Some quick thoughts from the beginning of the month--originally taken down as an iTouch Note. I touch on the topic of gender roles...but only briefly--don't fret, there's more to come! :) Haven't forgotten my promise to contemplate the double-standard of dressing conservatively, don't worry!
November 4, 2011
Gender roles within my family are very interesting. Often I must remind myself of the AFS saying, "it's not bad, it's not good, its just different."
For instance, the other day I was inquiring as to why a Muslim man may marry a Christian woman (but she has to convert according to Indonesian law), but a Muslim woman may not marry a man of a different religion; the explanation I got was that the man is the leader of the household, so the woman must follow his same religion. When I asked why the man is considered to be the head of the household, my mother said because the man is required to be the financial supporter of the family-the woman may work but her income is her own, exclusively. Personally, I rather share my income and bypass the hierarchy altogether--but I can totally see how back in the day, this was really progressive thinking. Personally now I think it's out-dated and not compatible with the level of autonomy that women have finally achieved.
This is difficult for me to write about because I'm still processing everything and thinking through all the differences and trying to develop my own opinion about life and personal values while still withholding judgement about dynamics that I'm already sure I do not want to implement in my own personal life. I do not want to say anything that would offend my new home culture!
Randomness:
-It's hard to immerse myself in one important way in Indonesia--music! On iTunes there's very little Indonesian music!!!
-I truly love Three Dog Night--it's irreversibly part of my identity. Even all the way in Indonesia.
