Ethnic Family Research Summary : Dating

Marriage is described as two people as partners in a personal relationship. There are two typical ideas of marriage that we know today. The first one that comes to mind is the one we all know, based on love, but there is another one that some may not even know of and its arranged marriages. Arranged marriage is not typically in our culture we know but in different cultures arranged marriages are their normal marriage. Throughout this essay, I will discuss the importance of realizing cultural diversity and how we apply the perspectives we gain from cross-cultural comparison to our own experience using central concepts about marriage to compare and contrast marriage in several cultures.

Although there were many changes in the features of marriage and courtship in the 1920s, many of the elements of courtship and marriage have remained constant. The changes that occurred are still evident in society today. The

Marriage practices vary across cultures. Every culture has its own way of conducting marriage according to their traditions and customs. Most cultures share common customs and practices, while some cultures have unique practices. Marriage refers to a social union agreed upon by the couples to unit as spouses. The union of couples implies sexual relations, permanence in union, and procreation. This research paper focuses on comparing marriage practices in American and Indian culture. There is significant difference between the two cultures in marriage practices.

This paper discusses the dynamic issues involving the diversity of multicultural families in regards to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic, gender and sexual orientation. This paper will also highlight same or different minority or cultural backgrounds, identity and biases involving multicultural families. How multicultural families incorporate their beliefs, cultures and values into a family unit as well as the transformation of acculturation. Challenges involving racial identity, ethnicity; where do people with different cultures fit in and make it work; the population of multicultural families has risen and continue to do so. Socioeconomic status in multicultural families

Dating back to the early 1900’s and all the way through to the present, romantic relationships have been viewed differently. From strict unwritten dating regulations to not having regulations at all, recent generations have become more liberated in making their own decisions. The progressing times have made us become a more accepting society and have caused a decrease in the strong practice of religion and class. Even though differences such as religion and class in relationships were more than an issue they were not always a complete deterrence.

Families around the world consist of many variations. The traditional family includes a mother and father of the same racial background and their children. While this is the most acceptable type of family dynamic, today there are families that consist of countless different types of deviations. Many children grow up with one parent, gay parents, or with their grandparents. There are also families that consist of two parents that are of different races. Interracial families consist of relatives who are from diverse origins. Interracial families include families where the parents are of two different races or when the adopted children are of a different race than their parents.

Cultural dating techniques and sexual practices among youth has changed drastically over the decades. From a postmodernist perspective, this is largely due to society, the morals, values and lessons that are taught in our social institutions. Dating practices have become less formal which is now considered the new norm, “we have moved into a “late-modern society” that is increasing anomic (or less normed) in certain respects” (Cote & Allahar, 2006, p. 28). There is no more ‘traditional roles’ of dating or even clear guidelines. How girls are supposed to behave is constantly changing and reinforced by various authority figures, society and our educational institutions. Dating and sexual practices have gone from the relationship first then, sexual activity, to sexual activity and then commitment. Media and society are now telling females to explore their sexuality before settling down except continue to look down upon the females who do so. Males continue to be taught to have multiple sexual partners and look for a female partner whom has only had very few sexual partners if any. Not only has institutions and other influences taken away the standards from dating, they are sending mixed messages. Encouraging females to have the best of the

Hmong followed a patrilineal kinship system. Only men can inherit properties and belongings; the father holds title to family property. When couples are married, “residence after marriage is either patrilocal or neolocal, but in the vicinity of paternal house” (LeBar, 75). When daughters marry, they move out of the house. Hmong marriage is regarded as a bond between two clans, so they have strict exogamy practices. Hmong men remain members of their birth clan for life (Hein, 68). Each of the family clans have a leader, who is the eldest male of the line. Their society was male-centered (Lecture, 01/26/17). On the other hand, Lao followed the Southeast Asian pattern, which was a bilateral kinship system. Kinship ties are felt to be equally strong on both sides, the mother and the father (LeBar, 217). Lao kinship is more laid back compared to Hmong. They pay little attention to genealogies, since tracing more than three generations is difficult for them (LeBar, 217). Both men and women can inherit in the family as well, so Lao women are less subordinate to Lao men. Unlike Hmong, Lao couples have freedom in choosing whether to live on their own or with either spouses’ family (Lecture, 01/26/17). Lao marriage does not ensue strict exogamy practices, and Lao, traditionally, have no “family” names. Lao are known by their given names, not family names. Overall, Hmong and Lao have the exact opposite types of

During the early 1900s thousands of Japanese women would find themselves traveling to the United States and would meet their husband they had never met before. The women knew nothing of this man besides “knowing” what he looked like. As the men were agricultural laborers that worked in harsh conditions and were mostly older than they seemed, so they did not look like the young studs in the pictures they sent to brides in Japan. One of the reasons for Japanese women being sent to America and marrying Japanese American farmers was because of the Gentlemen’s Agreement act going into effect in 1908. The treaty prohibited the entry of Japanese laborers from entering the United States, while allowing the Japanese government to permit women to emigrate as family members to America. This left married men to bring their wives to America, while bachelors would arrange marriages by exchanging photographs, thus establishing the picture bride system in America. The only way the picture bride system was able to pass by the strict immigration laws was because in Japan the women could have their wedding ceremonies with the groom absent and would just have to enter their names in the spouses’ family register, thus the Japanese used this as a loophole in the Gentlemen’s Agreement. The picture bride system was the best ways for the Japanese bachelors to start families in America because it

What does your family want from you in terms of traditions that you are expected to uphold on account of your ethnic background?

In this essay, I will describe American marriages from an etic view. I will make an attempt to remove myself from my culture and view it as an outsider looking in. An etic view on something is when you see something from an outsider’s perspective. As Crapo has described in section 1.1 an etic view, “models invariably describe each culture in ways that seem alien to its own participants but that facilitate comparisons between cultures and the discovery of universal

The simplest and most basic foundation of a sociological civilization or group begins at the core center of sociology; which is marriage and the inner-fabric creation of a family. It is said that matches are made in heaven, however finding and defining your “soul mate” differs from one social group to the next. The social institution of marriage changes and adapts consistently through time, religious practice, and national beliefs. Many people believe they lead happy and satisfying lives without a marital partner, as others highly value and desire a life-long marital partner as the pinnacle achievement of their life.

The article “Clashing Dreams: Highly Educated Overseas Brides and Low-Wage U.S. Husbands” discusses the trend of marriages between highly educated women living in Vietnam and under-employed, low-income Vietnamese men living overseas. Both of these groups are unmarriageable by traditional Vietnamese standards. The women are generally older, in their late twenties to early thirties, with college educations and lucrative jobs. They view the pool of marriageable men in Vietnam to be underachieving and disrespectful of women. Conversely, Viet Kieu men, Vietnamese men who live in other countries, are seen as more respectful of women, and less controlling, since they live in more westernized countries. The Viet Kieu men, ironically, are looking for women who have been subject to fewer western influences than the women in the countries where they live, and who are more traditional. These men believe that women from Vietnam

In the broadest sense, marriages have been divided into two general categories; arranged marriages and love marriages. As the name implies, an arranged marriage is defined as a marriage where the bride and groom are exclusively selected by a third party (usually their parents), while in a love marriage, people choose their marital partners based on their feelings or attraction for one another. In America and Western Europe, marriages based on love, have dominated their cultures for a long time and, as a result, when it comes to arranged marriages, most American’s first reaction would be: “Oh! This kind of marriage is so relentless and incredible, because we have no voice.” However, times are changing, and so is the attitude toward marriage. America is a “melting pot,” which means it is a multicultural society, and there are so many immigrants from other countries in America. Due to international migration, both arranged marriages and love marriages have co-existed in peace and affected each other. Although some argue that arranged couples don’t have a choice in choosing their life partner, we can’t deny the benefits of arranged marriages, as it can help them obtain full and complete support from their families, better understand each other and provide a high possibility for a successful and happy marriage.

Marriage is a unique social institution that could be interpreted and defined in a variety of forms and characterizations. In an emotional aspect, marriage can be generalized as being in a romantic love relationship in which it is legally monogamous. Although sharing an emotional bond with a significant other is important, there are several factors that must be taken into consideration when making a decision into getting married. A couple must understand the depths of marriage in terms of survival. This emphasizes the realistic aspect of marriage which involves money. Affording a house, a family, and the necessary items to accommodate the institution can accumulate. With the right education and career, middle and upper class couples’ divorce rates have decreased, their marital happiness is consistent along with family structure. This paper will demonstrate the influential factors of pursuing marriage and the importance of social class and status when deciding on entering into marriage. Marriage is a socially approved courtship between two individuals in which the relationship involves sexual and economic benefits that is assumed to be permanent and includes mutual rights and obligations. A social institution, as defined by Jonathan Turner, is a “complex of positions, roles, norms, and values lodged in particular types of social structures and organizing relatively stable patterns of human activity with respect to fundamental problems in producing life-sustaining resources,