For this Sociology In Print assignment, I chose to analyze this Washington Post article, “In Japan, Single Mothers Struggle with Poverty and a ‘Culture of Shame’” by Anna Fifield. The article is mainly about how Japanese single mothers continue to struggle in the society after the economic recession in the 1990s (often referred as the “Lost Decade”) despite the government’s efforts to reinvigorate the economy. Instead of addressing the issue in an economic perspective, Fifield uses a sociological perspective to suggest that single mothers are struggling because of the Japanese cultural belief. For instance, in a homogenous society, where the total population is mostly consisted of the same ethnicity, Japanese people often hide their real emotions
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This “culture of shame” makes it difficult for women to work so that they can take care of their children (FiField 2017). Japanese culture, like that of most Asian countries, believes that men should be the ones supporting the family while the women stay home to take care of kids. By doing so, a society is said to achieve the mainstream belief of harmony. This culture, however, creates the struggle faced by single mothers because they tend to not be given equal opportunities to help them breaking the poverty cycle. One sociological concept discussed in this article is values. Values are the general and abstract standards defining what a group or society considers good, right, just, and proper - and, by definition, what is considered as bad, wrong, unjust, and improper (Ritzer 2016). In the article, the author suggests that it is considered “improper and wrong” to express one’s difficulty or weakness to other members of the society. This Japanese value discourages single mothers to ask for financial assistance and to form a single mother support group because they are embarrassed to share their past (FiField 2017). Another sociological concept that relates to the article is the idea of Ideal Culture and Real Culture. Ideal Culture refers to the norms and values indicating what members of a society should believe in and do, whereas …show more content…
This question is sociologically important because the Internet is “an entirely new culture”, where people are free to share what they think, as opposed to the culture of people hesitating to share their feelings (Parkhouse 2017). This question is useful for sociologists to study the idea of “culture of shame” among the young generations, who uses the Internet more frequently, and to examine how online interactions impact the culture of the society. Does the Internet create more subculture (more people who accept the dominant culture with slight variation) or more countercultures (more people who set apart from the dominant culture and are incompatible with the values of the dominant
This “culture of shame” makes it difficult for women to work so that they can take care of their children (FiField 2017). Japanese culture, like that of most Asian countries, believes that men should be the ones supporting the family while the women stay home to take care of kids. By doing so, a society is said to achieve the mainstream belief of harmony. This culture, however, creates the struggle faced by single mothers because they tend to not be given equal opportunities to help them breaking the poverty cycle. One sociological concept discussed in this article is values. Values are the general and abstract standards defining what a group or society considers good, right, just, and proper - and, by definition, what is considered as bad, wrong, unjust, and improper (Ritzer 2016). In the article, the author suggests that it is considered “improper and wrong” to express one’s difficulty or weakness to other members of the society. This Japanese value discourages single mothers to ask for financial assistance and to form a single mother support group because they are embarrassed to share their past (FiField 2017). Another sociological concept that relates to the article is the idea of Ideal Culture and Real Culture. Ideal Culture refers to the norms and values indicating what members of a society should believe in and do, whereas …show more content…
This question is sociologically important because the Internet is “an entirely new culture”, where people are free to share what they think, as opposed to the culture of people hesitating to share their feelings (Parkhouse 2017). This question is useful for sociologists to study the idea of “culture of shame” among the young generations, who uses the Internet more frequently, and to examine how online interactions impact the culture of the society. Does the Internet create more subculture (more people who accept the dominant culture with slight variation) or more countercultures (more people who set apart from the dominant culture and are incompatible with the values of the dominant