A CANADIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE HINDU WOMAN: A STUDY IN IDENTITY TRANSFORMATION

Abstract

<p>This study investigates a particular aspect of identity; namely the self-concept of a married cross-generational group of Canadian East-Indian women. It utilizes the "Twenty Statements Test", participant observation, and other interview data. The findings showed that while the Hindu woman generally feels a strong identification of the self with the family, a major role change su ch as marriage had differential effects on the two groups of women, and is dependent largely upon the extent to which the individual has interiorized her familial role and status. Thus, it was found that although traditional Hindu values such as devotion of the self to the family are perceived as salient by both the young and older respondents, contemporary attitudes concerned with the development of the self such as personal ambitions are also perceived as important by the younger generation of Canadian East-Indian women. Integrated in terms of the symbolic-interactionist perspective, the exploratory empirical evidence is found to support the assumption that role specialization is an important factor contributing to an individual's perceptions of self.</p>