Scenario 1: Voicing your opinion
Immigrant Mother: “If you listen and do as I say, one day you will thank me for all that I am teaching you.”
Daughter: “But mother, I don’t want to learn to do these boring chores. Why are women stuck with household duties?”
Immigrant Mother: “One day, to marry a good husband, you must know.”
Daughter: “What if I don’t want to marry? If I do, I will have an independent husband that knows all these household duties.”
Immigrant Mother: “Daughter, your future husband would appreciate you more.”
Daughter: “Wouldn’t he appreciate me more if I make more money and hire a housekeeper?”
Immigrant Mother: “No, no …you silly daughter! You save money doing it yourself!”
By Jazzmin S. Lu
Moral lesson:
Sometimes we are stuck in a generational gap situation. Voicing your opinion to your immigrant mother is not a winning battle. She was raised by my traditional grandmother in a different era. Feminism doesn’t exist in her world.