By Lipstick or Tradition?
by Jill Shah on January 3, 2012
About the author
My name is Julie Christensen, and I am a pre-health Anthropology major in my third year at Oberlin College. This year I founded GlobeMed at Oberlin along with nine passionate and talented peers. I act as our chapter’s External Co-President, so I am fortunate enough to communicate regularly with our partner in Hanoi, Vietnam. It has been nearly a year since I was welcomed into the GlobeMed family, and I have already felt the love of the network and learned the many values and challenges of partnership.
Reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down made me consider Oberlin’s own partner organization in Vietnam and when social practices should be shifted for the sake of health. As the Lee family interacts with medical doctors in Merced, California, tensions rise due to cultural differences and miscommunication.
“And there were so many ways to err! When doctors conferred with a Hmong family, it was tempting to address the reassuringly Americanized teenaged girl who wore lipstick and spoke English rather than the old man who squatted silently in the corner. Yet failing to work within the traditional Hmong hierarchy, in which males ranked higher than females and old people higher than young ones, not only insulted the entire family but also yielded confused results, since the crucial questions had not been directed toward those who had the power to make the decisions” (65).
My first reaction upon reading this was, How could the doctors disrespect the family in this way? Of course the doctors should automatically consult the elder man.
But as I ponder this passage further, I can’t help but question if there are instances when tradition must take the back seat. If the teenage daughter was more capable of interacting with the medical doctors, why shouldn’t she communicate for the family?
There may not be an ideal answer, but I see a similar interplay between social interactions and health in the context of Oberlin’s partner organization. The Center for Community Health Promotion (CHP) works with populations that are highly stigmatized within their society. This year, our chapter and CHP are collaborating to facilitate a writing competition across the country of Vietnam. The goal of the competition is to increase dialogue around HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the virus that precedes AIDS if left untreated) by asking homosexual men and their families to share positive life stories.
I see our writing competition project as an action that may shift traditional thought. When individuals are able to speak openly about their lifestyle, they can more easily access appropriate care, make informed decisions, and change their behaviors. But shame and social exclusion can result in tragic mental health outcomes and inferior care for those with highest need. CHP has recognized an instance when social attitudes need to change in order to improve the health of those most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, so the organization is encouraging a cultural shift toward acceptance of all lifestyles by way of increased communication.
As our chapter prepares to send our first GROW Interns to Hanoi this coming summer, we will bring with us the spirit of GlobeMed and the lessons Fadiman offers. We will strive to be cognizant of the cultural norms and values of those we accompany, but we know that true communication is no easy task. Perhaps, in the case presented above, the doctors should have respected the traditional Hmong family hierarchy. Or perhaps it was the best decision for the doctors to interact primarily with the “Americanized teenage girl who wore lipstick.” Deep partnership is a way to approach situations such as these – where, case by case, all interactions are informed by cultural exchange and each party is given the chance to be heard.
Throughout our efforts to understand cultural attitudes toward health, we should also ask: When do traditional and normative social attitudes need to shift in order to improve their health?
“And there were so many ways to err! When doctors conferred with a Hmong family, it was tempting to address the reassuringly Americanized teenaged girl who wore lipstick and spoke English rather than the old man who squatted silently in the corner. Yet failing to work within the traditional Hmong hierarchy, in which males ranked higher than females and old people higher than young ones, not only insulted the entire family but also yielded confused results, since the crucial questions had not been directed toward those who had the power to make the decisions” (65).
My first reaction upon reading this was, How could the doctors disrespect the family in this way? Of course the doctors should automatically consult the elder man.
But as I ponder this passage further, I can’t help but question if there are instances when tradition must take the back seat. If the teenage daughter was more capable of interacting with the medical doctors, why shouldn’t she communicate for the family?
There may not be an ideal answer, but I see a similar interplay between social interactions and health in the context of Oberlin’s partner organization. The Center for Community Health Promotion (CHP) works with populations that are highly stigmatized within their society. This year, our chapter and CHP are collaborating to facilitate a writing competition across the country of Vietnam. The goal of the competition is to increase dialogue around HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the virus that precedes AIDS if left untreated) by asking homosexual men and their families to share positive life stories.
I see our writing competition project as an action that may shift traditional thought. When individuals are able to speak openly about their lifestyle, they can more easily access appropriate care, make informed decisions, and change their behaviors. But shame and social exclusion can result in tragic mental health outcomes and inferior care for those with highest need. CHP has recognized an instance when social attitudes need to change in order to improve the health of those most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, so the organization is encouraging a cultural shift toward acceptance of all lifestyles by way of increased communication.
As our chapter prepares to send our first GROW Interns to Hanoi this coming summer, we will bring with us the spirit of GlobeMed and the lessons Fadiman offers. We will strive to be cognizant of the cultural norms and values of those we accompany, but we know that true communication is no easy task. Perhaps, in the case presented above, the doctors should have respected the traditional Hmong family hierarchy. Or perhaps it was the best decision for the doctors to interact primarily with the “Americanized teenage girl who wore lipstick.” Deep partnership is a way to approach situations such as these – where, case by case, all interactions are informed by cultural exchange and each party is given the chance to be heard.
Throughout our efforts to understand cultural attitudes toward health, we should also ask: When do traditional and normative social attitudes need to shift in order to improve their health?
More from the winter break book club:
http://www.globemed.org/blog/posts/learning-to-make-fish-soup/
http://www.globemed.org/blog/posts/kicking-off-the-ghu-winter-break-book-club/
http://www.globemed.org/blog/posts/learning-to-make-fish-soup/
http://www.globemed.org/blog/posts/kicking-off-the-ghu-winter-break-book-club/
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