Bamboo curtain

With the current focus on terrorism in Australia, it is interesting to look at this separation of “them versus us” which has long be a taboo subject for our necessity of being politically correct.

I actually started researching this while trying to assist an Asian niece who wants to get into modelling. Although vivacious and having done all the study, acting and modelling courses, signed with leading agencies, film school etc., not many jobs have been forthcoming. The reason is that there is little call for Asian print models or on catwalk for anyone under 170cm (5’7”).

With my earlier research I had written to the leading retail stores with my observation, pointing out that in Western Sydney records show over 33% are Asians and one would think there is a target market here? Myers, DJs and Target replied that they did use Asians but I did not see that in their catalogues. My local area rag had a picture of a Chinese estate Agent in an add but the only other Asians were on the adult services page.

Today in the Daily Telegraph on page 15 there is a major change with a full page length picture of Yasmine Morris from Bellevue Hills advertising The Look. Otherwise the only possible non Caucasian photos are of distorted heads of people arrested in the terror sweep and on the sports pages.

Walk south of Town Hall on George Street in central Sydney and I guarantee Chinese represent over 50% of walkers and yet again, they don’t seem to be represented in the main stream print media and on radio I have heard few voices other than from the Bing Lees. So it’s not just the representation in Western Sydney, Chatswood and now Hornsby. Again the point being, with so many Asians around, how do they escape the main stream media?

Has Australia become so politically correct that one just ignores these anomalies and pretends that there is no separation and a curtain exists?