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Gender Roles and Settlement Activities

• Abel Valenzuela, a UCLA professor, created an analysis of about 68 interviews within Mexican immigrant households.

• Immigrant settlement is based on different theories that help understand how immigrants coming to the United States permanently settle.

• Initial years adjusting: struggles, discrimination, difficult situations in integrating into American way of life.

• Gender and familism (needs of family outweigh needs of one particular individual) help mediate settlement.

Immigrant Settlement, Children, and Gender• Traditional Latino families are highly familistic and are

confronted with obstacles such as immigration, poverty, and socioeconomic status.

• Children and their gender provide an influence in immigrant households and settling into a new surrounding.

• Children of immigrants in the United States became tutors, advocates, and surrogate parents

• Girls took on tasks with greater responsibility than boys and the eldest child played the role of taking care of younger siblings.

Mexican Immigrant Settlement

• It has been occurring since Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed after Mexican-American war (1848).

• The Bracero Program (1942-1964) allowed the insight on the large number of Mexican immigrants who wanted to enter the United States in 1965 when Congress terminated the Natural Origins Act.

• Los Angeles is second to Mexico City in number of Mexicans living within its walls.

• Immigration studies produced two significant forms of research: one focusing on Mexican Immigrant settlement and generation studies (processes that children of Mexican and other immigrants went through).

• Only recently did gender and children gain attention in the immigrant settlement process.

Children and Settlement• How do children assist within the household?

• Before 1965:

-Immigrants were more likely to rely on both community-based and familial resources when settling.

-This meant that the family depended on one another and children played a more active role as members.

• Post 1965:

- Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1965 passed

-Immigrant advocacy agencies, community-based organizations, bilingual education programs, and other resources were created and children became a minimal part in the settlement of immigrant families.

• Children did not need to take part in complex tasks as their parents tried to settle.

Children/Settlement cont.

• What role did children take on in assisting household settlement?

• Since the times had changed post-1965, children were not as significant in playing a major role regarding settlement of immigrant families.

• The meaning of being a child was different from that of Mexicans coming from urban centers or even those who lived in Los Angeles.

• The role of children in postindustrial societies changed from “contributors” to “sentimental” objects of affection. (Zelizer 1985)

• Valenzuela challenged this notion of children having lesser roles in immigrant households.

• Children served as translators, consultants, and mediators within the family as part of settling into a new life.

Valenzuela’s Research

• He used snowball sampling in order to gather enough data that was useful for research along with an incentive of $25.

• There were eight snowball samples within the Los Angeles Area resulting in the 68 interviews. They were all within the typical Latino or Mexican-concentrated neighborhood such as Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles.

• Valenzuela wanted to focus on institutions that were necessary to begin permanent settlement of immigrant families.

• He also explored how children (boys and girls) contributed in assisting with settlement of adults who had recently arrived into a household.

Findings for Research

• Young girls had a more predominant role in terms of responsibility that boys did.

• There were three main tasks that children took: a) tutors b) advocates c) surrogate parents.

• The situations within the immigrant households were varied and complex but children of immigrant families actively participated in the naturalization process of their parents.

• There were clear gender patterns in the roles that young girls and boys took.

• These findings led to a better understanding of how children did facilitate settlement and establishment of Mexican immigrant households.

• Gender also played a role in immigration as the patterns and activities of the study suggested.

• Finally, it showed the complexity of immigrant settlement in the United States.

Schools

• Immigrants were quickly introduced to decentralized school system of the United States.

• Having year-round system led to confusion and on top of that, new immigrants with children have to work several jobs and locate housing.

• Older siblings became responsible (surrogate parents) over their younger siblings.

• In addition, mothers or female members of the household took on a larger role in being involved with school activities.

• Household responsibilities were distributed to children and other members while parents worked for household stability.

Financial Resources

• Biggest challenge for immigrants and essential to survival.

• Social networking and job searching used for employment.

• Immigrant children pressured to help towards household financial situation.

• Children of postindustrial era are not seen as financial resources, more of emotional investments (Zelizer, 1985)

• Girls in immigrant households were dominant in dealing with financial matters but boys also contributed to some extent.

• Children of immigrants assisted in financial contribution, lowering household frustration leading to easier permanent settlement.

Labor Markets

• Mexican immigrants come to America to find job opportunities.

• Job openings often comes from word of mouth from family or friends in Mexico.

• Children again play an important role in securing jobs.• Workers rights• Taxes• Benefits

• Children also translated for their parents.

• Mexican immigrant workers have the worse paying and abusive jobs within Los Angeles

Health Services

• Children assisted parents with healthcare system.• Doctor visits• Translating diagnosis – English to Spanish• Caring for sick parents

• Both boys and girls involved in translating, sometimes it was embarrassing, difficult, and dehumanizing.

• Children truly took responsibility in helping their parents.

Conclusion of ResearchRole Gender Pattern

School Tutors/Surrogate parents

-Mothers and older siblings took on the role-No gender pattern

Finance Resource Financial contributors/Advocates

Girls undertook these roles more frequently

Employment Tutors/Advocates Girls took on more responsibility than boys

Legal Institution Advocates Girls major contributors than boys

Political Involvement

Tutors/Advocates Girls took on more roles than boys

Health Services Tutors/Advocates/Care-givers

No clear gender pattern

“The Normal American Family”

• Karen Pyke based the analysis on 73 in-depth interviews and it revolves around the children of Korean and Vietnamese immigrants.

• Respondents who were part of the study focused on a solid image of what a “normal American family” was like.

• “The Normal American Family” or the Family, served as a contrasting picture for Asian immigrants and their own family life.

• The notion of the Family towards children of immigrant minorities could actually shape their desires, disappointments, and realities.

Family Ideology as Interpretive Structure

• Images of “Normal” American families are dominant in society.

Images of “Normal families” are dominant in the society Found in: everyday interactions Movies TV Shows Books

• Images in media portray “ideological code that subtly inserts an implicit evaluation…of living together.”

• Scholarly concern with present ideology of a breadwinning husband with a wife who works for pay but is also primarily devoted to the care of home and children.

• Structure of ideal family contains notions of appropriate values, norms, and beliefs that guide the way families relate to one another

Family Values Spread Widely in Pop Culture• Over time, family values have grown in terms of importance

and are spread widely in popular culture such as TV shows.

Korean American Culture

• In Korea, children associated parental strictness with warmth and see its absence as a sign of neglect.

• In the U.S., it was the opposite. Parental strictness = Child abuse

Korean and Vietnamese Immigrant Families• Korean and Vietnamese families were a new ethnic

group in the United States prior to 1965.

• The study of only one Asian ethnic group contributes to a tendency to over-generalize all Asian ethnic groups:

Koreans Vietnamese

-came voluntarily in search of better economic opportunities-Education-Children

-came involuntarily-political refugees-reconnect with families

Chinese Confucianism Influence

• Chinese Confucianism influenced traditional family systems of Korean and Vietnamese families.

• Held values such as: Hierarchal relations Filial piety Solidarity (agreement among individuals)

• Korean and Vietnamese cultures derived respect from Confucianism for those who were well-educated, education was the primary means for social mobility.

Viewing Parental Relations through Americanized Lens• Less strict; more freedom

• More liberal; open-minded and less traditional

• Emotionally closer, more communicative, expressive, and affectionate to one another.

Respondent Interviewees

• Dat: 22 years old, male, Vietnamese

• Hoa: 23 years old, male, Vietnamese

• Paul: 21 years old, male, Korean

• Mike: 22 years old, male, Vietnamese

• Thuy: 20 years old, female, Vietnamese

• Cora: 20 years old, female, Korean

• Similarity: “American = non-Asian”

Maintaining Ethnic Values of Filial Obligation

• “Family over everything”

• Respondents attributed their parents’ future care-giving to reciprocation for parental care in the past and cultural emphasis on filial respect and support.

• Contrasting ideas when it came to filial obligation – respondents turned towards Asian family values rather than Western family values.

• They believed that American families often abandon their elders and cut off all filial commitment.

Conclusion

• Children of Korean and Vietnamese immigrants are bombarded with images of the “normal” American family

• These family values often contrast with their own beliefs (Korean/ Vietnamese)

• The ideology of the picture perfect American family has a negative bias towards children of immigrants

• This research only provides a tiny glimpse of how immigrant families and their children assimilate into American society.