Sociology and Roles of Heritage and Culture, Essay Example

A Proud Heritage Needed in America: My Friends and Hispanic Family in the Sociological Imagination

Every family bears the influence of their experience. Even the traumatic experiences of a lifetime inform the fight or flight instinct, the avoidant or combative nature, and the way in which we value ourselves as individual people. The experiences of extended families combine to create a new culture, because- behind closed doors- every family is unique in its own way—from habits, the use of together time, the question of religion, disciplinary approaches, and what moral qualities are most highly regarded or forbidden. Using a “sociological imagination”, this paper discusses this term, what it means, and what it means for me as a person, a young woman who grew up in a Hispanic American household just as the new technologies were invented, but they still do not have as strong a hold on the lives of my nuclear and extended families as our cultural heritage and what it means to us.

Background

In a discussion of cultures and families, C. Wright Mills writes that a person needs a “sociological imagination…to see between history and context” (2003). A person must read between the lines. While this seems wise, Coontz, in her article “Where Are the Good Old Days?”, questions the assumptions which cultural myths, selective history, and assumptions produce (1996). In other words, Coontz questions the American ability to see past myths which have become sacred over time. From reading the works of these two sociologists, the reader gets a sense of how quickly Americans come to a judgment- and stick with it- regardless of its resemblance to the truth, to confuse having more information with knowing the truth.

Experience

If a feeling of a fast-tracked life keeps many modern men and women from happiness, then it is important to remember what Mills wrote about finding ourselves within all the changes around us—what he called the sociological imagination. To do this, he recommended three key questions, paraphrased here: 1) What is a society’s structure and how does it differ from others?, 2) Where does this society stand and what are its features?, and 3) What kind of people lived and what happened during this time? (2003) These questions all center on a vague idea of what’s happening to one person or group of people during a time and the important events or characteristics of their past. Given a family’s shorter time span, you would think answering these three questions would be easier. However, every family member sees things differently, there is often very little in the way of actual evidence, and the role of a family’s heritage depends very much upon each new generation and what their priorities are.

For example, as a young Hispanic woman, I have been guilty of speaking what has been called Spanglish. When friends and family members speak one or both languages all of the time, the mind adopts each of these languages as the first one until they get jumbled up when I get excited or speak quickly. For many Hispanic families, speaking Spanish is either a point of pride or shame for them. Some others I know forbid their children from speaking Spanish in an effort to make their kids more American; other families believe that their heritage ties them to the religious and moral foundations which keep the family together. Both types of families seem to make it work, and it is not as though mi familia just arrived—we have been for generations. Still, it is an adjustment to encounter the sort of stereotypes that seem to get uglier as this economic depression continues. If not a racial slur, then there is the constant worry that you will be accused of being an illegal immigrant and have to produce your entire family’s birth certificates while some government men in suits breathe down your neck. Regardless, Buriel makes the point that the Hispanic culture began with marriages between new Spanish colonists and the tribes already living in what is today Mexico. When fighting began between Spain or Mexico and the United States, the Hispanic people were lumped in as one of “them” based on skin color. The laws of the time still kept most Hispanic men from doing some of the same things that white men did, yet this new group of people was only recognized as important even in Mexico for hundreds of years. These marriages were sought after to produce strong children to bring the two peoples together, produce more fighting troops in the New World, and do the heavy labor and farming (2012). Today, all three of these qualities of accepting people and blending, being strong, and working hard are often made fun of in America. People even get angry about it, while the average American becomes increasingly obese and unwilling or unable to do these same jobs that they would deny even legal immigrants who look like outsiders to them. The numbers on that hot issue seem to change all the time.

It may not be as difficult, but growing up as a young Hispanic woman in Florida is still not easy. First of all, there are thousands of families of different kinds of Hispanic or Latino descent, and each group forms its own separate identity. With time, some groups begin to see themselves as better than others as stereotypes and hostilities take root, cementing the assumptions that Mills and Coontz urge their readers to avoid. Especially in Florida, people may assume that we are Cubans who don’t speak English or don’t know what life is like in America. It makes it much easier to understand why so many people feel like outsiders in America also makes me wonder if anyone gets away from ignorance or assumptions.

My parents were born in the 1960’s but grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, at the time when the first modern technology started to arrive, after the sex parties of the 60’s and some of the 70’s. Coontz tells us that at this time graduation rates and life expectancy rose while poverty dropped. Even though it is not given as much credit the late 70’s and 80’s were the most recent boom age with the draw-back of greater divorce rates as men and women fought over new rights, work, and the family (p. 20).

Hispanic families are usually tight-knit anyway—no matter when they were born. It also means that they can be strict and that everyone always knows your business. Most families are large, which means that the older children are given stricter responsibilities from parents and then eventually are responsible for the protection of the younger brothers and sisters. Coontz points out those larger families were still popular at this time- just maybe not as much as before (1996). If one of the younger children gets in trouble, then they won’t be the only ones. This does make you feel like you’re in a pack more than a family sometimes, and there are definitely more children in my extended family than in our nuclear one, but we all grow up very close- helping and watching each other.

The biggest thing about being a daughter in a house of Hispanic heritage is religion. Being a good Catholic is a big part of that culture that we first came from (Buriel, 2012). It also means that church and traditional gender roles play a larger part in the way that the house runs. Daughters are not allowed as much freedom for ways of dress or staying out with friends and are expected to learn to cook and clean, because these duties are still expected by their parents after they become wives- even if their future husbands don’t always expect it. It is not just Catholic parents, either, but from the time the teen years arrive a daughter learns more and more about cooking. I was lucky that my house was more understanding. I had the freedom to go out to public events with a group of friends- and without any big brothers or sisters- and had my own cell phone, but it always depended on my grades and my obedience in the house.

What my father or elders said always came first- even when it was completely wrong. That seems to happen with many different families. Marriage in this culture is still considered a lifetime commitment, which is much different than the love it or leave it attitude of more people now. As Coontz pointed out, that doesn’t mean that the problem of divorce is that bad, since now the parents are more likely to split some of the care and time of raising children. Still, when many houses have only 1-2 children, Hispanic families tend to focus more inward and enjoy a “the more, the merrier” way of seeing life. It is still hard to predict how a family member will react when they meet someone who does not live by our same religious code. Much like human nature, it is different for each person. My mama is a compassionate woman but very determined that marriage comes before children for all of her children.

Conclusion

People with happy childhoods remember them for the best times, and people with unhappy childhoods could turn a golden age into a story out of a science fiction novel. Experience shapes perception and what a person is ready to receive as truth. Looking back at the 50’s as some such golden era has only guided us into some of the same pitfalls but without the extra economic boom that they experienced at that time. While Coontz argues that the sociological imagination of family change is “a history of tradeoffs”, she seems to underestimate that the strengths of the Hispanic American come from our differences. Our cultural ties to the past may be loosened some, but they are part of our loyalty and honor to the people we have always been. As long as the same opportunities and responsibilities are offered to young women, then the traditions for a young, unmarried woman don’t seem so bad.

References

Benokraitis, N. V. (2011). Marriage and Families: Changes, Choices, and Constraints, 7th edition. Pearson. ISBN : 9780205735365.

Buriel, R. (2012). Historical, Socio-Cultural, and Conceptual Issues to Consider When Researching Mexican American Children and Families, and other Latino Subgroups. Psychosocial Intervention / Intervencion Psicosocial, 21(3), 291-303.

Coontz, S. (1996). Where are the Good Old Days?: The Family Experience: A Reader in Cultural Diversity, 4^th edition.

Schwartz, M.A. & Scott, B.M.. (2003). Marriages & Families, 4^th edition. C. Wright Mills. Prentice Hall.