I should start this by pointing out that I’m as aware as the next human about the invented nature of “tradition” in general and “traditional dress” in particular. I know of the áo dài’s questionably “Vietnamese” roots (looks kinda Khmer now that you mention it), its recent invention (at best a bare 200 years, but really only since the 1920s), and above all how national costumes of any sort tend to promote the objectification if not commodification of women. But all that aside, the áo dài has undeniably become a symbol of Vietnam, ranking up in the top three along with the nón lá and phở. I mean, what else do we have? Honking horns?
Truth be told, there are a lot worse national symbols. If we allow ourselves to put political correctness to one side for just a moment, I think we all can admit that a woman wearing a well-tailored áo dài can be strikingly beautiful. To compare, a young woman in Korea’s national costume, the hanbok, to my mind at least, looks vaguely comical and more than a little uncomfortable. A young woman in an áo dài, on the other hand, looks graceful, demure, and sexy all at the same time. Throw in a Huế accent and she’s pretty much irresistible.
Which is why it saddened me to hear that one of my Vietnamese students had advised her American classmates not to have áo dài made before returning home. As the student explained it, in Vietnam today, áo dài are worn almost exclusively by woman in the service industry, Vietnam Airlines flight attendants, wait staff in certain “traditional” restaurants, and hotel receptionists being prime examples. As a result, the áo dài had taken on certain negative class connotations: essentially it was the uniform of working women. Not quite factory overalls, but close.
While for foreigners and overseas Vietnamese the áo dài remains a beautiful, fashionable, and uniquely Vietnamese style of dress, for at least one young Vietnamese woman, it has taken on a very different set of meanings. In our haste to create a “brand identity” – for Vietnam as much as for Vietnam airlines – have we killed the áo dài?
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let's just say that what the chinese, french, and americans failed to do had been done in by the "Hollywood" way in less than ten years. i used to wear a blue ao dai as a TIAGS agent and my daughter will continue that tradition here in Davis, CA. At least, she'll have an understanding of the meaning of Vietnamese girl. I wonder how often do you miss that view on your profile.
ReplyDeleteWhy Thay?! Now that you pointed it that way...I can never look at the flight attendant, the receptionist the same way again! Darn "brand identity"! But the again, I'm grateful that I was able to see such "symbol" during my study. Do you remember the waitress in Hue, she wore a very nice purple ao dai and her "da" was so "ngot"? And the receptionist at the banquet in her black&white ao dai...? AND the flight attendants in their red/burgundy ao dai...so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI wish EAP/HANU wear ao dai trang at least once a week as part of the "uniform"!
Thank you for writing this poignant entry comparing the different youth's views about áo dài. On my most recent trip, my cousin also advised me not to get one because it is "quê mùa". Growing up there, she has been conditioned to value anything that is culturally foreign and unappreciative of the immensely rich diversity and heritage of Việt Nam. She'd prefer to own a pair of chucks than a hand-crafted áo dài. On the other hand, living in the US has organically pushed me to be more ethnocentric and appreciative of every unique moiety of my culture. Áo dài is worthy symbol of the strong-yet-ephemeral, provocative-yet-demure, tradition but can also be cutting edge that are the epitome of the Vietnamese women that I know.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, with the ease of access and increase in the varied modalities of modern communication between Vietnamese youths across the globe, a paradigm shift can occur regarding the significance of preserving Vietnamese heritage. It might not be apparent to Vietnamese youth, living in Vietnam, but with every advent of Korean boyband, Chinese soap opera, countless Americanism ... they are losing a bit of ownership of "văn hóa thuần túy của người Việt Nam."