Laotian Girls

Reading this article helped me understand the generational differences within my own family a little better. While my own parents accept, and promote many American ideals such as putting education and independence first, there would be times when “traditional” thinking would seep through.  Offhand comments when I was younger about things like how if I couldn’t do the dishes, then no one would want to marry me would make me angry, even at that age, because if someone based their feelings for me entirely on the way I do dishes, why would I care for their affections in the first place?  It was interesting to read the contrast between the Laotian practices of grooming girls to be wives and the American ideal of setting goals and achieving them since this difference strongly reminded me of the binary opposition seen in Orientalist thought.  While Laotian practices are made out to be stifling in comparison to the defiance and freedom of choosing your own path in America, I realized that women still get the short end of the stick either way.  In both Laotian and American cultures, women are traditionally regarded as caretakers; this is seemingly more apparent in Laotian culture, where girls are expected to help take care of their families at a young age, however it should be noted that America also caters to this idea despite often advertising its progressiveness where women are concerned.  A notable example of how the American perspective on women isn’t too far from the Laotian perspective is how children’s toys are different for boys and girls.  When I was younger, my parents often took me and my sisters to Pottery Barn, and even now, I still remember how the “girl” side had things like mini ironing boards and kitchens stocked with fake fruit—all things that set young girls up to play House rather than pursue their studies and interests outside serving a family of their own.