Cultural Variation Management: Understanding The Perspectives Of Different Cultures On Marriage And Family Systems

Introduction to Cultural Variations in Marriage and Family Systems

Discuss about the Family Systems Depicting Cultural Variations.

With each passing time, culture experiences a massive shift in its ideals and ideologies across the globe. Cultures are distinct in the way they promote uniqueness and individuality and conventionality and interdependence (Ronen and Shenkar 2013). In some cultures, individuals are given the freedom to take their own decision be it regarding marriage, or family or anything. These cultures are mostly regarded as individualistic culture. In contrast to this, the collectivist cultures expect extreme loyalty from the individuals who are not allowed to take decisions without consulting the tribe or group. In the Australian culture, marriages and family systems witnessed remarkable change especially after the Second World War (Darab, and Hartman 2013). The introduction of the contraceptive pill, entrance and rise in the number of women within the workforce and the expansion of benefits for single parents contributed greatly towards cultural variation management.

In this essay, I shall discuss cultural variations by explaining the perspective of different cultures about marriage and family systems. I will take up two to three cultures and try to understand the way these cultures view the system of marriages and family. Further, I will also try to explain the ethical implications of these variations in cultures. In this essay, I will include the views and opinions of other scholars in order to provide credible solution to the question.

We could see a wide gap between the marriage cultures of the West in comparison to the East. In the western nations like the USA and UK, features of marriage are changing each day. The US is witnessing a rise in divorce rates and fall in domestic partnerships (Perelli-Harris and Lyons-Amos 2015). The Middle East nations are witnessing marriages occurring at later ages due to financial instability and safeguarding of women’s rights. The trend of marriages and divorce in Australia has shown similarity with that of the United States when it comes to the increasing rates of divorce (Abdalla and Zaher 2013). In the United Kingdom, marriages are seen as a way of being in a happy relationship. Many surveys and researchers have found that most people in the UK who end up marrying are happier than those who do not. Marriages are diverse and viewed in different light in different cultures. In the Southeast Asian nations, marriages hold extreme significance as part of their culture. In most countries, individuals are not allowed to choose the partner of their own choice; their elders are responsible for choosing their partner. In addition, the process from choosing the partner to marrying is very diverse and unique to each culture management.

Perspectives on Marriage in Different Cultures

According to DeFrain and Asay (2013), marriages symbolize varied things to people in different times and places. The author states that modern cultures have the problem of associating bias towards their own cultures in terms of marriages. They find the forms of marriages that do not follow their culture’s principles to be wrong. To cite an example, people marrying through arranged system, consider other forms of marriage like romantic marriages to be wrong and stupid. On the contrary, romantically married couples view arranged marriages as oppressive, regressive and inhuman(Bonjour and De Hart 2013). We can see that even within cultures, the views and ideas vary according to different sub-cultures. The assumption that love is a prerequisite of marrying someone also defines the perception of marriage in different cultures. In cultures where the practice of arranged marriage is followed, do not consider love as the precondition (Myers 2013). The western countries like U.S. and the UK are predominantly individualistic and hence give importance to love before marriage (Haar et al. 2014). Whereas, in eastern nations especially India, marriage decisions are taken collectively by families based on religion, caste and social status. Australian culture is also a romantic love upholding culture that acknowledges individualism. Therefore, cultural variations could be seen by the degree of importance placed upon romantic love and marriage compared to arranged marriage.

The difference in the perspectives of cultures regarding romantic marriage and pragmatic marriage often leads to the formation of preconceived notions about other cultures. While the western individualistic cultures view eastern cultures as restrictive, the easterners opine western culture to be devoid of moral values because of too much openness. In Australia, the presence of indigenous people makes it complicated as a culture. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people view marriage as strictly inherent to the tribe or the group (Alrc.gov.au 2018). The Australian indigenous people had obligations regarding marriages in that no individual was allowed to marry outside the tribe.  Apart from that, there have been wide cultural differences when it comes to same-sex marriage in the country. The perception has changed as culture advanced however; many recent examples indicate that same-sex marriages are still not accepted as part of the Australian culture. The banning of same-sex marriage by the Howard government in 2004 is a good example. In a recent article published in the Australian Financial Review, the government and politicians were blamed for neglecting the topic of gaining plebiscite in same-sex marriages (Afr.com 2018). The article also pointed out the cultural tendency of the Australian society to refrain from philosophical arguments because they “take a narrow and utilitarian view of human rights”.

Views on Family Systems in Different Cultures

Family systems too are viewed differently in different cultures. We all are familiar with the terms nuclear family and joint family. In some cultures, joint family system is upheld as a strong part of culture while in other cultures, nuclear family is a part of the main culture (Kok 2017). A comparison of cultures by using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions might reveal that those cultures where individualism is higher than collectivism encourage nuclear families while those with higher score of collectivism encourage joint family systems. An analysis of the Australian culture in the Hofstede scale reveals that Australia is a highly individualistic nation with a score of 91 that gives little importance to strong bonds and associations (Hofstede-insights.com 2018). Therefore, in terms of viewing family systems, Australian culture promotes nuclear family. In the views of Jang and Kim (2018), cultures modernize with time and so does their views on family systems. The author reveals that the inclination towards nuclear families in North America and Northern Europe gained prominence during the 20^th century. In addition, the countries in these continents have witnessed a rapid increase in divorced families, as previously mentioned. The reason for this trend is attributed to the change in cultural beliefs of the people. They started to realize that there must be freedom for individuals to choose their own life. According to my view, this thought emerged from the long years of war, conflict, and confinement that led to the disillusionment of people.

Many theories also developed that defined the emergence of family systems in different cultures. Dr. Murray Bowen developed the family systems theory, which explains that we cannot understand individuals as separate entities because they are a part of their family. Individuals in a family are interdependent and interconnected (Haefner 2014). On the other hand, the attachment theory, proposed by John Bowlby stresses on personal development as, a result of the strong emotional and physical attachment of an individual to any one member of the family or caregiver (Fonagy 2018). Both theories laid stress on the need for a family and the individual as an inseparable part of the family. We must however note one thing that both the theorists existed in an era when strong familial bonds were the characteristics of a strong culture. We could thus analyze the cultural variations in the perception of family systems across times. In the coming sections, I will highlight the perceptions of marriage and family systems in different countries.

Importance of Family in Different Cultures

As we move gradually towards the post-modern era, the family systems across the globe give us the view that many closed cultures are showing a tendency of accepting nuclear family style. On the other hand, open cultures like Australia are showing greater inclination towards the importance of having a complete family. In a recent research article published in The Conversation, a debate arose as to whether children do better with single mothers or not. The debate saw the insights from scholars from reputed institutes claiming, “Single motherhood is harmful for children” (Theconversation.com 2018). Further, the Australian psychologist Bettina Arndt also seemed to resonate to the view stating that Australians must stop perceiving families as casual. The assumptions and findings of the research only point towards the fact that children are well brought in families with two married individuals. It does not provide valid reasons to justify why single mothers are incapable of providing good life to their children. The conclusion is far from being ethical (Theconversation.com 2018). It is thus important to understand first, the ethicality of these assumptions by conducting thorough researches that answers all the queries.

A leading English Daily published startling facts about the increase of women giving birth to children out of wedlock. The rate of children being born to unmarried women was below 20 during the 1970s in most countries. However, the rate peaked remarkably in 2012 where most countries reached the mark of above 30 except Japan (Economist.com 2018). In Australia, the figure was below 10 in 1970s and reached almost 40 in 2012. This shows a marked transformation of cultural values maintained in these countries. We could observe that the pattern of family systems have changed over the years and many cultures now accept other forms of families openly. I can give one instance of the Southeast Asian cultures where joint family system is being rapidly replaced by nuclear family system management

While commenting on the changing paradigms of cultures and the way these view marriages, Webb, Chonody and Kavanagh (2017) point out that the prejudice against same-sex couples are on the decline in Australia. The trend shows that the ethical considerations of culture are being redefined. Traditions that were against the cultural norms of the society are now accepted as the individual rights of people. However, the government is yet to acknowledge the rights of the sexual minorities. The chief reason for this, as the author finds could be due to the traditional beliefs that same-sex couples are unable to raise children properly because they oppose the “social norms and roles”. McHale, Dinh and Rao (2014) on the other hand talked about the family systems that are witnessing change amongst people of different cultures. The author points to the rapidly transforming socio-economic systems that influence the role and pattern of families across cultures.

Various ethical implications also arise while explaining cultural variations from the perspective of marriages and family systems. Firstly, patterns and forms of marriages are not capable to define an entire culture. When we start viewing marriages as an explanation for the difference in cultures, we start limiting our conscience. The reason is that we do not even attempt to understand that culture from another perception and this leads to conflict. Intercultural marriages are also an element of the cultural variations we see in today’s world. When two people from different cultures marry, they bring along the different aspects of their own culture. Now, to force one partner to forget her of his culture and accept the cultural norms of the other would raise serious cultural implication.

Two views in particular could help us in defining the ethical implications of viewing marriages and family systems in different cultures. The first one is ethical relativism. According to this view, principles are comparative to the customs of one’s culture. In simpler terms, ethical relativism states that the perspective of an action to be right or wrong is based on the particular society’s moral values. Anthropological relativists, who formed a part of ethical relativism, state that the right and wrong of any action is steered by the value system of people in specific culture and the laws and regulations followed in that country.   To ethical relativists therefore, views on marriages and family systems must differ as per the cultural values held by an individual according to his or her cultural values and traditions.  

The second theory is ethical absolutism. This theory holds the claim that every individual has to follow some universal laws that are common and impartial to all. In contrast to ethical relativism, ethical absolutism or universalism claims that the universal laws that govern the entire human race judge an action’s credibility. Therefore, marriages and family systems across cultures must follow a single, specific model that all should follow.

I can conclude by stating that many evidences of cultural shifts have been witnessed over the years. The Australian culture also demonstrated marked transformation in its cultural traditions and values. The essay provided an explanation of the changing views on marriages and family systems that defined cultural variations. Further, I also included the views and opinions of several scholars regarding marriages, the different forms of marriages and family systems in the essay to elaborate the cultural significance attached to it. In addition, I mentioned certain theories that relating to family systems – the family systems theory by Bowen and the attachment theory by Bowlby. I think learning about these theories furthers our knowledge of the reasons behind the different views upheld by different cultures. Apart from that, I also included in the essay, several studies and articles published in different dailies and government websites that indicate the transformation of views and the ethical and moral considerations regarding marriages, children and family systems.

References:

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Afr.com. 2018. "The Consequences Of New Marriage". Financial Review. https://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/with-little-thought-to-consequences-gay-marriage-could-reduce-freedom-20170817-gxydgy

Alrc.gov.au. 2018. "Marriage In Traditional Aboriginal Societies | ALRC". Alrc.Gov.Au. https://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/12.%20Aboriginal%20Marriages%20and%20Family%20Structures/marriage-traditional-aboriginal-societie

Bonjour, Saskia, and Betty De Hart. "A proper wife, a proper marriage: Constructions of ‘us’ and ‘them’in Dutch family migration policy." European journal of women's studies 20, no. 1 (2013): 61-76.

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DeFrain, John, and Sylvia Asay. "Strong families around the world: An introduction to the family strengths perspective." In Strong Families Around the World, pp. 17-26. Routledge, 2013.

Economist.com. 2018. "Carriage And Horse". The Economist. https://www.economist.com/international/2016/01/14/carriage-and-horse

Fonagy, Peter. Attachment theory and psychoanalysis. Routledge, 2018.

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Kok, Jan. "Women’s agency in historical family systems." In Agency, Gender and Economic Development in the World Economy 1850–2000, pp. 10-50. Routledge Academic, 2017.

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