The Atmosphere Of The Neighborhood

1191 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Immigrants in America facing challenges

Zhao Zhuang, a rural neighborhood in Taiyuan, a second tier city in China, is the place where I was born. Rather than shopping malls, theaters and indifferent neighbors who are always busy doing their jobs; farms, storytelling and caring people were what I needed to face. The rural neighborhood in one way enabled me, a girl younger than six years old, to talk to people from different age groups, ranging from one year old to eighty years old, and who have various life experience, ranging from people who never had a job to ones who switched several jobs in lifetime (AUTHOR). The atmosphere of the neighborhood makes me inclusive enough to feel comfortable and always curious to learn from others. In another way the environment reinforced gender scripts. Since agriculture is the main industry in rural area of China, boys are expected to farm and girls are expected to stay at home and do housework. The notion of doing gender took root in my mind until senior high school. My parents, a female kindergarten teacher and a male businessman without BA diplomas, were in a low economic class, like most people do not have BA diplomas end up with (AUTHOR); they firmly believed in financially upward mobility, and so sent me to my grandparents’ apartment, in the rural area, 10 days after I was born in order to focus on their jobs. In Chinese culture, one of the social norms is that younger people are supposed to take care of elders. Therefore, growing up with my grandparents, both my parents and people in the neighborhood kept reminding me that I needed to take care of my grandparents within the bound of my abilities. The social construction process, which is demonstrated through my consent with my parents and the neighborhood’s idea that I need ... ... middle of paper ... ...ntity, I get to know that the model minority myth does exist, and party appears as a subculture in American colleges. In addition, being a woman but also a Chinese, the intersectionality identity challenged me to fight for rights for both communities. Furthermore, as everybody looking for identity, a friend in senior high school claimed that he is bisexual after coming to US. The fact convinced me that sexuality is a spectrum. I keep pivoting to be a better person in each stage of life, but I know that the reason why I have the chance of pivoting is because my parents worked hard to earn enough money. More money means more opportunities to travel; attend programs that gather youth from all over the world, and increase cultural capital. Looking into the future, I know that problems like stereotype will still exist, but I will learn the way to eliminate them at OXY.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Desi Hoop Dreams

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    Intersectional processes have a huge part in the making of identities and is shown very well how in Desi Hoop Dreams. The three most shown intersectional identities in Desi Hoop Dream popular culture, masculinity, and discrimination developed a way to understand how people are looked upon because of the race they are in a different culture but can change that by the way you act and portray yourself to others. Intersectional processes have a huge impact in today 's world but people have a better understanding as to fitting in with who they

    Read More

  • Ban Zhao's Lesson For A Woman

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ban Zhao wrote Lessons for a Woman around the end of the first century C.E. as social guide for (her daughters and other) women of Han society (Bulliet 167). Because Zhao aimed to educate women on their responsibilities and required attributes, one is left questioning what the existing attitudes and roles of women were to start with. Surprisingly, their positions were not automatically fixed at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Ban Zhao’s own status as an educated woman of high social rank exemplifies the “reality [that] a woman’s status depended on her “location” within various social institutions’ (167). This meant that women had different privileges and opportunities depending on their economic, social, or political background. Wealthier noble women would likely have access to an education and may have even been able to wield certain political power (167). Nevertheless, women relinquished this power within the family hierarchy to their fathers, husbands, and sons. Despite her own elevated social status, Ban Zhao still considered herself an “unworthy writer”, “unsophisticated”, “unenlightened’, “unintelligent”, and a frequent disgrace to her and her husband’s family (Zhao). Social custom was not, however, the only driving force behind Zhao’s desire to guide women towards proper behavior.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The Jade Peony

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before her first words she is already considered a disappointment, “a girl child is Mo Yung- useless” (32). From the time she is born, her grandmother, “the old one” (choy), relentlessly tells her how the world will treat her as a girl. She explains to Jook-Liang, ‘“If you want a place in this world… ‘do not be born a girl child’”(31). She is cast aside before she is given a chance and is never given the same opportunities as her brothers. Instead she is forced to help take care of her little brother (insert quote). The excitement surrounding a baby is always extreme, and it doubles in Chinese culture when that baby is a boy. When her little brother is born, she is truly considered to be nothing in the family. “ I recalled how Sekky had received twice the number of jade and gold bracelets that I had got as a baby, and how everyone at the baby banquet toasted his arrival and how only the woman noticed me in my new dress, and then only for a few minutes to compare Poh Poh and step mother’s embroidery”(32). She is a ghost in her own family, and treated as nothing from the moment she is born. It is because of her gender that she is looked upon as a burden and never given the same opportunities as her brothers so that she may excel in life. Through the shadowed life of Jook Liang one can see how gender roles are enforced by cultural

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Factory Girls By Leslie T. Chang

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women usually worked as secretaries or on the assembly line because “bosses felt that young women were more diligent and easier to manage” (p. 56). Men, however, were either in a high managing position in the factory or worked in the lowest of jobs available, such as a security guard or driver. It was interesting to learn that about one-third of all of China’s migrants are women. These women go to the factory towns to work, but also, a majority of them leave their homes to see the world and experience life on their own for the first time. Chang makes a point that “to some extent, this deep-rooted sexism worked in a woman’s favor” (p. 57). The statement is supported by the idea that women are less treasured in their families; therefore, they had more freedom to do what they wanted with little care from the family. Shockingly, Chang noticed that no woman ever complained about unfair treatment. “They took all of these injustices in stride” (p.58). The women were grateful for the opportunity leave home and gain a sense of freedom; injustice was not a prominent

    Read More

  • Intersectionality In My Life

    1737 Words  | 4 Pages

    This essay will be unpacking and analysing the different elements that create my own intersectionality in my life. This essay will be discussing how class, gender/sex and race have influenced who I am and the experiences I have had throughout my life, and how various structures impact these experiences, with reference to the Crenshaw and Dill and Zambara articles, I will connect their thoughts and ideas to the intersectionality of my own life.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Homeward Bound

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, Wu made us remember how important our grandparents no matter how different are we from each other. Also, I learned a lot from my grandparents, and some of things that I learned are that we should treat others with good manners and secondly, we shouldn’t blame others for things that we are uncertain they did it. What I learned from my grandfather made me owe both of my grandparents a lot. And off course one of the things that I and Wu share is that we miss our grandparents a lot and we hope to see them as soon as possible in the

    Read More

  • Nursing Home Culture

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    Certain cultures that live at or below the poverty line prefer this type of assistance for their elderly family members because it allows them to have someone meet them at their home. This convenience is a big factor and provides the elderly with a way to fulfill their communal culture by living out their time at home among family, while still receiving any necessary assistance for health checks or IADL’s. This improves their quality of life by meeting their needs in a different way. These alternative methods to older adult care are more popular among minorities and cultural groups (Bookman & Kimbrel, 2011). Bookman and Kimbrel acknowledge the gap between financial status as well as culture and race, they stated, “...because elders are widely diverse by race and socioeconomic status, their families attach differing cultural meanings to care and have widely different resources with which to accomplish their care goals” (2011). Thus, creating the large gap seen in nursing home facilities. Specifically, cultures like the Chinese who maintain traditions like filial piety, in which the adult children must care for their elderly parent (Li & Buechel, 2007). This type of culture defines the line between those who view nursing homes as ideal and those who prefer a separate

    Read More

  • Wild Swans Analysis

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    The early part of the novel shows women’s place in Chinese culture. Women had no say or position in society. They were viewed as objects, and were used as concubines and treated with disparagement in society. The status of women’s social rank in the 20th century in China is a definite positive change. As the development of Communism continued, women were allowed to be involved in not only protests, but attended universities and more opportunities outside “house” work. Communism established gender equality and legimated free marriage, instead of concunbinage. Mao’s slogan, “Women hold half of the sky”, became extremely popular. Women did almost any job a man performed. Women were victims by being compared to objects and treated as sex slaves. This was compared to the human acts right, because it was an issue of inhumane treatment.

    Read More

  • Racism Through a Child's Eyes: A Personal Narrative

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    Unlike most other families mine had decided to live with the Chinese rather than in the isolated compound away from them. I and my parents, we saw no need for separation, after all, what bad could it be? The culture and language of China had begun to grab my attention from the moment I started to learn them. I went to

    Read More

  • Intersectionality Reflection Paper

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    Intersectionality was one of the greatest concepts this course shed light on, intersectionality is can be broadly defined as the coming together of various social groups to work together to fight against forms of oppression. In the conceptual frameworks portion of the book Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, they talk about the importance of privileged identities and disadvantaged identities coming together to work towards solving a particular issue. While before taking this course I was somewhat aware of the various forms of oppression, I never gave much thought to how I could help combat forms of oppression that I did not necessarily experience with my own identity.

    Read More

  • Understanding Mental Health: My Understanding Of Mental Illness

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    In my first 19 years, I grew up in a small town in Northern China. My small hometown was lagging behind than some coastal city, such as Guangzhou and Shanghai, especially in social economy and education. Most of people live in my hometown have strongly stereotypes, for example girl should stay at home

    Read More

  • Definition and Study of Cultural Construction

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Examples of cultural constructions can be seen throughout history in several forms such as gender, relationships, and marriage. “Cultural construction of gender emphasizes that different cultures have distinctive ideas about males and females and use these ideas to define manhood/masculinity and womanhood/femininity.” (Humanity, 239) In many cultures gender roles are a great way to gain an understanding of just how different the construction of gender can be amongst individual cultures. The video The Women’s Kingdom provides an example of an uncommon gender role, which is seen in the Wujiao Village where the Mosuo women are the last matriarchy in the country and have been around for over one thousand years. Unlike other rural Chinese villages where many girls are degraded and abandoned at birth, Mosuo woman are proud and run the households where the men simply assist in what they need. The view of gender as a cultural construct ...

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In Older Adults

    1879 Words  | 4 Pages

    Aging is universal and it is a process that everyone has to go through. The only difference is that everyone goes through this process at their own pace influenced by factors that will be discussed later on in this paper. When we think about factors that have an influence on older adults and how their life may be affected, we must consider the different social institutions while analyzing influences from social factors, cultural factors, and personal values. Abuse to older adults, stereotyping and informal care and technological advancements that affect older adults are the three topics that will be discussed in this reflection. Furthermore, will connect the three topics I have chosen to the knowledge that I have gained from my interaction

    Read More

  • Gender And Gender Roles Essay

    1755 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gender is so pervasive that our society assumes it is bred into our genes. Yet gender like culture is a human production that depends on everything constantly “doing gender”. Both sexual and emotional feelings, desires and practices have been molded by gendered norms and expectations. Parenting is gendered, with altered expectations for mothers and fathers, and people of different genders work at different categories of jobs. The several types of work shapes men and women’s life experiences and these experiences produce different feelings, relationships and skills- a way of defining what is being masculine or

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast My Neighborhood

    1286 Words  | 3 Pages

    The two neighborhoods that I chose to use for this assignment are vastly different. The main reason is because they are on opposite sides of the country. The first neighborhood that I visited is the one that I grew up in. This neighborhood is in Connecticut, on the East Coast, all the way across the country from the neighborhood that I currently live in here in West Hollywood. Most of my family lives in Connecticut and Massachusetts and I’m the only one who lives on the West Coast. A big difference is that the neighborhood in Connecticut has houses that are more spaced out, have larger lawns, and very many more trees. There are very few apartments there, unlike where I live now where my entire street is almost all apartment buildings.

    Read More

More about The Atmosphere Of The Neighborhood

Open Document