"We Don't Sleep around like White Girls Do": Family, Culture, and Gender in Filipina American Lives

Espiritu, Yến Lê

doi:10.1086/495599

Cited by 308 publications

(280 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Females are expected to maintain sexual chastity, which is perceived as a direct reflection of the family's honor (Espiritu 2001;Gupta 1999;Inman et al 2001). Asians who adopt these culturally-influenced guidelines may be variably reluctant or confused about identifying nonconsensual sex as rape.…”

Section: Ethnicity and Rape Attitudesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Perceptions of Rape and Its Aftereffects

et al. 2008

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Caucasian-, Hispanic-, and Asian-American male and female students (n=764) attending a California (USA) public university reported their perceptions of sexual assault. After reading a rape vignette, participants gave their impressions of the victim; estimated time needed for recovery and treatment; and recommended a sentence for the assailant.Half of the sample received information regarding state sentencing guidelines. Relative to female participants, males perceived the victim as more responsible. CaucasianAmerican males had stronger reservation about the victim's judgment. Males were less inclined to assign blame than were females. Ethnicity was the only factor influencing perceptions of recovery. Ethnicity and sentencing guidelines, but not gender, impacted imprisonment decisions. Issues impeding a unified theoretical understanding of perceptions of rape victims were considered.

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Section: Ethnicity and Rape Attitudesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Perceptions of Rape and Its Aftereffects

et al. 2008

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“…Often first-and second-generation women embrace chastity ideals to create a positive self-identity in opposition to promiscuous "impure" White woman (Buitelaar, 2002;Mahalingam & Leu, 2005). Espiritu (2001) has argued that chastity and family values are the domains around which Filipina immigrant women construct an identity discourse that challenges the gendered nature of White privilege. Another ethnographic study conducted in the Netherlands with African immigrant children has shown that immigrant adolescents create an alternate culture where it is "hip" to be chaste or virgin (Buitelaar, 2002).…”

Section: Implications Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chastity expectations are still a major part of the gender socialization of various cultures and among immigrant groups in the US (K. K. Dion & K. L. Dion, 2001;Espiritu, 2001). Therefore gender studies among immigrant families are another area in which to examine how chastity beliefs might play a central role in the gender socialization of immigrant women.…”

Section: Implications Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Beliefs about Chastity, Machismo, and Caste Identity: A Cultural Psychology of Gender

Mahalingam

2007

Sex Roles

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The study was conducted with a community sample (N=1118) of participants from three caste groups (Brahmins, Thevars, and Gounders) from villages that are reported to have an extremely male-biased sex ratio in Tamilnadu, India. Chastity, Machismo, and Caste Identity scales were used to assess cultural beliefs about gender and caste. The correlations among beliefs about caste identity, chastity, and machismo were significant for all three caste groups. There was a significant difference between Brahmins and the other caste groups in beliefs about caste, chastity, and machismo. There was a significant interaction among marital status and gender. Married men's scores on chastity and machismo were higher than unmarried men for all caste groups. Thevars and Gounders were high on machismo and chastity. Women in all caste groups, particularly Thevar women, were high on caste identity. The implications of the findings for the study of gender and immigration are discussed.Keywords Chastity . Caste . Gender and culture Gender psychologists have argued that culture influences the social construction of gender in complex ways. Although there are cultural variations in beliefs about gender, in most cultures typically such representations also control and regulate the sexual behavior and mores of women (Ortner, 1974). For instance, most cultures across the globe enforce a higher or a more stringent punishment for women's infidelity than for men's infidelity (Buss, 1998). Although the content of the prescriptive codes of behavior for women varies by culture, the social consequences of gender transgressions affect men's and women's lives differently in nearly all cultures. In this article, I examine the cultural ecological underpinnings of chastity and its association with masculinity and caste identity, as well as caste-specific variations in the construction of gender, among three different caste groups in Tamilnadu, India.The aims of the article are the following. First, I discuss the cultural psychological underpinnings of beliefs about chastity by providing a cultural psychological perspective on chastity. I developed a chastity scale and a caste identity scale to examine the relationships between chastity, masculinity, and caste identity among three caste groups. Second, I discuss the findings and their relevance to the goal of developing a cultural psychology of gender. Culture and ChastityThe Webster's New World Dictionary (1984) offered the following meanings of the term chastity: (a) not indulging in unlawful sexual activity; (b) virtuous; (c) sexually abstinent; (d) celibate; (e) pure, decent or modest in nature. The definitions highlight three major aspects of chastity: purity, self-control, and incorruptibility. All of these qualities define the "essential" qualities of a chaste person. Chastity has a biological and a psychological component. A chaste person is "pure" and incorruptible and can control his or her emotions. Although none of the definitions make explicit reference to women's sexual behavior, right below...

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“…While these barriers have been dismantled, their difference continues to connote incomplete belonging-a meaning that is less the consequence of active racial discrimination than symbolic exclusion. 7 Espiritu (2001) observes that "American," unless otherwise specified, is often taken to mean "white," and Asian Americans, Tuan (1999) argues, are often assumed to be foreign despite having lived in the US for generations. Being qualified Americans instills a consciousness of racial and ethnic difference-a sense of one's subordinate place in the racial hierarchy-that makes discrimination feel pervasive and at the same time diffuse.…”

Section: Why They Go: a Qualified Belongingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This labor includes borrowing from subcultures that have developed out of the mainstream, particularly African American culture. Espiritu (2001) writes that, as a point of differentiation, many Filipino immigrants portray white Americans as sexually promiscuous. This portrayal, and the symbolic boundary it demarcates, is adopted by their children; in the words of one of Espiritu's informants: "We don't sleep around like white girls do" (p. 434).…”

Section: Authenticity Gamesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home is Another Country: Ethnic Identification in Philippine Homeland Tours

Garrido¹

2010

Qual Sociol

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Using data based mainly on 29 in-depth interviews with participants from three Philippine homeland tours, I conceptualize the process of ethnic identification through homeland tourism more precisely as the adoption of strategies aimed at symbolically demarcating grounds for informants' belonging in the Philippines as Americans. This conceptualization highlights ethnic identification as a problem, one that must be "worked on" insofar as claims to ethnic identity must be substantiated. It is also a problem insofar as this work of belonging is displaced and misrecognized. In working to establish a connection with the homeland, I argue that my informants are working out their belonging in America within the terms of distinction set by multiculturalism.

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"We Don't Sleep around like White Girls Do": Family, Culture, and Gender in Filipina American Lives

Cited by 308 publications

References 26 publications

The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Perceptions of Rape and Its Aftereffects

The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Perceptions of Rape and Its Aftereffects

Beliefs about Chastity, Machismo, and Caste Identity: A Cultural Psychology of Gender

Home is Another Country: Ethnic Identification in Philippine Homeland Tours

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