Families in Global Context - Coursework Example

FAMILIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT Migration is a that is studied on all levels when dealing with humanityand its idiosyncrasies. In order to understand migration of Global woman we must understand the various components involved in migration, including internal migration, external migration, immigration and both refugees and Internally Displaced Persons. In order to understand the reasons behind migration of global woman we must first define the various components of migration. Migration refers to the movement of an individual from his or her home country, also known as the source country to another country as his or her destination. The two main movements are involved include immigration and emigration. Immigration would be the movement of individuals into a country. Emigration is the movement of individuals from their home country. The balance between emigration and immigration would be known as net migration and this can be either positive or negative. Positive would be when immigration exceeds emigration and negative would be the reverse of that process. There are various causes for Global woman migration including pull and push factors. Pulls would be things that attract people to other areas. In the case of Asian migration to the United States it would be considered the freedoms allowed, the diversity managed and even the lack of limitations on procreation as would be the case in China. Jobs and weather differences can also cause migration and this has occurred often in certain areas of Asia especially since the tsunami wiped out a majority of the forms of industry throughout the coastal regions of Asia. War in Afghanistan and Bosnia, known as push factors; cause a great number of people to flee to other countries. These women are considered refugees in place of immigrants. (Roopnarine & Gielen, 2005) There are many different influences and consequences relative to migration for anyone that moves from where they originated. Factors that would have to do with migration include the economic growth and development of the country that people are leaving, specifically GDP, the level of domestic development, and finally income and quality of life within the countries. Another two factors include how urbanized an area would be and variations in that consideration along with levels of education that would in fact be available for children across the country of origin in place of isolated areas. Occasionally, the amount of US influence on a country can either adversely or conversely affect the amount of migration. Brunson McKinley, Amanda Klekowski, Von Coppenfels, and Frank Laczko wrote a very interesting piece titled Challenges for the 21st Century in which they spoke of global woman migration as being “an integral part of the world we know today.” (Mckinley, Von Koppenfels, and Laczko) They continue to say that migration has changed over the years to become a more transient condition, a temporary condition from country to country usually in regard to seasonal work and as a result of natural catastrophes. The worst portion of this is that illegal migration, undocumented workers from all over the world would have become far more prevalent as has been learned over the years. There have been a few positive aspects in regard to migration including raising the migrants’ standard of living and the fact that they do make a contribution to the countries that have labor shortages. There would be equally intrusive negative effects including deterioration of social, political and economic conditions in those countries that are sending immigrants to the US. This is undoubtedly evident as a result of the tsunami, the earthquake and other such terrible natural disasters that have occurred. It is also seen in the war that once consumed Bosnia and also the one that is continuing in Afghanistan. 2. America use to follow a specified mode of ethical and mandatory code of conduct within family like dress code and other such variables but with the emergence of China into the bigger scene a homogenous format of family culture is seen to be developing at a brisk pace. Chinese family values from diverse regions have revealed distinct individuality. In interpersonal transactions among themselves, Chinese on the odd occasion put into practice "cold calling," or arriving devoid of an appropriate foreword. Being behind schedule for a rendezvous is considered a severe affront in Chinese family culture. Similar to in American culture, if any individual would be late for an appointment, in that case a call should be made informing the Chinese family member or partner declaring the predictable impediment and at the same time allow them to make modifications or rescheduling. The primary family ideologies associated with the United States are novelty, entrepreneurial like job flexibility expertise and honesty as compared to China, where interpersonal relationship comes first, humility viewed as a virtue time horizon accountable by the generation, respect for seniority, astuteness and aptitude. (Deb, 2006) Chinese family customs are centered around relationships, reclusive, every one minding his/her own business, particularly with strangers and people outside of the relationship network, Quiet , standoffish and awkward communications. There are no family decisions, final decision by the boss or the elder male, blind trust on each other, people’s endeavor to live up to written or oral accords and in upholding trustworthiness. Additionally, indirect and courteous dealings with family Counterparts, taking things personally, persistent gratitude and grudge for both favors and humiliations respectively, weak aptitude to make instantaneous rejoinder are all parts of Chinese family structure. Where as in United States Ethnic Culture is centered around individuals, messianic in nature, saving the world as aphorism, people are outspoken, expressive and efficient communicators, more individual influence and disseminated decision making prevails in negotiation style. US dealing with family counterparts are straight, more understated, gratitude and grudge for both favors and humiliations respectively are superseded by business purpose, strong Ability to Make Immediate Response. (Deb, 2006) Westerners usually put up dealings and, if they are successful, an association will follow. However, the Chinese consider that potential family partners should build a relationship and, if successful, marriage or friendship dealings will follow. Family law is embedded in our accepted wisdom. Nevertheless, conventionally, commercial law barely existed in China and positively indicated bad faith. (Deb, 2006) The connection between the United States and China is weighed down by vagueness. On the one hand, all seven presidents of United States have acknowledged the significance of accommodating relations with China and an assurance to a one-China guiding principles. On the other hand, ambivalence has out of the blue re-emerged. An assortment of United States officials, members of Congress and the news media are aggressive towards Chinas course of action, on or after the exchange rate to military buildup, a great deal of it in an attitude implying that China is on some process of experimentation. That supposition is as treacherous as it is erroneous. 3. The ideas of Modern and Post Modernism in family structure are more of a concept than actuality. For this reason it is essential to define Modern family and Post modern family. There are several notions regarding the concept of Post modern family but most acceptable is the period dating from 1940s. Therefore, it is obvious that the era after 1945 could be termed as post Modern. (Fletcher, 2003) The social and economic factors of post modern family values are development of concepts like secularization, decontextualization, totalitarianism, mechanization, democratization, centralization, hierarchical organization, individualism, linear progression, homogenization, diversification, , hybridization, unification, industrial society, reductionism, , universalism, subjectivism, alienation, rationalization, and bureaucracy making the post Modern society a complex and intricate civilization and thus the family system developed in that mode. (Fletcher, 2003) In sharp contrast modern family was a lot more single dimensional and simple. Modern family had a simple form of male dominated attitude that was direct but decisive at all point. The society of the modern family was formulated on simple principals of life that were directed by the acts of tradition. In an overall sense the modern Society was more heterogeneous in nature whereas the post modern family appears to be more homogenous in the sense that with advent of close contact world due to globalization the distinctive features of specific cultures began to be eradicated by a large margin. It is this period of history in the post modern society when the mass stated believing in evidence rather than blindly follow the aspects of belief. Another distinctive feature of post Modern society from its modern counterpart is that during the modern era the advent of global capital and information as a means of power came into existence. Previously this place was occupied by low capital in general. Alongside the advent of capital one of the most interesting feature that came into existence was the high volume of goods movement at a given state of time. In the modern Society this phenomenon was unimaginable and post Modern society only made it possible with help of capital and industrialization that directly influenced the family units. (Fletcher, 2003) Yet another interesting feature of the post Modern family from the modern family is the availability of information. This became more easily available due to development of internet and similar communication systems that made information abundant. Formerly, the areas that were separated by geographical barriers were broken down after the modern family and thus people became more aware of things happening around them. (Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2004) However, it should be taken into account that one of the most distinguishable aspects of post modern family is its attitude towards sexuality and marriage. Given the many problems that are associated with marriage, it is not so surprising that many young people in post Modern societies- which, to a great extent, now values individual fulfillment over traditions or modern Society - have become disillusioned with the institution of marriage. This has resulted in the surging of non-traditional social structures. Divorce used to be quite rare in Pre modern Society, but in modern society it became extremely common. In the Soviet Union, for example, only 37 percent of marriages survive three years, and 70 percent break up within a decade. Men and women tend to divorce their spouses for different reasons. Women can claim a variety of reasons for seeking a separation from their spouses. Such reasons include physical, emotional, or mental abuse, heavy substance abuse, infidelity, sexual problems, or lack of support. Men seeking divorce from their wives complain of nagging, a dull sex life, or meddling in-laws. Women usually are more dissatisfied and find more fault with their marriages than men do. It must be added that the majority of men and women do eventually remarry. However, remarriages often fail as well. Divorced women with higher incomes and educations frequently delay remarrying, and many of these successful women never remarry. Remarriages tend to be more gratifying for the husbands than for the wives, just as is the case with first marriages. All these factors are distinctively different from modern Society. (Fletcher, 2003) 4. Regarding household works it can be stated that since family is such a basic and vital social unit in all societies, persons of all political persuasions have at-times visceral opinions about what things promote the institution and what forces degrade it. In the United States, conservatives and liberals view family very differently. Three of the most contentious issues regarding family life in America are abortion, feminism, and homosexuality. Feminism also sharply divides liberals and conservatives. Liberals intensely value individual fulfillment. They encourage women to seek satisfaction outside of the family. For example, they encourage women to maintain careers even with families. Meanwhile, conservatives maintain that a woman’s primary duty is to look after her husband and children. To many conservatives, individual fulfillment simply looks selfish. In the context of Child-rearing it can be said that it is changing not just in the United States, but worldwide as well. The processes for rearing a child are changing because, in part, the institution of family is itself transforming. In traditional societies, the family system tended to take the form of the extended family (Robertson, 1989). In extended families, more than two generations of the same kinship line lived together, either in the same residence or in nearby dwellings. All adults in these extended families shared responsibility for child-rearing. Then, during the Industrial Revolution, the nuclear family became the most common familial system, at least within the Western nations. In the modern world, the smaller nuclear family structure held many advantages over the traditional extended family. Nuclear families helped to promote geographical and social mobility (Robertson, 1989). Smaller families also tended to spend less money simply because there were fewer individuals to provide for. This important social change would have profound effects on how children were raised. While the nuclear family offered increased economic feasibilities, the mother and father- who now had to raise the children on their own- sometimes found child-rearing to be exhausting and a burden. In addition, the children- to a considerable extent separated from most other family members- would sometimes find themselves alienated from these extended family members. In many respects, the nuclear family engenders a sense of loneliness within offspring. In the last few decades, the number of “non-traditional” families has skyrocketed. These family structures include single-parent families and reconstituted families (nuclear families in which at least one member is a survivor of divorce). These “non-traditional” families pose special problems for children (Robertson, 1989). Often, the head of the household in single-parent families does not possess the financial resources to take care of the offspring properly. In addition, some heads are so busy with work and other adult responsibilities that they cannot provide adequate supervision for the offspring. Reconstituted families face the difficult challenges of creating appropriate relationships among step-parents and step-children, between the children of one spouse and the children of the other spouse, and between various new half-brothers, half-sisters, and the existing children (Robertson, 1989). 5. In present day society, the destruction of traditional families in order to initiate them into the global monoculture is more subtle than it was in the past. Most corporate and government leaders do not intend to destruct traditional cultures; for the most part, they are often unaware that they are doing so (Friedman, 2000). This lack of realization seems to be nurtured by the cult of specialization which is ever-present in western society. This allows for the tendency to destroy the cultural diversity of the world in an effort to spread and expand the global economy. Regardless of whether or not the concepts and approach of the development toward a global monocultures is, in fact, more subtle than in previous generations, the effects of the destruction of cultural diversity is still more devastating. The computer and technology revolution of the past twenty years have given executives even more reason to disrupt and destroy cultural diversity, attempting to “do what is best for each society and the world,” without, in fact, considering how these revisions affect each society. Thus, technology today threatens to undermine cultural diversity even more, as the hope for a global monoculture continues to grow. Many people view today’s global economy as the completion of the dream of developing a “Global Village.” People see the items behind a “Global Village” almost everyday, no matter when and where they travel. For instance, travelers will generally see multi-lane highways, cultural landscapes, and large, concrete cities alongside fast-food restaurants, and people walking with their cellular phones. Even in the farthest and most remote areas of the world, most people are familiar with concepts like Barbie and Baywatch (Semati and Sotirin, 1999). The world thus appears to be becoming increasingly more united, and the more united it becomes, the more Westernized the world itself seems to be. There appears to be a concept growing in these eastern societies that the west is the best, and third world countries have for many generations been attempting to modernize in order to catch up with the west (Cantor, 2001). Becoming western also seems to provide these countries with the factor that they will probably be accepted by the United States, the strongest country in the world, and also ensures them a harmonious position in the world. The more “like us,” or like the United States these places become, the more they are likely to be accepted into the global framework. The westernization of these third world countries from the core, and from family values, therefore seems to assume that diversity of various cultures alongside differing values and beliefs created chaos, and by discarding of these differences, they will no longer exist, and everybody will be able to get along. However, this assumption has created a horrible consequence. Villages, rural communities, and their age-old traditions and customs all around the globe are being discarded and removed in a large scale destruction of tradition (Cowen, 2002). The globalizing market therefore forces the destruction and removal of tradition and history, removing cultures that have been present for thousands of years. Regardless of this fact, the spread of consumer monoculture appears to be never ending. References: Cantor, P. (2001). Gilligan unbound: Pop culture in the age of globalization. Lanham: Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Cowen, T. (2002). Creative destruction: How globalization is changing the world’s cultures. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Deb, J; (2006); Introduction to Chinese Culture; ABP Ltd. Ehrenreich, B., & Hochschild, A.R. (Eds.). (2004) Global woman: Nannies, maids, and sex workers in the new economy. New York: Henry Holt & Co. ISBN: 0-8050-7509-7 Fletcher, R; 2003; Beliefs and Knowledge: Believing and Knowing; Howard & Price. Friedman, T. (2000). The Lexus and the olive tree. New York: Anchor Books. Mckinley, Brunson, Amanda Klekowski Von Koppenfels, and Frank Laczko. "Challenges for the 21st Century." Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy 16.2 (2001): 68. Questia. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001040842 Robertson, Ian (1989). Society: A Brief Introduction. New York: Worth Publishers, Inc. Roopnarine, J.L. & Gielen, U.P (Eds.). (2005). Families in global perspective. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN: 0-2053-3574-8 Semati, M. and Sotirin. P. (1999). “Hollywood’s transnational appeal: Hegemony and democratic potential?” Journal of Popular Film & Television 26: 176-188. Read More