12 Most Bizarre Asian Cultural Habits Pt 1

What is considered the norm in Asia may be considered weird and bizarre to people in the Western worlds. Many Westerners today feel that it is uncivilized to eat food with your fingers, but if you ask any Indian they will say that eating with your fingers will makes the food taste better. This has to do with who we are and what we belief in as a race. Today we will take a look at a few Asian habits that most Westerners view as bizarre, yet they are still being practiced in many communities throughout Asia.

Chinese Foot Binding


Foot binding is a traditional Chinese practice of wrapping a young girl’s feet so that her feet would remain tiny. Foot binding works by wrapping the feet of the girls with cloth strips which kept the feet from growing. The feet of girls are bound tightly and over time the foot becomes deformed to where it forms a point. This custom was practiced in China for approximately one thousand years based on the Chinese view of how the ideal woman should be – one with small feminine feet. This practice is no longer popular in China’s society today. Nevertheless, there are over 1 million Chinese women living with feet deformed by the practice. Some of which suffer with lifelong disabilities. [source: wiki]

Bride Burning


Bride-burning is a form of culturally domestic violence practiced in Bangladesh, India. A bride-burning occurs when a young woman is murdered by her husband or his family for her family’s refusal to pay dowry. The wife is typically doused with kerosene, gasoline, or other flammable liquid, and set alight, leading to death by fire. If you ask me I think that this practice should not be a part of any culture. Instead it should be added to the crime category. [source: cnn]

Japanese Noodles-slurping


Japanese are well known for their extreme politeness and mannerism. However, a popular Japanese practice of noodles-slurping has been seen by Westerners as rude and obnoxious. To many Japanese slurping hard on noodles is a sign of hospitality. That is to show your appreciation to the chef for making one kick ass bowl of noodles. The louder the slurp, the better the noodles! [source: npr]

Toilet Squatting


Toilet squatting is a habit commonly practiced in most rural areas of Asia where toilets are considered a luxury. Most of the poor people in Asia rural areas could not afford fancy toilets system like the ones we have here in the West. So to suit their daily necessity needs they dig a giant hole and fill it up with mighty excrement discharged from the intestines. In most part of Asia, water hoses are provided for use in toilets instead of toilet papers. I’ll leave the explicit reason up to your imagination.

Long Finger Nails


The Chinese have always had the beliefs that long fingernail is a sign of beauty and wealth. This is the reason why you see so many Asian with long finger nails in modern society today. Long finger nails were once viewed upon as a fashion statement, but in these days day of age you’ll be surprised to find out the things people do with them. Many Asians use their long nails to pick their ears, teeth, nose, and some even use it as a cocaine scooping tool. [source: 8asians]

Not Wearing Shoes in the House


The picture above is an example of what the door step of most Asian homes look like — A door mat filled with shoes! I think that almost all Asians follow the practice of taking their shoes off before entering the house. Asians remove their shoes before entering the house to keep the floor clean and to show courtesy to the resident. They also feel more comfortable without shoes when they are in the comfort of their own home. To many Asians it is considered very disrespectful to step in a house with shoes on. Many high-end Asian restaurants required that you take off your shoes before entering. So the next time that you go on a date with your Asian friend be sure to keep this etiquette in mind or else there will be no sex for you.

Continue on to part two of 12 Most Bizarre Asian Cultural Habits?

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