Consuming Asianness in Australia : identity, capital and class

In this thesis I aim to investigate the consumption of 'Asianness' in Australian society. I account for the actions of individuals and groups who, during the Keating era of government, acted upon the Keating rhetoric of engagement with Asia by exhibiting a desire for 'Asianness'. I use the term 'Asianness' to include all goods and knowledge that have, or are informed by, a distinctly Asian identity, including Asian art, spirituality, design, fashion, food and business practice. I argue that the consumption of 'Asianness' by such individuals and groups is a means to attain distinction; it is a marker of identity which has particular meaning and currency in Australian society. I investigate this phenomenon by firstly providing a genealogy of the idea of Asia in the Australian national psyche. Australia's relationship with Asia at the beginning of the nineteenth century was dominated by a mood of fear and hostility. However, amongst some members of the population an interest in Asia was exhibited. It is this dichotomy of fear and desire which is the hallmark of Australia's relationship with Asia. I argue that the idea of Asia at the turn of the century and beyond played an integral role in the construction of the Australian nation. It is important to document the history of the relationship between Asia an Australia before moving on to examine the shift in Australia's attitudes towards Asia during the Keating era. No longer feared or hated, Asia was perceived as desirable in a variety of ways. It is the refashioning of attitudes towards Asia, and therefore Australian identity, by the Keating government which is detailed in chapter two. I argue that under the discourse of multiculturalism in the 1990s 'Asianness' was conceived as a commodity to be consumed by the Australian public. Through a number of examples from national broadsheets and magazines I detail the pervasiveness of this consumption in everyday life. In answering the question of who consumes 'Asianness' in Australian society and why? I have found the work of Pierre Bourdieu to be instructive. Bourdieu allows us to explain why certain people consume particular goods and the motivation behind such consumption choices. I argue that the consumption of 'Asianness' is an activity which is indicative of a particular group in Australian society; the cosmopolitan class. Termed 'cosmo-multiculturalists' by Ghassan Hage (1998), this group of Australians came to prominence during the Keating era. It is through the consumption of 'Asianness' that this group distinguishes itself from others