In all honesty, I believe a big part of the purpose of marriage for me is security. I of course am going to marry someone I do truly love and care for, but at the same time there are many other factors. Though the Masai women lead very different lives than I, I feel as if they also marry for security. Right now in the time of my life, moving out on my own is scary. I am currently looking for security in my life. What is normal to me in terms of a family is definitely everything but one man marrying one woman. The way the Masai families live is not what I would consider “normal” because of the society I live and have been brought up in. It seems as if the Masais purpose in life is work. That is all they seem to do. In contrast with that my family’s life has more value than just working and marrying multiple women. It seemed as if everything about the diversity in how people view sexuality, marriage and family surprised me.
The purpose of marriage for me, what is normal to me in terms of a family and my families purpose in life are all somewhat similar to the Masai and the Chinese, but also very different. First of all, like the conflict and conformity ready stated, i could never imagine having an arranged marriage. I see myself seeking the one I love, not my parents such as the Indians do. I do understand their reasoning for this … to a certain point. For example a part of the reason they have arranged marriage is because it gives their families security, that is one of the particular things I think is important in a marriage. Though many of these women have to leave their parents to marry and start a new family, the Chinese go back to see their family once a year. If they have to leave their family because of the way they live, it makes it a little better knowing they are able to see their family, unlike the masai women. Once they marry they start a whole new family in a different area than their own.
Everyone lives their lives differently and looks at marriage and family in different ways. Though I believe the way we live is the best, how do I really know. I only believe the way we marry and the way we spend time with our family is the right way because it is the way I was brought up. I believe that the Masai, Indians and Chinese all believe the way they live their life is the right way also, because of their culture.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Gender
My experience of gender in our society is much different from that of the Masai. In the American society today women are a lot more independent and take care of themselves. The Masai women go through a lot to become who they are. If I had to live the Masai way I don’t know if I would ever feel loved. It floors me to know that a man has multiple wives and they are useful to him because when it rains and the village gets mucky they have to clear it out and they are responsible for building a house, milking the cows and doing the chores. In our society today that seems to be unacceptable. Yes women do tend to do most of the cleaning and what not but the roles of man and wife are equal.
I think the value in having genders is the fact that first of all we need to reproduce. Without a man and a woman we would not be able to produce the upcoming generations. I feel as if women are expected to do a lot around the house while men are expected to work. Take Oprah for example she did a episode on polygamist communities. The children of this community said that they don’t want to play or have fun. To them work is fun, they are tough that play is not ok. This is a prime example of the challenges this two-gender system presents to people and society. Because we have a man and a woman certain things are only expected from each. I’m not saying polygamy is everywhere but Oprah definitely shows it is evident. I do think that gender is changing in the united states. If you look at the way families live today compared to 50 years ago there are many differences in the way life is lived. Gender is still very evident in our society but it is not as big of a deal anymore. It used to be that women had to stay at home with children and cook while the man works and does nothing at home. In society today that is not the case, women have become much more independent.
Whether something should be done in cultures where there is gender inequality is questionable. I’m saying this because in some cases the way people live works for them. I guess when looking at the Masai the way they live is ok with them. The women are fine with being in a marriage with multiple wives and taking care of the chores. They didn’t ever say it wasn’t what they wanted. To us Americans it looks messed up but to them it is the way live is supposed to be lived.
I think the value in having genders is the fact that first of all we need to reproduce. Without a man and a woman we would not be able to produce the upcoming generations. I feel as if women are expected to do a lot around the house while men are expected to work. Take Oprah for example she did a episode on polygamist communities. The children of this community said that they don’t want to play or have fun. To them work is fun, they are tough that play is not ok. This is a prime example of the challenges this two-gender system presents to people and society. Because we have a man and a woman certain things are only expected from each. I’m not saying polygamy is everywhere but Oprah definitely shows it is evident. I do think that gender is changing in the united states. If you look at the way families live today compared to 50 years ago there are many differences in the way life is lived. Gender is still very evident in our society but it is not as big of a deal anymore. It used to be that women had to stay at home with children and cook while the man works and does nothing at home. In society today that is not the case, women have become much more independent.
Whether something should be done in cultures where there is gender inequality is questionable. I’m saying this because in some cases the way people live works for them. I guess when looking at the Masai the way they live is ok with them. The women are fine with being in a marriage with multiple wives and taking care of the chores. They didn’t ever say it wasn’t what they wanted. To us Americans it looks messed up but to them it is the way live is supposed to be lived.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
United States
Reflecting on the unique history of the United States I was a bit surprised. Putting a little honesty in this blog, reading about historic events jumbles up my mind a little bit. It hasn’t always been my strong suit so here we go. After reading the two Conflict and Conformity case studies for the week the United States was influenced by non-state societies in it’s founding in a very important way. Our leader was not sure in how to centralize the government and the colonies without ruling over then in a monarch way. The Indian Chief came forward and told our leader the way in which he ruled and the way in which the Iroquois were governed. From this the United States adopted the system of governmental election and practice.
We go in to countries for example why we are in the Middle East right now. We are trying to spread democracy and it works for us really well, it gives us freedom and rights. However other cultures aren’t run in a way that is set up to live in a democratic society. We embraced it because it was new and something different and more fair than the monarchy we left in England when we came here, but we shouldn’t force it on other societies. If we better understand other cultures and their political systems we can better foreign policy. If you take the Middle East for example, we are over there right now trying to set up a government that reflects ours to a tee. We need to look at the way in which the Iroquois helped us and use that to help the Middle East. The Iroquois didn’t come in here and tell us how we have to run our colonies, they told us how they ran theirs and gave us ideas. Ideas we can take and tweak to better fit us.
We go in to countries for example why we are in the Middle East right now. We are trying to spread democracy and it works for us really well, it gives us freedom and rights. However other cultures aren’t run in a way that is set up to live in a democratic society. We embraced it because it was new and something different and more fair than the monarchy we left in England when we came here, but we shouldn’t force it on other societies. If we better understand other cultures and their political systems we can better foreign policy. If you take the Middle East for example, we are over there right now trying to set up a government that reflects ours to a tee. We need to look at the way in which the Iroquois helped us and use that to help the Middle East. The Iroquois didn’t come in here and tell us how we have to run our colonies, they told us how they ran theirs and gave us ideas. Ideas we can take and tweak to better fit us.
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