Male-Female Culture Advantage

I had a nice chat about female empowerment in certain cultures in certain era, and the chat led to my discovery of a key gender related cultural difference between South America and many other countries.

My friend, originally from South America, told me that in her culture after a couple gets married they are expected to become closer to the female's side of the family whereas in many other cultures the opposite is true. In her culture, it is common that the boyfriend's parents try to be nice to the girlfriend hoping that after marriage the girl won't entirely snatch the guy away from them.

This to me is very interesting. At least in Chinese culture, it is the other way around. I remember how a guy's parents played a huge role in the fate of my relationship. When they approved of me we totally had their blessing. Once they felt I was making their son angry and emotional, our relationship was doomed. One time the mother got involved in our fight and yelled in my face "you are too sensitive! You stop that!" The son felt empowered and more than once he said to me after that incident "my parents were right about you!". Mind you, this was already a foreign born and raised Chinese. Imagine what a traditional Chinese family is like.

When I told my mom about this difference, she was very much amused and thought it would be great for me to have a future husband who takes care of my family like his own. However, I do feel parents shouldn't try to influence their children's relationship. As for the son, it's great to love his parents but if he listens to his parents rather than himself whether a girl is right for him, even quoting his parents, that is very pathetic. Grow up and be a man!