Racism in the DR? They say no..

I read this interesting article long ago about a saying; There is not racism in the Dominican Republic. Because Dominicans are seen as friendly, accepting and family oriented people, it does not surprise me that this saying exists, in America that is.

Here is an article about a woman who battles racism in the DR country. It caught my eye because it is true; racism is prevalent. Kiini Ibura Salaam writes:

Dominicans have created a myriad of names - morena (brown), india (indian), blanca oscura (dark white), trigueño (wheat colored) - to avoid referring to themselves as black. Nothing prepared us for a weekend field trip to the country where our weekend hosts got to pick the students they wanted to put up for the night. The first picked were the blondes. Standing there desolate and alone at the end were the blacks.

While I had a cordial, comfortable relationship with my host family, on many occasions I felt they might have related to me better were I white. When I would eagerly show them photographs of my friends from weekend trips, their eyes would go straight through my black friends' unsuspecting smiling faces and examine the blondes in the background. "Who's she?" they would ask, "Is she part of your group?"

http://www.nathanielturner.com/kiiniiburasalaam2.htm
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Skin Color has always been used as an ignorant excuse for distinction of class and it does not surprise me that is so in the DR. I just couldn't grasp why people would think that there would be no racism there.

To the Park!

Every summer my family brings the Dominican community in the neighborhood to our park by doing one thing: breaking out the instruments and playing until 3 in the morning. The men play their guitars, their acordion, their tambora, and their guirras and put together and freestyle the night away. The women dance and the children play. It is the most amazing experience I have ever encountered. Just sitting there at the park as my father plays la tambora and I dance away with a fellow Dominican friend. This practice is the Dominican Culture at its best. People just come together, whether they know each other or not, and have fun. Below is a video of what it is all like:

Culture Mix

Dominican Republic's culture comes from African, Taino, and European cultures. One aspect of our culture which we practice during celebration is the dance of "Los Palos." Los Palos is a African originated dance where the music is said to posses your soul and leads to you move a certain way. My family just does it for fun.

I must admit, it is pretty strange and scary when you are just watching it, as opposed to doing it. Many of my Russian friends have joined my family in this dance, so they can vouch for the fact that it's just fun.

I AM DOMINICAN

I LOVE THIS! It's from the show Scrubs about ethnicities. Its about a Dominican woman who is married to a Black man who does not see the difference between her being Puerto-Rican, Mexican or Dominican. It's funny because on one hand you don't want to be judged by your ethnicity but on the other you MUST be acknowledge through it.

Dominican Culture and Values

I saw the previous post and felt that it did no justice in introducing what the Dominican culture is really about. Here is a perfect description from wikipedia; not to broad and not to specific:

Relationships and communication

Ethnologist's say that Dominicans practice particularist, as opposed to universalist, social ethics. By this, they mean that family networks and friends are more important than universal rights. As a practical matter, this means that Dominicans are more likely to achieve gains through who they know rather than by following strict rules or procedures, the latter being what people in universalist-ethics countries do. Dominicans depend on social savvy, trust, indirect communication, and consensus. These values are reflected in popular sayings like "everything is done through the help of others" and despues de la excusa, nadie se queda mal or "desde que se invento la excusa, nadie queda mal" (After the excuse was given, everybody got along fine.)

Dominicans are gifted at the art of indirect communication. The phrases "no hay problema" (There's no problem) "es usted que sabe" (It's you who knows, meaning "I hear you, and while I'm not sure I agree, I'm not going to argue") are popular and heavily used manners of deflecting disagreement. In the small society which is "the Dominican Family," it is highly important that people not embarrass each other nor be seen to act with malice. Ideally, one wishes to develop "confianza" with as many people as possible. Again, who one knows is a much more important than any law or absolute standard of conduct.

Dominicans value openness, warmth, hospitality, and personableness. In rural parts of the country, residents may be seen offering complete strangers a meal or coffee. On public transportation, people start friendly conversations with people they don't know, in contrast to the norms of Europe or the United States. It is good Dominican form to be willing to converse with anyone, and good form to inquire about the health of one's acquaintances' family, even if one does not know the family. In the rural poor areas, anyone can reasonably expect to walk in to a house and be offered coffee or a meal, though the large urban areas are quite a contrast to this form of life.
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I can personally attest to these few paragraphs. From life mentality to values and attitude, I posses all these qualities because that is how I have been raised. They made me into who I am and see much benefit in being that way. Because of this lifestyle I see my self as a strong, social and down to earth woman.

Just side not in regards to the last post about women being inferior I shall say this: Life to me is about family only because I want it that way. I am an Honors student and I know I can make a career in finance which I will do for a few years for financial purposes. But my sincere fulfillment of personal achievement is that of raising a family. Family is more important than anything in the world because when worst comes to worst, family will be there no matter what.

Chapter 9: Gender

Each person found ways of expressing gender roles or stereotypes:

This video shows typical stereotypes:

Here are two different societies and how they work:

The Irish Society:

• The role of men is to complete tasks that involve fixing and lifting things and are usually more of a disciplinarian to their children than their mother.
• Women are more likely to take up chores such as cooking and are usually more affectionate to their children than their father.
• However, there seems to be less of an opportunity for women to advance in the workforce when compared to the United States.
• The media portray all Irish men as alcoholics who come home after a night at the bar to abuse their wives.

The Dominican Society:

• The Dominican culture is more acceptance of a patriarchy system.
• Men are usually viewed to tend to public matter of working, politics and social events.
• Women are inferior in those aspects and are responsible for extra domestic activities.
• All women does is cook, clean, attend their sons and cater to her husband when he comes home.
• When going out, men are the ones who drive, chose the venue and had control over all household activities and decisions.
• Society views men control normal, the husband would be viewed as less of a man and criticized in the community.
• Along with sexual behaviors, society allows men to have more than one partner; in some instances it is praised.
• Yet if a female was to have more than one partner she is instantly a hoe.
• Most Latin cultures view men superior over women socially, politically and economically.

Here are pictures from Senegal:

All cultures are different, view the culture you came from and share how different your culture is. Also think about this, what is the difference between gender stereotypes and gender roles?