Culture - Activity 10

1. Who do the members of your culture consider to be part
of their family?
I think this depends on which members you talk to. Typically family is defined as: grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins (1st and 2nd), spouse, and children. Some of the members have experienced different things and would be more apt to consider very close friends a part of their family, although I’m not one of these.

2. What are some roles and responsibilities of specific family
members?

Grandparents can be care takers/babysitters, tell stories of how things used to be, and are looked at with a lot of respect and reverence for the experiences they have gone through. They can be disciplinarian or not when it comes to dealing with their grandchildren or kids.
Parents are the head of the household. They should be the teachers and examples for the kids to follow.
Siblings are sometimes an extension of the parents (in the role of aunt and uncles) in regards to influence on children. They are the ones responsible for caring for the grandparents. Typically it is the female children that the role of caretaker of the old is given too, men rarely or never are responsible for their parents.
The birth order often determines the role that kids make with the eldest being the most responsible and the youngest being the most spoiled and irresponsible – though this doesn’t always prove to be the case.
Cousins are like good friends to other cousins. It’s like a giant click in high school that no matter how often or when you meet each other you share a common bond.
Your spouse is your number one supporter and co-provider in some cases and in others they are a subservient other half.


3. Are family members encouraged to stay in the same
house/area as their family after adolescence?

On my father’s side I think the family cohesion is implied subtly but never directly. Of my father’s family of 8 only one lived in another state. All others lived near each other or within the metropolitan area.

4. What are the cultural norms and taboos regarding dating
and meeting people with whom to become romantically
involved?

This depends on which culture I’m associating with. I am interracial so from the white side of the house there were no major taboos really, but from my Mexican side there were subtle hints of not marrying a non-catholic or black – white wasn’t a big deal as we were half, but I don’t know that it was the best scenario that had been wanted for us.

5. How are marriage proposals conducted in your culture?

The man asks the woman to marry them, period. Meeting the parents was an expected thing, but nothing that needed to be stated.

6. What is a typical wedding like?

It varies. Some are big church weddings, Catholic weddings. Some are elopements and then some are done at the court house etc.

7. How do members of the culture view divorce?

Though not an optimal situation it does occur. It’s neither encouraged nor discouraged outwardly though. I think it is more sad and regretful than anything else, but outside of religiously being discouraged there really is no hard and fast rule. I feel that it is such a common occurrence today that it doesn’t carry the stigma it once did.

8. If divorce occurs, what are the rights of each partner?

The rights of each partner are legally fairly equal. The inequality that does occur is more in the treatment both socially and economically of the partners in the relationship. Historically, and still, the women seem to suffer much harder economic effects of the divorce. Socially there is a division of support or understanding of the partners depending on who initiated the divorce and the reasons behind it. Neither of these is related to rights per se.

9. What is the general opinion of the culture toward
homosexuality?

Homosexuality is viewed as a sin and as something that is unnatural. Homosexuality is looked down upon and/or something to be made fun of. Though overall it is looked down on, the level of opposition that is shown is dependent on the sex of the individual. Homosexual women are viewed as something that is more acceptable, maybe even erotic, than homosexual men.

10. How are the general perspectives of this culture the
same/different from yours regarding gender roles?
Women traditionally do the entire cooking, are the primary caretakers of children, and are generally more subservient to men. Men are the breadwinners and their ego is supposed to be soothed and comforted by their women. I also view women as the primary caretakers and as the cooks in a household, but I do not agree that they are to be subservient to men. I don’t even like the word subservient. I view women and men roles as equals. There are things that women are better at doing than men, whether it’s because of skill or just preference and the division of labor in a household or outside of it should be based on that.