台灣人很保守嗎? Are Taiwanese Conservative?
According to The Longman Dictionary, being conservative means you are a person who is not willing to go through great and sudden changes. On the basis of my experience, most people view this word as an insult. It is because of this reason that Taiwanese, once regarded as more conservative than westerners, want to have some changes or breakthroughs in many different aspects.
Admittedly, the strong desire to imitate western culture did make us change our clothing and hairstyles. However, it is merely how Taiwanese younger generations decorate their looks in order to catch up with the fashion. Our teenagers are craving for the products or movie stars of Japan or America. If you only look at these outer appearances and manners, I can tell you that they are not conservative any more. And if you ask them some questions with regard to sexual mores, the answer they give would also be rather open. Nevertheless, I am still skeptical about whether their answers are really consistent with their beliefs.
In my view, although Taiwanese younger generations are willing to try new things, they are still deeply influenced by traditional values handed down by their parents. For example, more and more Taiwanese can accept premarital sexual activities. However, according to my interview, once they do so, some may still sense another voice at the bottom of their hearts condemning them for doing this shameful thing. The originally enjoyable experience thus becomes something imperfect or even undesirable. It seems that our deeply- rooted moralities are greatly influencing us.
Taiwan is going through a transition period. People are more willing to receive new things and different philosophies than ever before. But I still think that Taiwanese are conservative unless we can completely get rid of those old, traditional doctrines and re-construct our whole new values.
According to The Longman Dictionary, being conservative means you are a person who is not willing to go through great and sudden changes. On the basis of my experience, most people view this word as an insult. It is because of this reason that Taiwanese, once regarded as more conservative than westerners, want to have some changes or breakthroughs in many different aspects.
Admittedly, the strong desire to imitate western culture did make us change our clothing and hairstyles. However, it is merely how Taiwanese younger generations decorate their looks in order to catch up with the fashion. Our teenagers are craving for the products or movie stars of Japan or America. If you only look at these outer appearances and manners, I can tell you that they are not conservative any more. And if you ask them some questions with regard to sexual mores, the answer they give would also be rather open. Nevertheless, I am still skeptical about whether their answers are really consistent with their beliefs.
In my view, although Taiwanese younger generations are willing to try new things, they are still deeply influenced by traditional values handed down by their parents. For example, more and more Taiwanese can accept premarital sexual activities. However, according to my interview, once they do so, some may still sense another voice at the bottom of their hearts condemning them for doing this shameful thing. The originally enjoyable experience thus becomes something imperfect or even undesirable. It seems that our deeply- rooted moralities are greatly influencing us.
Taiwan is going through a transition period. People are more willing to receive new things and different philosophies than ever before. But I still think that Taiwanese are conservative unless we can completely get rid of those old, traditional doctrines and re-construct our whole new values.