LKL wrote:
...In a patriarchal culture....
Since the P-word has been invoked:
I was reading recently that Thai culture (at least in the country's NorthEast, or Issan region, which provides most of the executive ejaculatory administrators in the tourist areas, and most of the wives for Western gentlemen) is more matriarchal than patriarchal, with extremely strong ties between mother and daughter. Traditionally, a man who marries an Issan girl may move into her parents' house. But, neither he nor her father seem to count for a whole heck of a lot. The eldest daughter has the bulk of the responsibility of taking care of her mother.
The Philippines may have been similarly matriarchal prior to the invasions of the Spaniards and the Americans.
In other countries, like Korea, the man is number one, is expected to take care of his parents, and he will eventually inherit the family business and property. His wife moves into the house and kowtows to his parents.
I wonder if Vietnam is similarly patriarchal, which might explain Korean and Chinese preference for Vietnamese wives versus Thai wives? In Thailand, a Western husband seems to be the goal for many young ladies. Maybe we're more accustomed to kowtowing to the wife and mother-in-law?