Comments on Singapore's Commercials? and Summary of Women in the SEAsian Family

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Let's kick off the discussion--what did you think about Singapore's government involovemnt in dating? Can a woman's virtue and magical power to protect her family compromised by negative but FALSE rumors about her morals? Professor Teri Yamada presented the clips of the following movies and illustrated these ideas on Southeast Asia on August 5, 2004:

Lempad of Bali (John Darling, 1980) showed a wealthy house set in Bali
The Scent of Green Papaya showed a wealthy house with ploants, carved wood, beauty--set in Vietnam
Daughter from Dungong was a documentary on a 1/2 Vietnamese, 1/2 American returning to see her Vietnamese mother
MiniDragon Series illustrated the government's involovement in marriages and family planning in Singapore

Southeasat Asia is extremely diverse and complex, with 11 countries and influences from colonizing cultures (map with country borders handed out).
Local cultures are large in number and diverse depending on geographic isolation (Rice growing regions in rich valleys, mountain, island cultures).
Most households are matrifocal. There is bilateral kinship

Ideology was defined as a belief system. SEAsian ideology in terms of females includes MAGIC to protect one's family and prosperity.
The more virtuous one is, the more MAGIC and POWER a fmale has.
There is a cult of the mother seen in the rice mother or goddess, mother earth.
A female cannot be a monk (Buddist), she cannot be enlightened. She may be reborn as a man, however, depending on her virtue during present life.

Formal Codes that apply to women in SEAsai include:
Virtue (one must be sexually moral)
Gentle and Patient
Soft-spoken (never complain to husbands)
Females undergo a 3 month to 1 year isolation time after their first menses or period to LEARN how to be a wife and mother.
While the female is submissive to the male, she has the magical power of virtue as a mother and wife and is very powerful in her own domain.

Adat (local customs, beliefs, practices) may conflict with Islam: Mideveal Islam holds that women cannot assume power (due to lack of intellect), Modern Malay society holds women as important wives and mothers and must be educated for the improvement of their families (health, nutrition, domestic duties, care of infants, etc.)
[Edit by="byoung on Aug 8, 4:44:27 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

re: Signaporte's web sites. The one of the health ministry
http://www.hpb.gov.sg/hpb/default.asp?pg_id=776
is interesting in its own right. I liked it. You can track your food intake and it will tell you what you need to do to be more healthy. I think that I might try this myself. It has other features. Pretty health conscious.
Then I went on their dating services site. Wow, did I get some good tips. It made we wonder what this has to do with changes in society. I think that the featured woman was 24. I know that today that is young for marriage or looking for someone here in the US. But I am wondering if the more recent urbanizatgion and the relative freedom of women (not being at their parents home) has led to people marrying later. Then people have trouble with the new social order. Does anyone know more about the culture in Singapore and is this a new phenonomin. Please let us know if your do.
Melody

[Anonymous]

I kind of got the feeling that when they tell women that the more virtuous they are, the more good fortune they bring to their family, etc... is just to keep them in line and make sure they do not stray or dare oppose their husbands, or male family members. Since women do not have any concrete power, it is given to them in ideological form, through "magical power" and fortune. So, has it been proven that a woman who is not virtuous has brought bad luck to her family? Probably not. And what about that woman who has been so virtuous and submissive and yet bad luck befalls her family? Who's fault is it then?
Miriam

[Anonymous]

Yeh Mariam
I really agree with you about the position this virture puts women in. The ideology blames the woman for everything. If the woman is virtuous then good things will happen. If the woman is 'bad' then bad things will happen.
Many women who get abused, think at first that it is there fault. That they could do something about it. This exists today in our society even though there is an opposing ideology. Think about what it would be like without the woman's movement in the 1960-70's.
Melody

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