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.
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