‘Cultural background’ on forms

I think it's useful depending.

Definitely medical. Also maybe schooling. Some schools and Kinder do a good job of celebrating various holidays etc.

I was born here, but my ancestry makes me more prone to things like thelassemia (spelling) and G6PD these are nowhere near as common here.. I have neither but my family has them and it could have impacted me when TTC.

Yeah I'm similar, but that's why I think it's too broad a question. It means something different to a doctor or a teacher or a guy collecting stats.

Another reason is for "like schools". (assuming this is a school enrolment form)

In NAPLAN and other data analysis, we (schools) can compare ourselves to "like schools". The data this uses includes cultural makeup of the school, socio-economic level of families, education level of parents, size, etc.

This information can be useful for schools in planning ways forward.

Thus the information can be useful at a collective level.

Ha. Not quite the same thing but this reminds me of a frequent question on Northern Irish forms: "To what community are you perceived to belong?" It was a way of labelling people even if you didn't want to be labelled.

Most recent migrant in my kids family tree is over 125 years ago. Australian is what I write.

Maybe I could put down WASP. [OTT Question - What's the Catholic acronym = WASC?]

Except I'm only 1/2 AS, non-aligned, so I'm just working out what to use here:

WMBNSR.

They can have a guess at what that is.

Ha. Not quite the same thing but this reminds me of a frequent question on Northern Irish forms: "To what community are you perceived to belong?" It was a way of labelling people even if you didn't want to be labelled.

Are ye a Catholic Atheist or a Protestant Atheist? Increasingly people are trying to shrug off those labels as they’re ridiculous - one mate of mine is atheist going back generations, but he’s still been labelled prod his entire life.

But yeah, that’s what you bloody get when the entire peace process and agreement was predicated on the premise that there were two tribes who would never have anything in common.

Do they recognise other cultural celebrations? Harmony day was an invention of the Howard government. It actually occurs on the international day of elimination of racism. It's a feel good day on what should be a day that Australia talks seriously about its racism problem.

 

No, Harmony Day was the only day where there was any slight recognition of culture - so you take what you can get. Even then no cultural dress was allowed - just "celebrate diversity-everyone wear orange" - yes actual slogan and the irony went over the principals head

Ugh, that sucks.

I just remembered the census form when I lived in Hong Kong

Chinese

Malaysian

Filipino

Thai

Indonesian

Japanese

Korean

Other Asian

European

African

I only answer things that require answers. If the cultural background might make a difference, fine. If it's just quota stuff for funding, I don't bother.

I almost screamed when someone at a fertility thing had notes my ethnic background was "American"

I had never EVER said that. I hate people who put their ethnic background as "American," especially white-passing people. And of all the times to note my actual background you drop it for genetic screening? My accent is not my ethnic background

In your case "British descent" or whatever seems fine to me. It doesn't suggest you are British or much in the way of cultural needs.

For me I get more or less specific depending what it's for.

I am thinking at one job I think we may have asked 'background' (I can't remember the official word) for if people needed translators.

I guess I can see why some organszations ask for it even though if we put thought into it then it makes no sense. I guess it is a simplified way of asking whatever it is they are trying to ask

Based on a bunch of forms I’ve been doing lately I usually tick Australian and not Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander. Right now at DD3’s school their LOTE is Gubbi Gubbi taught by Aunty. Far more on point and relevant than the Italian and German I did in primary school.