This story has been republished from VietnamEazy.com As a kid in Saigon I remember my grandmother taking me to watch Lên Đồng, or Spirit Possession Rituals, in the evenings after dinner has been served. She dressed up and took me down alley ways somewhere in our neighborhood to someone's house. The home is packed with people sitting or standing around a small stage. It is large enough for about five people, 4 were attendants and the person who is designated as the receiver of

It is undeniable Vietnamese American youths enjoy American pop culture. They also gravitate toward Japanese anime, Korean pop music, and Chinese Hong Kong movies and dramas. But what is V-Pop? Vietnamese Americans do not yet have our own unique form of modern day cultural pastime. Therefore, we look to other cultures for entertainment. However, if you are Vietnamese, you would have heard of “Paris By Night.” This variety show began exclusively in Paris then later moved their

As a researcher of the cultural life of Vietnamese living overseas, one of the major lenses through which I analyze their world is semiotics: the study of symbols and meaning. Because of the many overseas Vietnamese who left their homeland in the late 20th century, I often think about what being Vietnamese means to people who feel disconnected from the geographic symbol of Vietnam. When someone says, "Tôi là người Việt Nam" (I am a Vietnamese person), what other concepts of s

When I was a kid, I played outside every day. Often I came home with scrapes and bruises. "You are going to get a scar and nobody will want to marry you," my mom would scold me. "Con gái phải xinh đẹp. Girls have to be pretty. Stop playing outside." Her words terrified me. Playing so hard that I occasionally hurt myself could decrease my marriage value, and I would be considered a creature unworthy of matrimony—a failure. For a long time, I wanted badly to be a boy, so I coul