My First Kiss by Lian Low

1. How does the author describe Malaysia in regards to showing affection?

She describes that showing 'affection' was frowned upon in Malaysia and this was a lot harsher against the 'queers' in the society. She says that in Malaysia when she was younger she, "Never saw people share mouth-to-mouth kisses". She says that there were no laws against non- Muslim Malaysians kissing or hugging in public but there was a law against 'indecent behavior'. She then states that homosexuality is a crime in Malaysia and this gives me the feeling that this story is about being gay.

2. What happens to the author when she hits puberty?

Apparently she grew breasts when she got to high school. But she states that she "Envied her fathers flat chest". This shows that she did not want Breasts but instead wanted to have a flat chest. This is because she used to be a tomboy and get along well with the male students in her year but she must find that having breasts makes it a lot harder to act and play like a boy. She also becomes a lot more quiet and resides to her attic both metaphorically and literally. She also joins the chess club and becomes a bit of a nerd.

3. What is the author’s experience at school when she first arrives to Melbourne?

She is put in an ESL class (English as a second language) despite the fact that she had spoken and written English as her main language for all her life. She went to a private school in Malaysia where the language was English. She does make friends in her ESL class and she likes it because it is a small class which again shows that the author kept to herself. She also apparently shared the year 12 literacy award which was a bonus for her.

4. What is it that made the author feel that she wasn’t Australian even though she spoke English fluently?

She felt that every time she opened her mouth it showed everyone that she wasn't Australian as they always asked her questions like 'Where are you from?' or 'How long have you been here?'. Her accent gave her away and she describes it as 'Manglish' a mixture of both English and Malaysian. She says that her accent betrayed her origins.

5. What else was it about the author that further alienated her from her peers?

The author knows that she like girls instead of men. But her peers do not know, although I do think that her peers have a vague idea as one girl asks, 'Your not the L word are you?' This shows that the other students do know that there is something not right about the way she is acting and her brothers geeky friend starts teasing her saying, 'Sweet sixteen and never been kissed'. I think this also alienated her from her peers as many of the girls in her year would have been kissed already.

6. What does the use of description like ‘crash hot’ do to the audience’s perception of the author?

This shows that the author is very tomboyish as this is more something that a guy would say about a girl. It is also a lot different to what you would expect a girl with Asian heritage to say, this also gives the reader the feeling that the author is just saying this to try and fit in with the more modern society around her and fit in with the sayings that she thinks that they might say. 

7. What opportunity does university give the author? What is it about university which would allow her to express herself more freely?

In university she is given a short- film project where there is a kiss scene involved. This is her ideal moment to get her first kiss as she says, "My star was a tall, skinny, gorgeous woman; I used to spy on her." University is not all about fitting in and be with the clique as much as high school is and there will be more people like the author that have tried to find the time to express themselves. 

8. What role does creativity play for the author? Why do you think that creativity would be so important to her?
I think that the creativity plays a big role within the movie for the author as she is experimenting with other girls. The more vulgar and engaging the film is for other viewers then maybe the author will get the feedback that she was wanting. Also I think that the movie was a way of coming out to her parents in a slow and non awkward manner. It is obvious throughout the book that the author is just trying to be noticed and get people to remember her. I think by making this movie as creative as possible she might have been able to get people to remember her movie.