Cynthia Gorney's View Of Child Marriage

The reaction Stephanie Sinclair, the first journalist, had about child marriages appeared ethnocentric because the way she spoke about not understanding why the girls from Afghanistan lit themselves on fire for such an illogical reasons seemed irresponsible to her. Stephanie also stated that as a westerner who did not have any personal troubles that would make her go as far as lighting herself on fire further asserted the ethnocentric perspective of her speech. Stephanie moreover states that because culture practices such as those mentioned in the video are hard to change it has hindered the opportunity for those girls to get an education for themselves and do other things than getting married at an early age. However, Stephanie also looked

Cynthia understood that child marriage was a complicated practice and that the reasons for it were based off trying to assure that their child has the opportunity of a better life. Her view was culturally relative because she didn't allow her bias opinions to affect her research. Instead, Cynthia took the time to learn the reasons why child marriage occurred. Cynthia regarded this practice in the viewpoint of those involved in the practice of child marriage. She understood that to stop a wedding could cause more problems to the young girl instead of solving them. She also spoke of her understanding of child marriage as the joining of two families, not just two people in love it signified much more. Cynthia's reaction can also imply a bit of an ethnocentric view, but not as much as her cultural relativism perspective on the situation of child marriage. Her view is ethnocentric because as she proceeds with her speech, she concentrates on the experiences a western girl may have and an Indian girl when presented in similar situations. For example, when Cynthia brings up the scenario of an Indian girl having relations before marriage and then outcasted because of her culture comparing it to an American girl who went through the same circumstances but because their way of living is different their manner of dealing with an issue like this is different. (Too young to wed,

Cynthia Gorney's discussion on the various situations that may make it necessary for an early wedding began making me think that in cases like those marriages like these can be vital in improving one's life. Cynthia's way of understanding and providing scenarios to prove her point allowed me to understand that families who allow their children to marry at a young age genuinely believe they are helping their children acquire a better future. I no longer think the practice of child marriage as a tradition to be followed, but as something that helped people survive and keep their families