Source: Argument amongst a female Japanese student and some European/American friends
Relation: This particular argument made me think of Family and Identity because of it's ties to cultural perceptions of what is "family". On top of that, the particular situtation reminded me of an example given in the R.R. chapter about Identity.
Commentary: About a week ago I returned to the dorm after a class and found 3 floormates and my roommate wrapped in an argument about the girl's opinion on adoption and motherhood in general. Somehow, the topic of the quality of her potential motherhood came into question, and the western floormates used the fact that she does not want to ever become pregnant and instead adopt as proof of her incapability to be maternal. The japanese floormate was flabbergasted that this was even considered as potential ammunition in the argument and became quite distressed at the heartlessness of the western floormates. The floormates then went on to explain that the western civilization as a whole finds biologically related families as more "right" than less conventional, despite an increasing trend in tolerance, and that the fear and disgust at having the ability to produce a biologically related family member borders on psycho when viewed through the baby-happy lens of a westerner. The Japanese floormate then apologized, and explained that in Japan overpopulation is a real issue and that adopting a child is considered even more honorable than in America. On top of that, in Japan there is much cultural pressure on not being "greedy." parents with many kids or those concerned about having children that look like them have recently been accosted for being immoral. I couldn't help but see this as a matter of perspective on the value of "Family" and how differently it shaped my friend's identity.
