302) Accent Appeal

Tonight I'm coming to you from the David Koch Theater. My friend was able to score $15 student rush tickets in the Orchestra section for the New York City ballet. I've already been scolded for taking a picture on my phone, so clearly I don't belong amidst the upper crust. It's intermission, so thought I'd squeeze in a post.

My friend who is in town for work was commenting on accents today. In general, accents are considered sexy. Ladies, you know what I mean. As soon as we hear a British or Australian accent, it's game over.

And yet, there are certain accents that generally don't fall under the sexy category. (Again, I say generally - to each his own.) Comedian Russall Peters has a bit about how Indian accents can ruin the mood, and don't hold up well in serious situations. Likewise, the Asian accent isn't typically regarded as a panty dropper. So why the disparity between accents?

Asian and Indian accents are considered foreign in the not-from-here, English as a second language way, while the Brits and Aussies enjoy the foreign in an exotic sense. There are also themes of colonization, the dominant colonizers versus the colonized "other."