The Asian American families, just like most families in the US, exist to serve different functions. These families also seem to be in tandem with the functionalists’ point of view that marriage and families ought to be related to other parts of the society. In that respect, Asian American families do not operate in isolation rather; they interact with other members of the society. According to the textbook, families exist to serve six major functions which include: economic production, socialization of children, recreation, care of the sick and aged, reproduction and sexual control. This essay discusses the family values and interactions among the Asian American families prominently in relation to the six functions.
It is important to note that a majority of the Asian American families are immigrants to the US. That means that they moved from diverse cultures to the US because of various reasons. Some of the reasons could be economic factors or conflicts. For most people, the US is an economic hub, where success is almost guaranteed. Important to note is that the word “Asian” denotes people from different cultures. The Asian group of people originate from places such as China, Japan, Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam (Xia, Do, & Xie, 2013). While these people have many values in common, there are also significant differences among them. However, for uniformity purposes, the essay discusses those values that bind all the Asian Americans together.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
According to Van Campen & Russell (2010), Asian American families place a lot of emphasis on discipline and honor. The Asian families are guided mainly by the Confucian philosophy, which stresses on respect for authority, emotional restraint, devotion to parents, and the importance of education. For instance, the Chinese mode of parenting is founded on the precincts of “chiao shun” (to train) and “guan” (to govern and learn). Parents that train their children become very involved in the lives of their children, and display high levels of concern for them. However, parenting may become difficult for Chinese Americans especially after immigration. Parenting styles such as physical discipline which are acceptable in their places of origin are not acceptable in the US.
The Filipino Americans have had a long history of Spanish and Catholic influence as well as U.S colonization until the 1970s but seem to have values that are not distinct from other Asian cultures. For instance, the Filipino family culture allows for affection and closeness. That means that parents act as protectors of their children, especially daughters. Secondly, the Filipino American families have relationships that are interdependent, where members of the family rely on each other for support. Additionally, the relationships are founded on the concept of “utang ngloob” (reciprocal relatonships) (Van Campen & Russell, 2010). This type of relationship implies a debt of gratitude that members of the family have for others.
In regard to the incest taboo, the Asian American families observe certain values. For instance, members of the same family do not marry each other. As mentioned above concerning the Filipinos, parents tend to protect their daughters so much to avoid such occurrences. Marriage or pregnancy among members of the same family is considered an act of shame. On the same note, a father cannot marry his daughter, neither can a mother engage in sexual intercourse with her son. Nevertheless, Asian Americans seem to be a very conservative group in regard to marriage. Since most of the Asians are not organized into tribes, they can get married to cousins or distant relatives. It is not common for the Asian Americans to intermarry with other races such as Native Americans, Europeans and Africans. Perhaps it is the reason why a majority of Americans refer to Asian Americans as aliens.
The Asian Americans and the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Gender, Housework, and Childcare
According to Paik et al. (2017), gender and women relations among the Asian American community is characterized by conflict between the mainstream Asian culture and the dominant American culture, which results into tension within the Asian American community. Consequently, the mix of the two cultures makes it difficult for the Asian women to make decisions. That means that although the Asian women may try to identify themselves with women from other racial backgrounds, they still try to fit into their cultural practices. For instance, most American women presently marry later compared to the past. According to the textbook, most women in the US used to marry before they turned 24. Presently, the percentage of women between the ages of 20 and 24 who are married is less than one third of what it was in 1970. Lynch (2002) in her book titled, Dress, Gender, and Cultural Change: Asian American and American Rites of Passage, she says that women among the Hmong American community still hold the view that marrying young and bearing children is still important. The Hmong is an Asian American community that was originally a Chinese ethnic group, which fled to Laos after being discriminated in their ancestral place.
Although marrying early among the Hmong American community is important, the practice seemingly conflicts with the American’s measures of success. For instance, women that marry at an early age cannot advance their education. In fact, most of such women do not get college education. On the other hand, women that get college education experience challenges in trying to reconcile with the passive cultural practices (Lynch, 2002). However, it seems it is only the women that face such challenges. The men fit more readily into the American system probably because their traditional male roles are more compatible with the American normative measures of male success.
In regard to childcare, the economic factors in the US have compelled most of the Asian American parents to adapt. Seemingly, the Asian American children are more independent because of the high expectations from their parents. Asian American children are compelled to excel because excellence brings honor to the family. For immigrant Asian American families, the children tend to acculturate faster than their parents (Paik et al., 2017). As a result, the children may act as social brokers on behalf of their parents. Such new responsibilities may rid their parents of some roles. That means that parental power may be compromised, making the family to embrace new dynamics. It is also important to note that in the Asian American families, older siblings have the duty of guiding and issuing discipline to the younger disciplines. Therefore, the Asian families seem to be guided by a hierarchy; the older an individual is, the higher the respect he or she commands. Young people are expected to respect older siblings and any other people who are older than them.
Conclusion
As a person who aspires to provide a significant contribution to the community, it is likely that I will come across Asian American families. It is certain that this form of family will have an impact on my practice. From the essay, the Asian Americans seem to encounter a lot of conflict with the dominant American culture. While it is necessary to embrace positive American elements such as education and gender equality, the women also want to get close to their families, marry and bear children. I have learned that although communities try to improve their economic wellbeing, they still struggle to preserve their distinct cultures. In the process, conflict ensues. This information is particularly important in analyzing the future trends in family relationships. Secondly, this assignment is important because I have learnt to respect cultural diversity and respect for other people’s practices.
References
Lynch, A. (2002). Dress, Gender and Cultural Change: Asian American and African American Rites of Passage.
Paik, S. J., Rahman, Z., Kula, S. M., Saito, L. E., & Witenstein, M. A. (2017). Diverse Asian American Families and Communities: Culture, Structure, and Education (Part 1: Why They Differ). School Community Journal , 27 (2), 35-66.
Van Campen, K. S., & Russell, S. T. (2010). Cultural differences in parenting practices: What Asian American families can teach us. Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, and Families ResearchLink , 2 (1).
Xia, Y. R., Do, K. A., & Xie, X. (2013). The adjustment of Asian American families to the US context: The ecology of strengths and stress. In Handbook of marriage and the family (pp. 705-722). Springer, Boston, MA.
