The Korean and Vietnamese Families and Their Traditional Values - Literature review Example

Question 4 What Hays means when she says much of the ideology of intensive mothering operates in opposition to the logic of the outside world According to Hays, the idea of intensive mothering is embraced by all mothers, although in different capacities. The society expects a woman to be a traditional mother that is, one that always stays at home and ensures the wellbeing of her family. This mom is expected to care for her husband as well as her children, and take part in their various developmental stages. However, modernity and civilization has modified the role of women, including their careers too. This has rendered the traditional role of women irrelevant or somehow, reduced. In today’s world, women have picked up major roles in fields outside their ‘traditionally specified role’. An example is in the business world, politics, and social media among other fields. This brings a contrast in the societal expectation of women and their traditional role as mothers. Somehow, most women have managed to balance these roles and deliver in both fields. However, this transition from tradition to modernity is yet to be smooth. Career mothers are described as neglectful of their families and also as selfish when they work hard to achieve their goals in their respective careers. On the other hand, career women who do not work as hard in their careers face under achieving in their careers. Women who stay at home are sometimes perceived as lazy and extremely boring. This poses the question of the role of women in the society. What three trends described in Cherlin do you think pose the greatest challenge to the ideology of intensive mothering and why? The three trends that create a major challenge to the intensive mothering ideology according to Cherlin include divorce, same sex unions and immigration. These trends will be discussed in details, in the following paragraphs, illustrating their role in damaging the ideology of intensive mothering and parenting in general. Same sex unions were unheard of in the past years. However, westernization and the introduction of rights of all humans irrespective of their moral positions has brought with it a new era of cultures. It is now acceptable for lesbians and gays to wed and live together. States that have legalized such marriages include Iowa, New Hampshire and Massachusetts among others. Just like any normal marriage, same sex marriages also have the need to establish families, where they adopt children. This has greatly challenged the role of mothers. In some states, these marriages are not legal, and so most gays and lesbians cohabit with their partners. Some of these arrangements involve children. When such arrangements come to an end, the children are frustrated by the changes and movements involved in the process. Divorce is another factor that destabilizes the mothering ideology. Traditionally, marriages were meant to last. Both men and women were to persevere and work to ensure the survival of their marriages. That is not the case today as some marriages have lasted less than one hour. The trend greatly affects mothering ability as it comes along with splitting the family. If there are children involved, custody battles separate the children, some living with the mother while others with the father. When this happens, the mother only tends to some children more than the others, although arrangements are always made for visits to the remaining children. In short, the parents miss out on some of the developmental stages of their children. This contradicts the intensive mothering ideology where a mother is to take care of all her children, including her husband. The third trend that will be discussed is immigration. Most people move to other countries in search of better paying jobs than in their countries, and opportunities in order to provide for their countries back home. In most cases, not all family members move. Previously, this immigration was done by men only, but today even females are immigrants. Many female immigrants leave their children back home and look for jobs like taking care of other women’s children in their new countries. These splits up families and interfere with intensive mothering ideologies. Mothering and family tradition in general is shaken up by many trends today that emerge due to modernization. Other factors that challenge the ideology of intensive mothering include early adulthood, cohabiting and ‘living apart together’. Question 5 Translational Motherhood- Hondagneu- Sotelo and Avila and how they compare to other Works Translational Motherhood refers to an arrangement where women from other countries work as immigrants in foreign countries. According to Hondagneu- Sotelo and Avila, these women participate in the role of taking care of children in these foreign countries, whereas their own children remain in their home countries. Examples of these women include the African American women and Caribbean women. The period of separation of these women from their children and families differ and may last as long as ten years. Translational motherhood defies the social and historical definition and expectation of motherhood, even though many situational factors facilitate it. Such factors include job scarcity and labor demand for Latina women. Translational motherhood requires mothers to mother children born by other women. To add to that, they are required to let go of their personal relationship with their own children for some time while doing their work. This fact has brought a new meaning to motherhood which contradicts the initial definition of motherhood. Traditionally, motherhood entailed bringing up of one’s own children, where mothers educate them on how to be responsible people in the society. The families of Latina women working in foreign countries are taken care of by the eldest daughters of the families. When conditions are extremely bad, even children work as servants. Hondagneu- Sotelo and Avila’s perception of motherhood corresponds to Hays’ take on intensive mothering ideologies. Both the authors agree with the fact that the definition of motherhood has changed to suit the different conditions in the contemporary world. Hondagneu-Sotelo and Avila view translational motherhood as an emergent aspect that is essential in certain conditions like extreme poverty. Hays, on the other hand, view intensive mothering as a field that is currently changing to suit the new roles of women as career holders. According to Hays, working mothers are not always available to take care of their children throughout the day. As a result, children suffer from lack of attention from their mothers as opposed to children born and raised in the traditional family setting. This is a fact that is resounded by Dreby who explain how Mexican children suffer when their mothers leave them to work in foreign countries (Dreby 127). In both situations, women work longer hours to provide for their families. This portrays sacrifice on the women’s part as they do all they can irrespective of how long it takes just to be providers. Both Sotelo and Dreby talked about translational motherhood, especially focusing on the Mexican and Latina women. In both instances, the authors explain that immigration results in separation of children from their families, particularly their mothers. These two authors illustrate the work of Cherlin where immigration has been listed as one of the many causes of instability to the traditional ideologies of family and motherhood. Cherlin mentioned Hispanics, particularly Mexicans, as the largest community constituting immigrants in the United States. Mexican men and women leave their countries, and families to work in foreign countries. For women, their role is mainly taking care of children, a fact that Sotelo and Dreby elaborate in their works. Modern trends like scarcity of jobs and the need to provide for one’s family are amongst factors that drive many families apart. This depletes the traditional belief about the institution of family, leading to erosion of many cultures both by children and parents. Children grow up without their parents as their role models in life. Instead, they are brought up by strangers who may introduce other cultures to them. If this trend continues, the society may soon go back to the culture of viewing children as being owned by the community, the difference being that the community is paid to take care of them. Question 6 Fictive Kin According to Thornton Dill’s article, Non whites, especially African Americans, present in the United States were there not because they were equal citizens, but because they were a source of the much needed cheap labor. Their families were separated as family members were taken to work in different places. This was done with total disregard to their family life or formation of it. However, the true display of this ill treatment was shown when the slave owners preferred the laborers make families so that the number of slaves will increase (Dill 212). Te major implication of this fact is that the African American men had little or no control over their families, and this bruised their pride and ego. This is because slave trade had been illegalized, and this formed the only way of providing slaves to the growing American population. In addition to that, these families were under the direct control of the slave owners, who decided their fate. The African American women were constantly raped by their white masters. In response to discrimination by the white masters, African Americans maintained their heritage by giving their newborns names of their relatives. Wherever they went, African Americans formed fictive kin for identity and help with familial issues. They also formed new families whenever they were separated since they believed in marriage. The Chinese Sojourners, however, were not allowed to form or bring their families in the States (Dill 214). This caused many families to be broken. The men, therefore, did not take any part in raising their children. All they did was to provide earnings that would help their wives and relatives take care of their families. Their entry into the states was also restricted. The few Chinese sons born in United States were, however, permitted to travel back to China, and this formed an avenue for more Chinese entry into the States. The Sojourners utilized this avenue to ship their families into the United States. Chicanos, on the other hand, suffered immensely, primarily due to the U.S colonization of them. Their colonizers broke off their families and forced them into labor with hard life conditions (Dill 217). Their land was seized by the States, which forced them to abandon their pastoral lifestyle. As a result, most Chicano culture was lost as people struggled to keep up with the harsh life conditions. Men resorted to mining; a dangerous activity that saw many women widowed who took the role of family heads. The women were assisted to take care of the family in the absence of the men by extended kin and god parents. Just like translational mothers in Sotelo’s work, Chicano women are forced to balance between motherhood and being income earners in the family. This changed their traditional life setting a great deal. The major difference between the two works, however, is that Translational mothers did their work on their own while Dill outlines that sometimes the whole Chicano family would work in order to maximize their income and bring the family together (Dill 219). In Dreby’s work, traditional period was characterized by men working and women tending to family needs. As time passed by and labor demands increased, the women also started working to earn income. This is also true for the Chicano women. However, Dreby indicated that, for Mexican immigrants, women encountered difficulties when traveling back to visit their families, as opposed to men. This display of gender discrimination was not witnessed by the Chicanos. From the works of the three authors, it is evident that immigrants were a cheap source of labor for their masters. They lived in deplorable conditions and were mistreated. Despite these facts, the immigrants maintained their traditional beliefs in marriage and family life. Question 7 Fertility Decline According to Ram, Fertility decline refers to the reduction in the size of families as a consequence of giving birth to a small number of children. There are many factors that relate to fertility decline as described by Ram. These factors will be discussed, in details, in the following paragraphs. One of the correlates of fertility decline is delayed years of bearing children. This means that women prefer having their first born children at a later age in their lives. The average first child bearing age has increased to twenty six years, and in some countries could reach up to thirty years. Delayed child bearing directly affects the number of children a woman is capable of bearing. This is because, at later ages, there are physiological changes in the body of women that reduce the chances of bearing children. This reduces fertility rates, which in turn, results in smaller sized families than those that existed in the previous years. Another factor related to this is childlessness. Most working class women today resort to voluntary childlessness in preference to their careers. Another correlate of fertility decline is the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the world, especially in Africa and other developing countries. This disease affects women in their reproductive ages and has been documented to have detrimental effects. Among these effects are; reduction in pregnancy rates and increase in fetal mortality rates, induction of sterility and reduction in the frequency of intercourse, and increase in the chances of abortion. Ram estimates that, in the future, say by 2050, a population proportion of about 15.2 % in industrialized countries will consist of those aged below fifteen years. This statistic shows that fertility decline over the years have significantly reduced from 27% in 1950s. These findings imply that the population of the elderly will increase with time especially with the extension in their life expectancy. This will in turn lead to the increase in the rate at which old people depend on the rest of the population. This is termed as old-age dependency burden. However, the trend will not affect the wellbeing of the elderly negatively. This is because one child policy ensures that more funds are directed towards the welfare of the elderly, just like the elderly in the United States have benefited. For this to happen, the elderly must be in a good state of health and activity. This will majorly depend on factors like advances in technology and medicine, the social security of the elderly and also on the extension of life expectancy of the elderly. The structure of the family today is that one of a single child, that is, children from these families lacks other siblings. Ram points out that such children, from the new generation structure, tend to grow up into selfish adults who do not know how to share. This is explained by the fact that a single child matures with the idea that all things are his or hers, and thus lacks the art of sharing. This has raised concerns about the effect of fertility decline on the future generation. One child policy, which has been implemented in countries like China, also portrays future implications on the population characteristics of the society. For example, this policy ensures that a majority of single children born are female. The implication of this is that gender imbalances will crop up leading to inequality and even physical abuse as well as cases of abortions. Ram singles out childlessness and delayed childbearing, and HIV/AIDS as the main correlates of fertility decline. He also predicts the future trends in family structure and age structure, and the effects of such trends to the existing population. Question 8 Familial Characteristics of Koreans and Vietnamese Immigrants from Vietnam have certain values of the family that are unique to them. These values are strictly followed by Vietnamese families as it helps in maintaining their identity and position in the multinational society. An example is their take on family devotion. Vietnamese believe that the whole family, including all children, is to be responsible for taking care of the family. This is as opposed to the Koreans who rely solely on the eldest son to take care of the family (Pyke 250). Another unique familial value in the Vietnamese families is the relationship between women and their families. The women are allowed to maintain stronger ties with their families even after they are married. This differs from the Koreans where women married to the eldest sons is expected to live with their in- laws. The normal American family contrasts significantly to the typical Korean and Vietnamese families. Unlike Vietnamese and Korean families, American families believe that there are designated roles for family members. It is the responsibility of parents to take care of the family, and children may chip in only if they wish to do so. Even though the American family believes in respect to elders and parents, children are allowed to express their opinions and takes on issues in the family. Family members can express their emotions and feelings in public, and this stresses their affection to their loved ones (Pyke 249). Koreans and Vietnamese children view American parents as less strict, more expressive and liberal than their own parents. The Koreans and Vietnamese believe in family ties that extend to in laws and grandparents. In the American family, however, families are composed of parents, children and sometimes grandparents. In short, the American families take care of their own families and are self sufficient. In fact, most American families take their aged relatives to the nursing home, an evident contrast to the Vietnamese family. The latter prefer that the eldest son takes care of the aged relatives. This is a positive value that the Vietnamese, even those that have conformed to the American family doctrines, intend to keep. On the other hand, emotional expressivity found in the American culture is admired by many Korean and Vietnamese (Pyke 254). If given a chance, they have indicated that they would change their parents’ lack of emotional connection. Most of them view this as a form of expression of love and affection, a value that lacks in their communities. From the Chinese Confucianism, the Korean and Vietnamese have learned and adopted certain values of the family structure and behavior. Examples of these traits include relationship between family members and solidarity in the family. The two communities believe that family comes first before individual needs. This implies that one will always solve family problems before handling their own so that the family survives. The strength of family ties is very strong and proceeds until death. The Koreans and Vietnamese also spell out that children must respect their elders and parents (Pyke 250). Young ones are not allowed to argue with or talk back to their elders. They are not allowed to express their opinions and ideas. Similarly, wives are also to show obedience and loyalty to their husbands and men in the society. The Koreans and Vietnamese emphasize on the value of self control. However, they discourage expression of emotions and affections, especially in public. The children later in life offer support to their parents and the elderly. The communities respect the society elites as education is a valuable aspect there. The Korean and Vietnamese families, despite adopting some new cultures, maintained some of their traditional values. Traits such as family ties and relationships remained as they were a fact that made them proud. Other values that are still stuck with them include their lack of emotional expression, especially in public places. Works Cited Pyke, K. (Feb., 2000) ‘The Normal American Family’ as an Interpretive Structure of Family Life among Grown Children of Korean and Vietnamese Immigrants Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 62, No. 1, pages 240-255. National Council on Family Relations. Dill, T. (1988) Fictive Kin, Paper Sons, and Compadrazgo Belmont: Wadsworth Publishers Dreby J. (2008). ‘Negotiating Work and Parenting over the Life Course: Mexican migrants and their non-migrant children’. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting Read More