Saturday, December 19, 2009

Stereotype of the idle Bangladeshi man and woman.

There are some social norms & behaviour that people are expected to follow to be in the society. It varies from culture to culture but remains almost the same in case of generalized gender attributes. Girls are expected to act in a different way from boys. The stereotype begins instantly with the baby's birth. And it gets matured with their age. A Bangladeshi woman should go through the process determined by their family and in-laws, such as coming home early before dark, not to talk with other men, not to talk with the strangers, not to go out for higher education sometimes not even permitted for the basic education, even though they are educated they are not accepted in a positive manner if they wish to work. Again they are expected to spend their money on her husband's family if they are alllowed to earn for themselves. It is frowned-upon the fact that they should not go to their parent's house so frequently. They should get married earlier than the boys and have to give birth to a baby as early as possible and should dedicate their lives for their in-laws, be it justified or unpleasant. Whereas the scenario is completely different in case of men. They are considered the bread-earner for the family. They have to be dominating, bold, strong, head strong, witty, temperamental, etc. They should act like a "Man." They cannot be emotional like women, they cannot cry, they have to be strong both mentally, as well as physically to act as the head of the family.

1 comment:

  1. Lovely and excellent description of the norms that women and men - but especially women - are expected to follow in this society. In fact, as you say, across many cultures.

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