The patriarchal mindset in China for thousands of years has remained and intensified in the Tang and Song eras. In all social classes, the household was run by a patriarch and the role was passed on to the eldest son. The burden of providing for the family and making all the decisions remained in the hands of men whereas women had the burden of becoming a homemaker and mother, and particularly the bearer of sons to continue to the patrilineal family line. Such gender roles were reinforced by neo-Confucian ideals which promoted the male hierarchy. Specifically, upper-class women had freedom to pursue different activities and even professions beyond homemaking.
Exploring Identity Through Silence: The Role of No-Name Woman in Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston opens The Woman Warrior with the tale of her nameless aunt, a woman who has been silenced and forgotten by her village after giving birth to an illegitimate child, known only as the “no name woman” (Kingston 7). On the night that “no name woman” gives birth, villagers raid her family house to “show her a personal, physical representation of the break she had made in the ‘roundness’” (13). She later commits a “spite suicide” (19), drowning both herself and her child. The No-Name Woman serves as an embodiment of silence that allows the narrator to imaginatively develop her story, as well as her identity.
The ! Kung tribe is a group of nomadic hunters and gatherers that mainly reside in Botswana, Angola, and Namibia. Recently, the Bushmen have had to transition from a nomadic lifestyle to a more common sedentary one. In both lifestyles, gender roles of men and women have existed, starting at a young age and only strengthening as children matured. Gender roles of the !
Regardless of social class or wealth, rich or poor, women in the 1930’s China were always inferior to men. Women were treated more like objects and possessions rather than humans, when it came to marriage. Women had no say in almost anything, they couldn’t object or disapprove a marriage they were matched in, most were treated with little or no respect from their husbands, the ones that were treated with respect were a rare bunch. Even women from the highest class, had once been treated as mere servants to their needy husbands, only to do nothing but obey, in the name of honor, luck, wealth, and reputation for their families.
Throughout our ancient history, women have portrayed various different roles in different ancient civilizations. Whether it was taking care of their children and men at home, working in the fields, or doing hard labor, these women shaped the way women act, and the roles they portray today. The Han Dynasty was one of those ancient civilization where women portrayed different roles. During the Han Dynasty, which lasted from about 206 BCE to 220 CE, women led very limited lives as compared to men, similarly to many other ancient civilizations (Bowman). They were viewed as the bottom of the power hierarchy in addition to the gender hierarchy.
Gender as a tool of analysis has been effective when analyzing Native societies. Gender roles in Native society inevitably shaped the tribe or band in which Natives lived in. Matrilineal or patrilineal Native societies controlled the daily operations, social hierarchy, religious influence, and the effects colonization had on that particular society based on the foundation. Using gender as a tool of analysis in Native societies, scholars are able to learn more about Natives because of the affects gender had in the characteristics and foundation of each society. In “Ranging Foresters and Women-Like Men”, A Nation of Women, and “To Live Among Us”, different scholars are able to use gender as a tool of analysis to understand the ways in which
It is impossible to discuss gender and the influences it has on one livelihood without acknowledging the other aspects of one’s identity. Other aspects such as race, class, and sexuality in combination with will always play a major role in one’s life choices and the way they are perceived by others. The term intersectionality as stated by Susanne Hochreiter offers a way to understand the multiple grounds of identity when considering how the social world is constructed. Intersectionality explains why gender cannot be in isolation from other inequalities in the social world. As a black Haitian woman raised in America, it is clear to see that my identity occupies several spheres.
In the book Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang, the author talks about the stories of her grandmother and mother as well as herself during their journeys as women in China. The book discusses how gender roles, political ideology, and economic ideology in China change over time. During the entirety of Chinese history, many changes and continuities transpired and had crucial impacts on China. However, a great amount of change occurred during the time period from the 1900s to present day. These changes and continuities incorporate happenings in areas concerning the treatment of women, political structure, and economic capacity.
Native Americans’ social structure was very different from the way Anglo-American’s believed was the correct way for men and women to live. This created a major conflict as the Anglo’s begin to press on the Natives’ land. Anglo-American’s believed that the best thing for the Natives’ was to be assimilated and transformed into their way of life. The Anglo’s intervened into the Natives’ life with a Civilization Program, removal and reservations, and boarding schools. The ramifications had lasting negative effects on the Natives’ gender roles.
Yingci Chen English 0812 Tim Fitts 12 April 2016 A Hidden Vietnamese Community In South Philadelphia is where one of the largest Vietnamese community located. The community has a large population of Vietnamese restaurants, stores and markets. The heart of the Vietnamese community lies on the Sixth and Washington Ave, also known as the Little Saigon built by Vietnamese’s and spreads over Washington Ave. This Little Saigon was a place where Vietnamese unite and started during the Vietnam War.
Gender roles are prevalent in American culture. Yet, the gender roles have adapted through the social changes because gender roles are socially constructed. Previously, gender roles used to be distinct and defined, for example, women have babies and men go to war (Policing Gender). The primary income provider of the family has shifted, in various households, to the women, while the man stays at home with the children. In a study done by the Pew Research Center, in 1960s eleven percent of women were the primary monetary provider of the family.
There are many traditional gender roles that are a part of American society. For example, boys are supposed to like color blue and girls are supposed to like the color pink. Illustration of this gender role can easily be seen when new parents through baby showers and decorated their child's nursery, often incorporating one of the two color. Likewise, little boys are supposed to play with trunks and fake guns and little girls with Barbies and baby dolls. In addition, men are seen as the "breadwinners" or person who financially provides for the family while women are seen as the homemaking, taking care of the children and all house duties.
Although gender roles have changed over time, where males and females have become more equivalent , a certain level of behaviors and tasks which are acceptable for men and women still exist today. Alternatively of women and men steadily playing the gender roles they always play, they should change it around and try to do something divergent when being defined in a category of gender roles. However, women are becoming equal to men in our generation. For instance , would be men can take supervision of the children when the women go to work. Women are more maverick that they don’t need to depend on a man.
Chinese women suffer from the unfair notion for thousands of years. The basic requirements of being virtuous women are “Three Obediences and Four Virtues (三从四德)”. The “Three Obediences” were “obey your father before marriage (未嫁从父); obey your husband when married (既嫁从夫); and obey your sons in widowhood (夫死从子)”. And the “Four Virtues” were “Female virtues (妇德)”, “Female words (妇言)”, “Female appearances (妇容)” and “Female work (妇功)”. (Sun, 2015).
Self-awareness is an initial step to understand the variations of cultures. It could help an individual to realize the essentials of his or her own culture that are usually neglected in daily life. In this essay, I would like to explore the Vietnamese culture under my own reflection and express my opinions about cultural variation discussion in international environments. At first, there is a variety of important factors that influenced Vietnamese culture but family is the most important point. In fact, a typical Viet family includes grandparents, parents and children living together under a same roof.
