Ethiopian Culture Women

In the Ethiopian culture, if men came to the house, the women are supposed to cover up because it would be considered immodest. I personally do not have a problem with dressing modestly because I do part take in this practice when I am at home with my parents. I respect the traditional values I grew up in and can acknowledge that those values have contributed in making me the person I am today. As Dr. Stangor (2011) discusses how some women will hold a certain persona to prevent culture disagreement, it made me wonder if women in my culture are dressing by choice or if that was reinforced upon by society. I do respect the traditional values that I was taught to express, but because now I have been immersed in the American culture, I am exploring to see how I can make it work for me especially gender roles. The reading, GIRL (Kincaid,1993) empathizes on the idea that growing up, she was mentally controlled by her family and what they perceived was the 'right' way of acting like a woman. It really made me wonder what kind of values and viewpoints I want to take into my adulthood because there are good attributes in the American culture and the Ethiopian culture.

I remember telling my parents that if I do get married, everything is going to be equal and they got so offended that I, as a woman wanted to have control outside the norms. I am aware of the concept of "the man being the head of the household" but I am not willing to lose a part of myself so that someone else can have the space to be in control. The worksheet of Yi, Ping, Gong (2017) really showed me the wholeness that I want to have within myself which involved peace and comfort with my strength and weaknesses. It also brought to my attention that I am however willing to expand that space so that the person can see that this world is made up of both men and