Asian Family Essay

If a person from a foreign country were to be asked what comes into their mind when they think about the United States, it would most likely be a phrase related to “freedom” and the “American Dream”. Asian-Americans come to the United States from a utterly different country with a traditional gender based culture and stereotypes. The stereotypes that were basically based on gender. Although the treatment of gender are different in every single country, it is mostly only female that are treated differently. In this paper, I would like to argue about the typical structure of Asian families and the conflict between the first generation of Asian-Americans and the second generation who are Asian but grew up in the United States instead of their …show more content…
For example, the second generations of Asian-Americans are the ones who have to suffer through the conflict of their own culture and family structure and the culture they grew up in. The young Asian-Americans are the people who come from a fully Asian country but grew up their whole life in the United States. Therefore, as the Japanese-Americans in the documentary said, they considered themselves as Americans rather than Asians. The United States are more likely to be defined as a country with independent women, the country of equal rights between men and women. Hence, it is a issue for the Asian-Americans because even though they consider and see themselves as Americans, they still have to stick with their family because that is what Asians “do” . Asian- American women are more aware of their stereotypes and expectation for the race and …show more content…
In Japanese culture, it is thoroughly normal to see women taking care of elderly people. Even if no one mentions or ask for help to women. “In Chinese culture, mothers rely on sons, but daughter- in laws never agree with mother -in laws. Even where they rely on sons, it is the female’s job to take care of the elderly and do everything for the family. “Particularly the daughter and daughter in law played a vital role in the emotional interdependence of their nuclear family. This responsibility put considerable pressure on each of them to set the affective tone for the entire social unit” (Goodman, 1990) “Shifting values and immigration circumstances may make intergenerational living difficult. It cant be assumed that extended family are available to the aging parents or to an adult child who take in the role or caregiver. Language and cultural congruence are important to minimize the already growing isolation of the confused relative and in many cases to deal with new immigrant families who don 't speak English.” (Goodman, 1990).