Often, when considering what the “American dream” is, Americans tend to envision it as a transformation and an almost complete shedding of wherever the person came from. In reality, this is far from the goal for most immigrants. Having a better life in America does not have to (and should not) mean stripping one’s self of their culture and taking on the “American persona.” The consistence of culture is something seen in both the Yucatecans and Hmong. While the Hmong came the US without any other choice and the Yucatecans came by choice to make better livings, both groups kept strong communities and cultural values. For these groups, community is crucial to their success in the US. The Hmong have a collectivist culture in which they view their community as one unit rather than focus on individual …show more content…
While both men and women work while living in the US, there is still a strong separation between the jobs they do. Like their duties while staying home in Mexico, the women in the US mainly take domestic house work jobs and the men tend to work in restaurants. Jack Eller explained how gender roles are not unchanging binaries, but ever-changing dynamics within a society. This type of change can be seen in the different roles between men and women in the US versus Mexico. In Yucatán, women cannot work, while migrating to Dallas has one of the main purposes being work. Though the gender roles allow women some leeway to work, there are some customs that still exists. For example, the men do not want their wives to work in the restaurants with them because they often lie about working late to go out drinking with their friends. Though the women in Dallas have jobs, they are still expected to do the domestic work at their own homes as well. So, it seems, gender roles are not set indefinitely and are adaptable, but some core values of these roles are not easily