Young Indian American Women Today
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There is certainly overlap between the challenges and experiences of the traditionally-Indian generations that came before us and our own generation. But, as most of us Indian American women feel neither entirely "Indian" nor entirely "American" because of our unique cultural and geographical position, we approach nearly every aspect of life from a totally new perspective; the most obvious of which is, of course, the way we conceive of our cultural identity. But that in turn leads to views about gender, dating, and marriage that may or may not align with our parents' views - and since relationships and interactions with others are so important to Indians, these new, differing perspectives can lead to a dramatic change in what it means to be an Indian American.
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To find out more about this, I've surveyed 52 Indian American women under 30 years old and interviewed five in greater detail. The results should obviously not be interpreted as representative of all Indian American women; that was neither possible with the time and resources I had, nor was it my goal. With the survey, I was able to get at least a sense of how some others are approaching the issues of identity and relationships that are central to this project, and through my interviews, I was able to not only get more detailed responses, but to enjoy having conversations with women whose experiences resonate with me in so many ways, even if they're not identical to my own.
So much of the material that I'd gathered was so interesting and complex that I had a difficult time breaking it down into sections that made sense; so the topics below are tentative - they are divided in a way that's helpful, I hope, but there is certainly overlap between them. In any case, I suggest starting with "Cultural Identity," because it will provide more context for thinking about dating and marriage. But feel free to explore!
So much of the material that I'd gathered was so interesting and complex that I had a difficult time breaking it down into sections that made sense; so the topics below are tentative - they are divided in a way that's helpful, I hope, but there is certainly overlap between them. In any case, I suggest starting with "Cultural Identity," because it will provide more context for thinking about dating and marriage. But feel free to explore!