Cardi B is always viral – because she’s great on Twitter. And when I say great on Twitter I don’t mean I always agree with what she says on Twitter… but she’s one of the most entertaining, if not the most entertaining, celebrities on the platform, because she has somehow made it an extension of her personality. But back to why she went viral this week in particular. 

 

Did you see the lunch tweet? Cardi tweeted out some photos of what Kulture’s lunch box looks like, and it generated a LOT of reaction. 

 

As we discussed on The Social yesterday, lunch is a trigger for many parents. It’s the time it takes to pack it and whether or not your kid will even eat what you’ve packed and then maybe being judged by whoever, other parents, the teacher, etc, on what you’re giving your child(ren). There are more reasons, we don’t need to list them all here, the point is – almost every parent I know is stressed about kids’ lunches. So seeing what Cardi’s kid gets for lunch… well… as you can imagine, it set off a whole situation in the comments. 

 

Some people were like, holy sh-t, that’s a lot of food. Others were all, omg that’s too much sugar for a kid. Still others didn’t believe that Cardi had anything to do with putting together Kulture’s lunch, which became a conversation about privilege and how famous parents set unrealistic expectations for non-famous parents. I am not here to chime in on any of those discussions. I’m here to say that I would LOVE Kulture’s lunch. I never, ever had mac and cheese for lunch, lol. Now I’m getting triggered. 

Because – and I know a lot of immigrant kids will be able to relate to this – a lot of my lunches were food from home. And I’m from a Chinese household. As I was often the only Chinese person in my elementary school classes, the food was a THING, how it smelled, how it looked. Those experiences never leave you, those memories, the shame. In the moment it was shame. Now? Of course not. But as a kid you don’t know that yet, you just profoundly feel how different you are… and it stays with you. 

 

Then, what happens when you carry that into parenthood? I’m not talking about me but I know enough people with similar backgrounds who now have kids of their own and they’re already dealing with the endless drama of school lunches but there’s an added layer of their own childhood sh-t that they’re bringing to it now and then it’s an another internal struggle. Do you pack your cultural foods for lunch for your kid? Or do you swing way in the opposite direction and go with the western food so to spare your child from what you went through? But hasn’t it changed from 25 years ago? Isn’t the world a lot less narrow now in terms of what kids are exposed to? In some neighbourhoods, for sure. In other neighbourhoods, it hasn’t changed all that much – and if you live in one of them, I know you know.

So, yeah, lunch can be a BIG conversation. 

 

Let’s talk about shoes instead. Because Cardi went viral for those too. 

They look amazing. They are indeed their own moment, the whole fit is a vibe. And I’m a shoe girl, I invest in shoes, a lot of special shoes. I can appreciate how special these are. The colours, the details, the construction. 

 

A friend of mine sent this to me and told me I should get them. But I was like, no f-cking way. Because this is a stunt shoe. You wear them once, you really can’t do it again. They’re perfect for a celebrity like Cardi but for a regular person, at that price point, it’s not a good decision. 

Also, they’re unsafe!

Here’s Cardi today out in Beverly Hills in a crop top and my mother’s favourite jeans. Asian aunties LOVE a patterned jean.