Chinese and Americans might be perceived as entirely different kinds of people not only in the way they look but also the different cultures they have. Despite the perception that they are different groups, they have similarities in culture, violence and gender issues as discussed below.
Chinese like cooking food at home and they eat together as a family around a table. Even if they take their food in the hotel, they eat together (Riess 12). The Americans, on the other hand, it is just part of the family members who make a meal together but not the whole family unit like in the case of the Chinese people. In this case consumption of fast foods is prevalent among the Americans especially the teenagers who like hanging out friends instead of their families. This is a clear indication that Chinese value their family unions more than the Americans.
In China, people appreciate the three ideologies of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. They believe in the importance of respecting the elderly in the society, education worshipping of other gods which they consider bringing well-being of life. On the other hand, Americans believe in Christianity, and most people are Catholics. They worship God and believe that there is heaven where they will go after death. It is clearly seen that the two groups of people have varied ideologies as far as religion is concerned.
Chinese people tend to respect the elders and even go an extra mile of naming their children after them while in America people do not call their children the names of the elderly. Americans treat their family members just as friends and they are quite open to their parents and would quickly tell them their issues. Chinese are very conservative and would not interact freely with their parents.
In America, the labor force has recently been equalizing as a result of unemployment; thus, anyone can work to get some money. Women either stay at home and do household jobs and taking care of the children or do other feminine jobs like nursing. Male counterparts, on the other hand, do jobs like teaching, construction jobs and other related masculine jobs. In China, men are considered for the high paying jobs even though the women have studied to the same level to that of the men. Their society still upholds the valuing of men more than the females thus jobs are offered according to the gender of individuals.
In America, sports are usually divided into different categories of male and female. For instance, men play masculine games like hockey, basketball and American football while women play volleyball and softball which are considered as feminine. In China, sports are taken into account for both genders like table tennis, athletics and gymnastics. Chinese usually show great success when it comes to Olympic games because they take all the sports exclusively.
Gender roles also depend on the religion whereby the priest is only supposed to be a man and the only role that women play is being a nun (Nicholson et al. 11). Family participation also determines the functions of both males and females. For instance, men are charged with the responsibility of fixing and repairing broken items and bringing home money. Women do housework, cleaning and taking care of children.
In America, women tend to study languages, music and art classes while men study mathematics and sciences. In China, children work smart and to their best levels though at the same time men tend to like the science and math subjects, and ladies do the art and languages. The American laws support equality to all individuals where no one is to be considered superior to the other. On the other hand, the Chinese law states that women should be dependent on men and that men are superior to their female counterparts.
Regarding political systems, the Americans give women chances of going to the highest political ranks which are evidenced by Hillary Clinton, who contested for the position of presidency. In Chinese government, women are not given opportunities for a leadership position as they are considered to be involved in household duties.
In both America and China, issues of violence are quite similar in that in most cases women are the victims of gender-based violence (Hartmann-Tews, Ilse, and Gertrud Pfister 31).For instance, the Chinese women being considered inferior to their male counterparts are abused, and the abuses are justified based on the cultural practices. In America, women are also victims of gender-based violence just as in China although it is against the laws.
In America, parents take proper care or their children and try as much as possible to provide them with the best of their needs. They provide services that children would make fun out of it like playing with toys and teddy bears. Similarly, Chinese as well provide such activities for their children though they are of the traditional type. Also, in both countries, gender roles are similar regarding relationships. The arrangement of marriages is the only difference between the Americans and Chinese as they have different cultural practices.
Work Cited
Hartmann-Tews, Ilse, and Gertrud Pfister. Sport and Women: Social Issues in International
Perspective. London: Routledge/ISCPES, 2003. Internet resource.
Nicholson, Matthew, Russell Hoye, and Barrie Houlihan. Participation in Sport: International
Policy Perspectives. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon [England: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Riess, Steven A. Sport in Industrial America, 1850-1920. New York: Wiley, 2012.
