The Indian Subculture Analysis

Whether you know it or not, we are all a part of at least one subculture and that is what makes our society so unique. A subculture can be defined as “A set of distinctive values, norms, and practices within a larger culture” (Brym and Lie 2012: 47). I have always been part of the small Indian subculture within the larger Christian society of Canada. The Indian subculture in Canada has grown over the years and so has the pressure to continue following the values and customs that have been passed down from generation to generation. Both my parent’s siblings have immigrated along with them to stay together and keep the family traditions going. When I was born, I had only the influence of my parents and my uncles thus I was raised to strictly …show more content…
Time and time again, we are adopting more western philosophies and raising our children like that too; culture is taken for granted (Innocente 2015). But the elders in our subculture do the best they can to ensure there are still some of the ethnic roots in them. Thus male and female roles in the family are efficiently differentiated. I have seen this at all family gatherings or even the larger community gatherings we have where women are ensure that everyone is fed and that the children are safe while the men merely socialize. There is where feminism would come in, as there are genderized roles of labor, gendered expectations and patriarchy present (Bryn and Lie 2015). Whenever there is a family gathering for me, I was told to serve the men and make sure the children do not hurt themselves. When I would question why, I was given the response that it is the women’s job to do so. This is gendered expectation that I have grown up with and now have unconsciously passed down to my younger siblings. This is how culture is passed down, through socialization; culture is learned and then shared (Innocente 2015). Feminism would show how males dominate the subculture; women do all the preparation for festivals while men will simply socialize. I have seen this throughout my whole life and have been subjected to helping in preparation while my brother would be able to go off and have fun. This is also stereotypically as most people outside of the subculture would assume that the women do most of the work. Feminist would argue greatly on the lack of equality in the subculture and that change needs to be bought or women will always be subjected to doing everything. The feminist theory argues that males are currently dominant and although women have made progress, there is still a long way to go (Bryn and Lie 2015). A great first step