Vietnam Gender Roles

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Today, during the 21st century we continue to live our lives without taking time to truly understand other countries and their rich heritage. Vietnam is a country of vibrant and intimate culture where family takes place and therefore this pushes the country’s political and economic policies towards the edge of isolationism. To completely understand why Vietnam’s government chooses to act the way they do we must comprehend the emphasis on family, yet more specifically how gender roles play such a significant role.
Vietnam was officially a territory of France until the end of World War II, however did not gain true independence until 1954 when the French rule was defeated by communist forces under Ho Chi Minh. The fact that Vietnam is a fairly …show more content…
In Vietnam, villages are small and intimate, and a person’s home is open all the time to others in the community. Family members will visit and revisit many homes in the course of a day, because community and a sense of unity are important to the Vietnamese after the war, where the country and was divided. Individual privacy is rare in the small houses due to the culture’s importance on having a close-knit family. Living in Vietnam is vastly different from living in the United States. There are large houses in the United States, where one small family resides in a neighborhood of diverse and unrelated families, whereas in Vietnam a large family will live in a village with other family and close friends (Davis, 2000). A great deal respect is shown to older family members and others in the community; the spectrum of respect varied through age. The wisdom of elders, including parents, uncles, and grandparents, guide issues about life, marriage, and discipline. Discipline is seen as a major responsibility of parents, and many parents choose to harshly punish their children early on so that discipline is learned at a young age. Physical discipline is used, but it is not considered an abusive act. Also, no other people become involved when parents apply physical discipline (Davis, …show more content…
The most practiced religion is Buddhism, yet there is a significant minority of Christians. Buddhism is the “main” religion and has three core beliefs (Country Reports, 2017). The first belief is the concept of the four noble truths. These general truths are too guide a believer on the path toward Nirvana. Nirvana is the transcendent state where a soul has been relieved of the reincarnation state and is free. The second belief is the concept of noble eightfold path, which are essentially like the noble truths, however are much more in depth as to actions. The third core belief is the concept of the five precepts. The five precepts are ethical guidelines that are practiced voluntarily, rather than necessarily commandments from God (Country Reports,
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