The impacts of acculturation on Vietnamese women in the United States

Project (M.S.W., Social Work) -- California State University, Sacramento, 2011.Historically, society has presented women as secondary to men. As the times change so have the roles of men and women. Vietnamese American women bear the struggle of living two worlds, but in one location, America. Before Vietnamese refugees and immigrants entered the United States, they only knew their own traditional culture. Upon arrival in their new country they had to assimilate to the modern culture of America. Every day they are reminded of their constant struggle of identification, what makes them Vietnamese or American? For the purpose of this exploratory study, 30 Vietnamese women voluntarily participated in the survey. This self-composed survey aimed to explore topics of acculturation such as language, communication, and culture, perspective on family and women???s roles, as well as education. From the findings of this study, one could state that these women still encourage their traditional culture, but realize that they must also adapt to American culture as well. Vietnamese women are no longer remaining in the home as housewives, but are inspired to attain \ud \ud \ud \ud an education and work outside of the home. They must learn to adjust in order to maintain both cultures, holding on to the importance of family, but becoming more independent.Social Wor