My culture of European Americans consider their parents and siblings to be part of their family as well as aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. The people who make our family can change as people marry into the family and divorce.
The parents are responsible for taking care of the children by providing them with love, food, and shelter. They are also responsible for making sure the children have the tools to become successful adults. The children are responsible for listening to their parents and learning from them. The rest of the family is there for emotional support or help when needed.
This culture does not encourage children to stay in the same house/area as their family after adolescence. They are encouraged to go wherever they need to go for school or for a good job. This shows that European Americans value education and profession success over being physical proximity to family.
Most people meet someone whom they date at work, school, or through a mutual friend. Meeting people through internet dating sites used to be very taboo, but it is increasingly more acceptable. People are expected to date others around their own age, although dating outside of a certain age range is becoming more acceptable as well.
Marriage proposals are very exaggerated. Men are expected to be the one proposing, but it is becoming more acceptable for woman too. Men have to plan out the proposal in a way that is magical and memorable. The proposal must be followed by a ring that the man will probably be paying off for several years. When people ask a couple how he “popped the question”, they are let down if there is not a good story to go along with the proposal.
An extravagant proposal would be nothing without an extravagant wedding. The bride will usually spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on the dress. There is usually a ceremony and reception. The ceremony generally takes place in some religious building or at least presided over by a religious figure. Usually, close friends, family, and co-workers are invited to the ceremony, followed by a reception where there is a meal and a dance. The reception is usually opened to more friends than the ceremony.
Divorce used to be viewed as a tragic event that splits up families. It was something that brought shame to the couple that decided to divorce. Over the past few years, the view has changed. More people have realized that sometimes divorce is the best choice for the parties involved and because of this, divorce has become more accepted.
When divorce occurs, a judge decides how the assets get split up and who gets custody of the children. Usually the assets of the couple get split up equally. As long as both parents are competent, they will get equal custody of the children. If the judge decides one of the parents is unsuitable to raise children, they will have limited custody and be required to pay child support.
This culture used to be unaccepting of homosexuality. Recently, homosexuals have begun speaking out and have gained more acceptance and rights. Some states have even legalized gay marriage.
The current gender roles in this culture closely resemble my perspective that a man and woman can both the nurturing parent and the working parent. Both genders are expected to do whatever it takes to keep the household running. The woman no longer has to be the stay-at-home parent.
The answers for these questions for my culture have changed greatly over the past 50 years. How have some of these answers changed for your culture over the past 50 years?
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Obviously fifty years ago most of the things we do today in our culture are very different than it ever once was. Dating, living, anything is probably altered in its' own way for our culture. I don't think the way my grandparents lived is the way I'll live out the rest of my life by any means. Culture is changing all the time, in fifty more years we won't see the same thing we're doing today being done with their new culture. I think there are a lot of things that will remain the same from generation to generation, or culture to culture, but there will always be changes as well. The more technological our world becomes, the more things seem to change from culture to culture!
ReplyDeleteThe one that has changed the greatest I think is that divorce is now totally acceptable and sometimes even celebrated. It wasn't too long ago that getting a divorce was a really big ordeal that completely messed up families and was avoided if at all possible. I also think the roles of parents and children have changed. Children used to help out on the farm and do all of their chores, but now they're more expected to do well in school and in sports or extra-curricular activities. Moms were also much more likely to be found at home cooking and cleaning, and now are more often found working outside of the home. Homosexuality still is not totally accepted, but it is definitely more accepted now than it was fifty years ago. Fifty years ago, homosexuals were afraid to tell anyone for fear of being abandoned or being physically harmed. It's definitely a different world now than it was.
ReplyDeleteIn my lifetime, I have seen that the opinions in regards to homosexuality have drastically changed in our culture. Personally, I believe the media has influenced that very much, such as with movies like "Philadelphia." Also, American women tend to be working more in the workforce than the used to be able to. All one has to do is to look at the media to notice the latter. For instance, in the 1950s, "Leave it to Beaver" portrayed a housewife as the image of a woman, but rarely do you see that in television nowadays. Or if you do, such as in "Everybody Loves Raymond," the women have more control over their lives than what was thought possible in the past.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you guys the a biggest changes have been views toward divorce, homosexuality, and woman in the work place. I can't think of a good reason why divorce has become more accepted but homosexuals and woman have been fighting hard over the past 50 years, so it is understandable why the views toward them have changed.
ReplyDeleteWell things are always changing and marriage traditions change along with them. The man used to have to ask the father of the soon to be bride for their hand in marriage and now I feel like they ask both the parents or sometimes do not even ask for permission at all.
ReplyDeleteI do not know much about my culture but after talking with my grandparents about traditions and change and such. One thing that has been changing over the years is the ages that people get married my grandparents got married at 17 years old, now days my culture wouldn't get married until after school is finished and the couple have established careers. Even though people are waiting much longer to get married there is still a higher divorce rate now compared to 50 years ago. My grandparents have been married over 50 years.
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