Being a largely patriarchal society, the traditional concept of the Vietnamese woman lies in her roles as a daughter, wife and mother. A lot of importance is placed on a woman’s reproductive ability as well as her ability to care for her children. They are expected to prioritise the raising of offspring and welfare of the household over anything else. The failure to follow these expectations often lead to massive disapproval by the entire household. Hence, migrating to seek better opportunities for work and money is not a desirable choice because of the backlash they would face.
On the other hand, Vietnamese men are supposed to be the breadwinners and heads of the household. They are the ones who are responsible for bringing in the money.
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As such, they appear much more vulnerable to exploitation when they migrate to take on new jobs. It is believed that the possibility of them ending up as a victim of sexual harassment and many other forms of exploitation is more than likely. When that is the case, instead of taking their side and supporting them, the Vietnamese choose to follow the victim-blaming approach. Women who fall prey to exploitation are viewed as a disgrace, and their self-worth is lowered because they have been “tainted”. (p. 10) To make matters worse, news of sexual exploitation suffered by female migrants often end up on the mainstream media. Hence, the social risks of migration is often something that Vietnamese women have to greatly consider.
It can be said that the patriarchal values of the Vietnamese society stems from the deep influences of the Confucian way of life. Confucian beliefs care little for the diversity of a female in society. There are three main focuses: their roles as wives, daughters and mothers. They also have three moral obediences: “towards the father before marriage, the husband when married, and the eldest son when widowed” (Grosse, 2015, p. 257). On the other hand, men would actually be seen as members of society and their relationships as a brother, or as a friend, are
The role of race and gender in the United States have been a constant social and cultural struggle, but for male and female service members in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War of author Heather Marie Stur’s book "Beyond Combat: Women and Gender in the Vietnam War Era" when she focused more on the Cold War era policies. While her emphasis is primarily on Americans in Vietnam, the framing chapter on Madame Nhu as Orientalist dragon lady. Similarly, she considers the image of the "girl next door" in need of protection in relation to the actual positions of donut dollies nurses and WACs in
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