Quote:
Originally Posted by MMM
Not much value is placed on the person staying at home raising the child in your culture? That is sad.
I don't think that is true at all in Japan. As I have stated in the past, women tend to quietly "wear the pants" in Japanese families. Not only do they do the housework and raise the children, they also are in charge of the finances. The father's job is to make money, so it is a team situation.
Some people think it is sexist if a man does one thing (makes money) and a woman does another (raises family). That seems a little silly to me, and this idea that everybody should do everything is a terrible model. Name a successful business where everybody does everything. There is nothing sexist about having roles. Especially if those roles are considered valuable.
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I'm talking about economic value.
I agree with you guys when it comes to Japan's cultural value. I think it's beautiful that value is placed on the home, and raising children. I don't agree that only women should play that role, but it's wonderful that the person who takes care of the house is valued more in Japan than in the USA.
That's just cultural value, though. What happens when the main breadwinner decides that he/she wants to claim all of the money he/she has made? What happens when the person who stayed home without a job is screwed over and doesn't have a place to live anymore, or money to buy essential needs? Like I said, I haven't read of this happening in Japan, but I've read many cases of this in the USA - and not only with women/men partners, but men/men and women/women. Regardless of gender, the person who stayed at home didn't make enough money to have a say in what happened after the couple split up.
Cultural value is a beautiful thing, but so is survival. It's not fair that society places women into roles with no economic value and men into one of economic value.