs from them.
On the other hand, I also like wearing western clothes, usually
at work, or sometimes when I am with friends. I wear long skirts
or trousers, loose tops, sometimes long tops but nothing too revealing.
On special occasions I tend to wear sarees, lehngas. When I go shopping
for eastern clothes, I usually go to Green Street; my favourite shop
to go to is Damini's or Mehendi's. However, when I go shopping for
western clothes I tend to go to Miss Selfridges, Next, Gap or Top
Shop.
I believe eastern and western clothing has become more fashionable
to wear together i.e. people now mix and match. Eastern clothes has
also become more popular and fashionable in high street shops for
different people from different cultures and background to wear them. |
