My wife is from India,and when on site it is quite clear that she is in the minority(never a problem).One would expect the mix of people on site to reflect the great diversity of cultures which makes up this country today.But this obviously is not the case ,why do you think this is? , as our hobby should appeal to everyone regardless of their origins .Why are caravans perceived to be a White thing?
Are caravans a white thing?
- Thread starter BrianStAlbans
- Start date
Hi Brian. Until you brought the subject up I don't think many people have given this any thought. I have seen many caravaners of various culters and they all seemed to mix in well with other caravaners. My opinion is why not let a person no matter what creed, colour or religion enjoy themself and mix with like minded people of similar interests. I hope for all your family's sake that you have not encountered any hostility. I can only say, and probably the majority of contributers to this forum would agree, good luck and happy caravaning for many years to come
I think its more that it is an English thing, it seems to tie in with the old hi-de-hi static caravan holidays,the original butlins and all that,I know its grown since then as I have an indian friend who's been caravanning for years, but i think we started the trend !!
Brian, I think it is a cultural thing. It is similar to the recent announcement that free guided walks, was it in the peak district or similar, would be discontinued because the majority of users were white middle class. Apparently the organisers wanted more people from diverse cultures to use it for it to remain free.
In Australia the new generation of immigrants from the Pacific area all want to live in the built up coastal towns and cities, they are not interested in being pioneers in the outback.
The saying goes 'Birds of a feather flock together' and caravanning along with many other activities in life proves the saying'.
In Australia the new generation of immigrants from the Pacific area all want to live in the built up coastal towns and cities, they are not interested in being pioneers in the outback.
The saying goes 'Birds of a feather flock together' and caravanning along with many other activities in life proves the saying'.
Heh, that's what I thought Damian until I read the text.
This is one of those things that I don't think occurs to anyone until they see a non-white person on a site. We saw a couple of Asian families on the last site that we went on and to be honest it looked really odd for a few moments. They probably felt that everyone was staring at them.
It probably is a white thing as you say. Don't know why. I guess that we have different cultural interests.
This is one of those things that I don't think occurs to anyone until they see a non-white person on a site. We saw a couple of Asian families on the last site that we went on and to be honest it looked really odd for a few moments. They probably felt that everyone was staring at them.
It probably is a white thing as you say. Don't know why. I guess that we have different cultural interests.
this is one of those things that you don't notice until it is pointed out to you as in this post and when I think about it in all the years that I've been camping/caravaning I've never seen a black or asian family on site, maybe the publications are to blame because if you read every caravan or camping magazine from cover to cover you will never see a black or asian or a chinese face
Hi,Big Roy,What I can't understand is every company in this country with something to sell will try to target as many ethnic groups as posible to expand their sales.But this doesn't seem to be the case with the caravan industry.Your right about the press(with ,i think one exception)but also look at caravan brochures and the Officers and committies of both clubs.Comments about caravanning being traditionally English may explain some of the reason but its 2005 ,lots of other traditional things have changed with the times(whoever said we were a "nation of shop keepers" should take a look in his local shop!)I really do feel that a lot could be done to open our hobby up to everybody.......Maybe something PC could look at?..Brian.
Brian, the officers of both clubs are volunteers, most of whom are elected by other members. They have normally served the club over a large number of years, mostly at local level in their own Distric Associations or regions.
I am all in favour of a cosmopolitan society which includes caravanning. I wouldn't wish to force it upon anybody though, it has to be their choice. Most thing evolve naturally over time and there is absolutely nothing to stop anybody in Britain buying a caravan and use it for whatever legal purpose they decide. Have you any first hand experience of why minorities (if that is the correct word) have not taken up caravanning?
I am all in favour of a cosmopolitan society which includes caravanning. I wouldn't wish to force it upon anybody though, it has to be their choice. Most thing evolve naturally over time and there is absolutely nothing to stop anybody in Britain buying a caravan and use it for whatever legal purpose they decide. Have you any first hand experience of why minorities (if that is the correct word) have not taken up caravanning?
Hi Brian. My wife is also Indian and we had never seen any other Indians with a caravan, until we were at the CC Presthope site in May when an Indian guy and English wife pitched next to us. I think a lot of it also stems from the different cultures. My wifes family think the only place to go on holiday is India. They simply can't see the point in touring round damp, cold England!!
I think that the main reaason is cultural. Asian Indians are very family orientated and perhaps they have decide that caravans are not big enough to acommodate the family which may range from the grandparents through tro the youngest child. This is also the reason why they like to travel to India, to se their families.
Hi Rayc, I wasn't suggesting forcing people into these positions, what I meant was , because what are quite influencial people in the industry have little or no understanding of different cultures it is unlikely that any changes would happen .My wife has always said she's supprised that caravanning doesn't appeal more to Indian families as their need for cheep(er) family ,fun holidays are no different to anyone else.
help we got a son who get use a lot of looks. not to do with the colur of is skin. he is austistik. we just think a lot of poeple do not thinck whot they are doing is upseting you. The bit i do not like is when some cultures say we shud do thinks there way. Has a lot of them came to get a way from it.
Mark it infuriates me when people look and stare at people that are different,especially children, Its 2005 for crying out loud but some people are stuck in the olden days of hiding anything or anyone they dont see as "normal". The only thing I find wonderful is the way Children will interact and play with any child regardless of their disability,a testament to mixed schooling,If only the Parents could be so open minded! Please rest assured that we are not all like that!
Best wishes to you and your family and enjoy your caravan holidays, Its probably one of the best hobbies you can give an autistic child !!xx
Best wishes to you and your family and enjoy your caravan holidays, Its probably one of the best hobbies you can give an autistic child !!xx
Thanks everyone for your comments . I think those of you who suggested cultural difference are probably very close to the truth although I still think there are a lot of people who would enjoy our hobby as more families become 3rd and 4th generation "British" Mark's comment about his son and Tina's reply really bring home to me that we have a fantastic hobby here and its up to us to share it with everyone,regardless.
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