Attitudes toward Sexuality

Regarding “Americans Have a Different Attitude,” I thought there were a lot of generalizations about Americans. In particular, I thought the quote from the Filipina immigrant mother referring to sex and going out with men before marriage, “And I don’t like it to happen to my daughters as if they have no values. I don’t like them to grow up that way, like American girls” was almost funny. She generalized an entire country of girls. I understand that her being Catholic affects her beliefs about sex before marriage, but the going out with men before marriage part is absurd. Personally, I don’t understand how a woman can find a man they are going to date or even figure out what kind of man they want to marry unless they date first to see what they want in a relationship. Yes, I agree that many, if not most, “American girls” date and go out with men before marriage, but all American girls do not have sex before marriage. The way she described American girls made it seem like they are awful people for having relationships with the opposite sex before marriage.

The quote from the second generation Filipina daughter, “I found that a lot of the Asian American friends of mine, we don’t date like White girls date. We don’t sleep around like White girls do” was yet another generalization toward “White girls.” Reading this quote almost made me want to laugh, because that is a ridiculous thought, that this entire group of White girls sleeps around. So not true. But I guess that is the way generalizations about certain groups of people work. People form views and opinions about groups of people and assume everyone of that color or place fits into that particular assumption or category.

I was very intrigued by the idea of the “conceptualization of white women as sexually immoral.” The Filipina view of American women lacking morals makes Filipinas seem perfect and always holding strong morals. The difference between these two groups seems to be like a competition about which is better, defined by who has the more valuable morals. I think that the interpretation by others of white women being sexually immoral may have been influenced by the media. I feel that especially in television shows aired on VH1 and MTV where there are too many reality shows to count, many of which feature white girls who live the party life. I am white, and when I see shows such as these, I think little if anything of it. I know that not all white women act in a manner similar to the one portrayed on television. The goal of television is to increase viewers and make money. Television show companies are going to air what makes them money, and if it is a show about girl drama and sex, then that is what people will make their assumptions on.

Overall, I feel that no matter what, everyone is going to form their own opinions about other cultures and ways of life. Until you walk in each and every one of these person’s shoes and see life from their perspective, you won’t truly understand the society in which people have grown up. When society is nonchalant about sexuality, people grow up to feel that way about it, nonchalant. Unless importance is placed on something, society will not show it the same respect that it may deserve.