Papers by Vaidehi Rajagopalan
International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Review (IJHSSR) ISSN 2582-9106, Jan 14, 2021
Most studies of gender roles in India have emphasized the subordinate roles of women, especially ... more Most studies of gender roles in India have emphasized the subordinate roles of women, especially in comparison to the women in the United States. In contrast, the traditional dominant role of Indian women in the domestic aspects of family has not received as much attention. The present study compared the attitudes of college students in the United States and in South India toward the traditional roles of women, men, and children. The Historic-Socio-Cultural Premises Scale was administered to 21 male and 20 female college students in India and to 30 male and 35 female college students in the United States. Results indicated that although students in India, in general, held more traditional views than did students in the United States, the findings also reflected the dominance of Indian women within the domestic sphere in that they demand their children's obedience. On the other hand, the difference between men and women in India with regard to female chastity was the most significant finding. Even though women in India expressed the most traditional views regarding obedience in children, they expressed less traditional values than did men with regard to chastity. This may be because cultural concerns with female chastity in India have placed the woman in a weak and docile position, while the man in the traditional setting occupies the superior status of the "protector." It should be noted, however, that there are extreme regional and economic diversities between Northern and Southern India and obvious class differences among the population a: a whole; hence further studies would be required to take these differences into account. (ABL)
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Papers by Vaidehi Rajagopalan