Cultural Relativity and Exploring Global Gender Ideals - Essay Example

? Cultural Relativity and Exploring Global Gender Ideals Cultural Relativity and Exploring Global Gender Ideals It has been a prevalent and well-known notion that gender varies from society to society; indeed, Sherry Ortner and Harriet Whitehead stated that “sex roles- the differential participation of men and women in social, economical, political and religious institutions-vary from culture to culture,” (Ortner and Whitehead,1). Each culture typically has its own definitions of how males and females are to behave; the interview I conducted on a Pakistani woman asking her what behavior was seen as appropriate for males and females served to support the former statement, that each culture constructs its own gender norms. Apart from the primary data I collected as an interviewer myself, the essay also contains some secondary research that espouses the notion that gender varies from culture to culture. For my interview, I contacted a Pakistani woman, Fareedah, who lived in my friend’s neighborhood; I felt that because she was from a different country than mine, she could offer me a chance to compare and contrast how men and women behave in our own societies. According to Fareedah, “it is the job of the men to support the family, the women are supposed to value their household chores and domestic responsibilities over everything else. I know many women who have had to give up their jobs after they got married and had babies.” Whereas in Pakistan society apparently it is not seen as appropriate for women to work, in other societies women are expected and often encouraged to join the work sector. For instance in Taiwan, because of “expanding demand for women’s labor, female labor force participation rates in Taiwan climbed from 32.6% in 1966 to 46.1% in 2001,” (Hu & Kamo, 105). Also, what immediately came to my mind when Fareedah stated that women are not expected to join the workforce in her society, was World War II when women in Britain were asked to join arms and ammunitions factories, and drive agricultural machinery. Clearly, where the work sector is concerned, there is a stark difference in the expected gender behaviors toward it, in different societies. Fareedah also claimed that “I think women are just naturally inclined towards looking after the children and doing housework,” and also “men are made by nature to be more concerned about everyone around them, like a big lion who has to protect his pride! You should see the men from our North West Frontier Province, they are like kings, ruling and taking responsibility of their own little settlements.” This echoes with what Ortner and Whitetaker claim about life in non-Western societies; “women are seen as tending toward more involvement with private and particularistic concerns, benefitting themselves and perhaps their children, without a regard for larger social consequences, whereas men are seen as having a more universalistic orientation, as being concerned with the welfare of the social whole,” (Ortner and Whitehead,7). Fareedah also said “my own daughter has a job in America; she is working as a teacher. She is very happy. But were we back at home, I would have been scolded for allowing my daughter to work, and she would also be reprimanded.” Questioning Fareedah about the attitudes towards relatives in her society, she said “I think people are very close to one another, and all the sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles, grandparents etc. are connected to one another in such a way that they all exert influence on each other.” She also said that “there is no way you can do something without seeking the advice or permission of your relatives, there is nothing you can do that your family cannot find out. So well-knit and integrated the society is!” Kamo and Hu claim that “like in many East Asian societies, the extended family is a preferred arraignment in Taiwan,” and that “73% of them (respondents aged 65 or older) actually lived that way,” (Hu & Kamo, 107). Asking Fareedah about her familial structure, she said “back in my society, I was living in the same house with my husband and our children, his brother and his wife and children, and his father and mother.” She also stated that “I actually enjoyed living like that with so many people, everyone would help each other out with tasks or problems, and it was a very caring environment.” Indeed, Kamo and Hu claim that “married women living with daughter in laws may perform less housework because they receive help from the younger generation,” and how they could suffer in nuclear families where “no other adult women are present to alleviate their burden,” (Hu & Kamo, 108). Also, I asked Fareedah about how married men and women are supposed to behave with each other in her society, to which she replied that “I always listen to what my husband says and put his needs and opinions above my own.” Also, she said that “i never take any decision without consulting him first,” and that “I have been taught that if I make my husband happy, I make Allah happy. This often means ignoring my own wishes and stamping down on my own thoughts, and supporting what my husband says.” This is in stark contrast to what I have noticed about the gender norms in my own Western society; within my own home, I have never witnessed my mother bow down to my father’s wishes while sacrificing her own needs, or consulting him before making any decision. Nevertheless, in a non-Western society, Bangladesh, Jessica Gipson and Michelle Hindin have found that “many wives acted independently and often contrary to their husbands’ desires,” and that “wives preferences appeared to dominate as they became more established in their households,” (Gipson & Hindin, 185). Fareedah also had to say that “women in our society are very fiercely controlled. They are often not allowed to leave the house to hang out with their friends in the evenings; there is not concept of ‘partying’. Parents keep a strict check on their daughters, they do not allow them to wear certain clothes or talk to boys.” Ortner and Whitetaker also state that in most non-Western societies, “man’s concern for maintaining his honor takes the form of an almost paranoid obsession with the sexual conduct of his womenfolk,” (Ortner and Whitehead, 20). This, I feel is highly juxtaposed by the situation in my Western society where women are allowed more freedom to do as they like, and without having their sexuality controlled by men. As was mentioned earlier, gender norms vary from society to society; they are social constructs, and each society fashions its own understanding of what is appropriate behavior for males and females. Although each society does have its own gender norms, these can be influenced by the conceptions of gender held by other societies too, as a result of globalization, immigration, the media, what is taught in schools, and so on. The way Fareedah let her daughter take up a teaching job, the way female labor force participation rates in Taiwan has increased, and the way women in Bangladesh challenge their husbands, all indicate how gender roles can change over time as a result of influences by the external forces of other cultures. References Gipson, J., & Hindin, M., (2007). “Marriage means having children and forming your family, so what is the need of discussion?”: Communication and negotiation of childbearing preferences among Bangladeshi couples. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 9, 185-198. DOI: 10.1080/13691050601065933 Hu, C., & Kamo, Y., (2007). The Division of Household Labor in Taiwan. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 38, 105-124. Ortner, Sherry B., and Harriet Whitehead. "Sexual Meanings: The Cultural Construction of Gender and Sexuality." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June 2013. . Read More