Confessions of the heart: I am a hopeless romantic.
Remember back then when birds would carry love letters between long distance relationship? I'm glad I can experience this fantasy with you. Follow @diversifiedweds on Twitter and let the birds send our little notes.
My experience with
using Twitter as usual is confusing and without a reciprocal interaction
between tweeters it becomes boring and demotivating. Fortunately my
notification icon was beeping from minutes of tweeting a of couple post. Since
the topic of my blog is weddings I started by using hashtags similar to the
topic and also “hashtagged” my blog’s name as an introduction.
A tip I would
recommend on using when deciding on which hashtag to use, is to check on left
tool bar on a PC where there is a list of Trending hashtags. It is ideal that
you use one of the hashtags since it depicts that it is being used and reviewed
by most tweeters. So in experimenting, I included the most popular hashtag of
the day and incorporated it with an article I found online.
So as seen
#ItsPerfectDay was trending and I used that with an article about how to infuse
cultures at a wedding hence creating the “perfect day”. Although this post had
been favorite three times it is the most likes I’ve received in a short time
(18 minutes) ever since I am using Twitter. Relevant hashtags gives you
exposure based on your topic, the audience can identify you and add you to
groups which I did not know existed. After using #love #LoveWins I was invited
to join a group of similar interest.
Twitter generates
audiences for your blog, by citing your blog or blog post within the tweets it
gives your work worldwide exposure. #visit is most effective in inviting people
to view your work. The Twitter Advanced Search facilitates users to view works
of similar topic since all hashtags is a directory of past post itself. It
makes it easier to create an environment to follow bloggers of similar
interests and to retweet posts that uplifts your motives or is knowledgeable in
relevance to cultural nuptials.
Although it is
termed micro-blogging, Twitter generates most traffics of interaction compared
to a blog, the fact that it could be PC or a mobile app that continually
updates you on different events makes it an even bigger platform hosting a
proliferation of information. These vast and different posts allows one to come
up with subjects to include in the blog with relations to the topic. By
retweeting the above statement I can write a post about the gastronomy
experience when it’s a mixed wedding, a subject I did not think of.
Have you ever heard of the blog Style Me Pretty? To all of you wedding enthusiasts, this is the go to blog for all your aesthetics information and inspiration. The blog itself encompasses on all the morphologies of weddings. Classifying its genre in terms of demography, geography and personal interest. The posts are visually stunning! However it lacks information with regards to the couples diversity within one ceremony itself. See what I had to say and join the convo here .
In relation to my blog’s main
theme, weddings, I came across a recent online articleby The Wall Street
Journal which basically supports society’s ongoing perceived trend of
cohabitation over marriage. Since my blog’s aim is to sustain diversified
weddings it simultaneously serves as a platform to embody this traditional
event hence I am highly against the notion of the total shift from marriage to
cohabitation.
There is a huge difference
between the terms ‘delay’ and a ‘decline’. From my perspective, it is true that
people opt for cohabitation during the early stages of a new found relationship
but media publications should rather focus on the issues that lead to
cohabiting couples instead of bluntly assuming the extinction of marriage with
some statistics.
As mentioned in my previous
entry, the lingering of nuptials depicts society’s increased value to this rite
of passage. Statistics show that marriage were most conducted three decades ago
and beyond. So let’s ponder into why the delay of marriage is not a bad thing
after all.
According to Settersten Jr. and Ray,
during the 1950’s, youth would transition to adulthood by leaving the nest.
Staying with parents were considered humiliating which led to many getting
married at a young age. Nowadays the longer you stay with your parents, the
more overwhelmed are your benefits right? Free laundry, prepared food, the list
is endless. Simultaneously people are finding it as important to take care of
their elderly parents which suppresses the time to find “the one” when
balancing work and care taking. Which leads to our next point!
This contemporary society has
become work laden. The equality of gender and work has led to both sexes
engaged in their career. The need for the higher education in order to fulfill
the ideal well off family is a catalyst to marriages being conducted later in
life. The need for being financially stable indicates that family life has more
merit more than ever.
University goals for both genders for a successful future
Nowadays we are well aware of
discriminations against all morphologies. We are exposed to our rights and
equality whether it is race, gender or religion. We are educated about our
exposure to the prescribed authorities that led us to disregard those we do not
relate to. This has led to many people choosing to be in an intimate
relationship whether it is within their norm or not. Hence there is the need to accept interfaith marriages in order
to sustain this traditional event.
Marriage is a rite of passage conducted within every society, although the ceremony and people involved may
be different compared to the usual scenery it depicts how we are all intertwined
to the notion of this union. According to sociologist and blogger Philip Cohen,
using Eurostat database, found out that people tend to get married at least once in their
lifetime and further stressed that marriage is not ‘declining’ but delayed due
to its increase social significance. So if you're single and find no reason to be reading this blog, be aware that one day your time will come so you might aswell consume as much information.
Universally, people are engaged with the
idea of getting married and this shows through their personal understanding
which diversifies the meaning itself
Ever since the appearance of Alan Kurdi in the media, this has caused an uproar within media outlets in relations to xenophobia and prompted a call to action in which the world have responded.
(Filson Lee, 2015)
My blog will also shed light on this social vice in depicting ways to reinforce social relations within our households despite being from different cultures.
The topic itself, cultural weddings is of interest to many people as the web itself is the platform for many groups, blogs, communities and forums dedicated to interfaith weddings and their traditional events. These platforms are the product of endless personal accounts and followed by thousands.
Interesting enough, this shows the ex-nomination of a wedding between a couple of similar cultural backgrounds. Why is a heterogeneous couple of the same religion termed to be having ‘a wedding’? While other nuptials outside this perceived “norm” have a name attached to their wedding for example “gay wedding, interfaith wedding”. Think about it? Why it all couldn't be termed “wedding”!
This blog will explore different cultures and the ways they prepare for their ceremony(ies). While it becomes a source of knowledge outside of what we are accustomed to, the posts on different events could be a source of inspiration for your big day. Adding twists to the homogeneous ‘white wedding’, by giving it a more intense and unique stance. We are the ones who make up society, we should be aware and accepting of practices within our environment therefore if nuptials are conducted within all societies, it is relatable to all of us!
Why worry about refugees, famine and wars when we are blessed with coconut trees and clear blue seas. We feel like the vices of society and its hardships are only experienced around the world, it is not our battle as we are well protected within the barriers of our good country. How strong are these walls?
Why weddings Raissa? It’s only a
commitment ceremony and the process is similar; find your significant other,
plan the event and live happily ever after.
Well…my interest in nuptials
ponder beyond this perceived black and white “fairytale”. Ever since I studied
the unit Culture to Cultures and currently delving into Making Meanings at
Charles Telfair Institute, this has change my perspectives on society
especially the unforeseen vices in which we fail to identify. In my opinion,
the wars between countries and religions are solicited by each culture’s
prejudices covertly inculcating their propaganda within social actors. The
authority’s key messages are delivered via mass media with the aim to create
XENOPHOBIA. To better understand this social vice, Tafiradefines xenophobia as the dislike of other cultures integrating with ours
in fear of social changes and economic deprivation.
In this blog I want to show how interfaith weddings is fundamental in realizing
that xenophobia exist in most societies by depicting the complex issues these
couples go through for approval of their union. I want to show that through these
interfaith wedding entries, xenophobia is only a myth as these couples’ vows
show that it is possible to be accepting of each other’s diverse cultures and
it is workable within their household.
As it was detailed in my Avatar
Annotation this blog will also shed light on different nuptial ceremonies aside
to the common, slowly homogenized Christian ways of exchanging vows. Professor Ingraham acknowledge the domination of western society’s traditional ritual; the white
gown, the church and the cake in which he terms the ‘white wedding’.
By
publishing rituals from different cultures I hope to educate my viewers that
although ceremonies are done differently (hence acknowledging and accepting
different cultures) it serves to one purpose that is to bring together two people
by their own rituals. I believe that diversified marriages is the foundation to
erode such social vice.
Besides this main focus, I am keen
on indigenous discoveries whether its gastronomy, transportation and weddings
itself. Like most people my egotistical goal is to travel the world and the
cheapest way to do it right now is to live it through online research.
The avatar I
chose to represent myself is an interfaith marriage drawing by yours truly.Since the white gown is nowadays the universal symbol
of "getting hitched" this will attract my desired target audience, which is
wedding enthusiasts. Whereas the Sikh man dressed in his traditional turban next to
the bride will depict my blog’s content that is to shed light on different
wedding ceremonies across different cultures. This avatar represents what we
have inculcated as unusual because of Western societies influence of what constitutes
the ideal married couple and their union ceremony.
