Themes emerging from a comprehensive review of empirical studies of South Asian immi grant women in Canada are identified. These reflect on the dynamics of the women's cultural adaptation and evaluation of self-image, placed within the perspective of Canada's historic attitudes toward South Asian immigration and recent demographics. The four sources of change in the women's self-image include their new dualistic world-view, described by psych ologist Josephine Naidoo, involving both traditional values in family life and western values of personal development. Naidoo's conceptualisation parallels Harry Triandis' collectivist- individualist "balance" and John Berry's integrative acculturation. For sociologist Helen Ralston, the trauma of migration increases the saliency of religion in "sacralising" the women's identity. Intergenerational conflict arises from a preference for arranged over romantic marriages in South Asian cultures. The emotional strain on immigrant brides and their parents impacts on the self perceptions of both. Similarly, gender oppression, sex exploitation, classism and racism rooted in ancestral-host cultures also impact on the women's self perceptions. The article suggests drawing on indigenous concepts in studying South Asian cultures. It asserts that Canada's historic accommodation of diversity assures a promising future for South Asian Canadian women.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Agnew, V. (1996). Resisting discrimination: Women from Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean and the women's movement in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
2.
Ames, M.M., & Inglis, J. (1976). Tradition and change in British Columbia Sikh family life. In K. Ishwaran (Ed.), The Canadian family (rev. ed., pp. 77-91). Toronto: Holt, Reinhart & Winston of Canada.
3.
Badets, J., & Chui, T.W.L. (1994). Focus on Canada: Canada's changing immigration population. Statistics Canada: Catalogue No. 9b-311E (p. 14)Ottawa, Ontario: Statistics Canada and Prentice Hall Canada Inc.
4.
Berry, J.W., Kim, U., Power, S., Young, M., & Bujaki, M. (1989). Acculturation attitudes in plural societies. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 38(2), 185-206.
5.
Berry, J., & Rudolph Kalin, R. (1993). Multicultural and ethnic attitudes in Canada: An overview of the 1991 National Survey. In J.E. Alcock, D.W. Carment , & S.W. Sadawa, A textbook of social psychology (3rd ed., pp. 226-27). Scarborough, Ontario, Canada: Prentice-Hall Canada Inc.
6.
Buchignani, N. (1977). A review of the historical literature on East Indians in Canada. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 9, 86-108.
7.
Dhruvarajan, V. (1988). Religious ideology and interpersonal relationships within the family. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 19(2), 274-85.
8.
Editorial (1 July 1999). Brown of the Globe got Canada right. The Globe and Mail, p. A10.
9.
Guzder, J. (1992). South Asian women: Psychological issues related to assimilation. In R. Ghosh & R. Kanungo (Eds.), South Asian Canadians: Current issues in the politics of culture (pp. 105-13). India: Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute.
10.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's consequences. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications. Kuhn, M.H., & McPartland, T.S. (1954). An empirical investigation of self-attitudes. American Sociological Review, 19, 68-75.
11.
Kurian, G., & Ghosh, R. (1983). Child rearing in transition in Indian immigrant families in Canada. In G. Kurian & R.P. Srivastava (Eds.), Overseas Indians: A study in adaptation (pp. 128-40). New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.
12.
Mackinnon, M. (24 May 1999). Smart Numbers: Immigration: Give us your highly educated. The Globe and Mail, pp. B1-B3.
13.
Malik, A. (1998). 'Launching' behavior of Indo-Pakistani and Anglo-Saxon young adults and family functioning: A comparison of collectivistic and individualistic cultures. Unpublished bachelor of arts thesis, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
14.
Miedema, B., & Nason-Clark, N. (1989). Second class status: An analysis of the lived experiences of immigrant women in Fredericton. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 21(2), 63-73.
15.
Naidoo, J.C. (1980a). East Indian women in Canada. In N.A. Nyiri & T. Miljan (Eds.), Unity in diversity: The proceedings of the interdisciplinary research seminar at Wilfrid Laurier University (Vol. 2, pp. 199-226). Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
16.
—. (1980b). Women of South Asian and Anglo-Saxon origins: Self-perceptions, socialization, achievement aspirations. In C. Stark-Adamec (Ed.), Sex roles: Origins, influences and implications for women (pp. 50-69). Montreal: Eden Press.
17.
—. (1985). Contemporary South Asian women in the Canadian mosaic. International Journal of Women's Studies, 8(4), 338-50.
18.
—. (June 1992). Individual and collective perspectives of South Asian women in Canada: A decade of research. Poster presented at Canadian Psychological Association, Quebec City, Quebec.
19.
—. (August 1996). Canadian Asian women in transition: Issues and problems of cultural value continuity, change, and conflict in family life. Paper presented at the XIII Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, Montreal, Quebec.
20.
Naidoo, J.C. (1999). The experience of constrasting subjective cultures: The case of South Asian women in Canada. In J. Adamopolous & Y. Kashima (Eds.), Social psychology and cultural context (pp. 125-37). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
21.
Ralston, H. (1992). Religion in the life of South Asian immigrant women in Atlantic Canada. Research in the Social Scientific Study ofReligion, 4, 245-60.
22.
Razack, N., & Vaidyanathan, P. (1991). The experiences of professional immigrant women. Unpublished master of social work thesis, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
23.
Rees, T. (22 March 1997). Multiculturalism: The Canadian experiment [Letter to the editor]. The Globe and Mail, p. D7.
24.
Report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada ( 1970). Ottawa, Canada: Ministry of Supply and Service.
25.
Siddique, C.M. (1983). Changing family patterns: A comparative analysis of immigrant Indian and Pakistani families of Saskatoon, Canada. In G. Kurian & R.P. Srivastava (Eds.), Overseas Indians: A study in adaptation (pp. 100-138). New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.
26.
Statistic Canada (1991). Distribution of South Asian population (visible minority dataset): Mother tongue groups, age, gender, labor force activity, income, and education. Ottawa, Canada: Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture, and Recreation Research and Data Group.
27.
Thobani, S. (1991). In whose interest? Healthsharing , 12(1), 15-18.
28.
—. (1992). Making the links: South Asian women and the struggle for reproductive rights. Canadian Women's Studies, 13(1), 19-22.
29.
Thomason, K.V. (1993). Settlement and adaptation of Guyanese immigrants in Canada. Unpublished honours bachelor of arts thesis, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
30.
Thorsell, W. (19 July 1997). Canada is a country of fences that makes good citizens. The Globe and Mail, p. D6.
31.
Triandis, H.C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
32.
Vaidyanathan, P., & Naidoo, J.C. (1990). Asian Indians in western countries: Cultural identity and the arranged marriage. In R. Bleichrodt & P. Drenth (Eds.), Contemporary issues in cross-cultural psycbology (pp. 37-49). Amsterdam : Swets and Zeitlinger.
33.
Wakil, S.P. (January 1985). Pakistani youths' views of growing up in Canada: An overview study. Keynote address, Challenges and prospects for Pakistani youth in Canada at "Pakistani Youth" seminar held under the auspices of the Directorate of Multiculturalism, Edmonton, Alberta.
34.
—. (March 1988). Socialization of Pakistani-Canadian children: Profiles in conflict, adaptation, and multiple identities. Keynote speech delivered at the "Pakistani Women on the Move" conference, University of Toronto.
