Embodying Morality ― Growing Up in Rural Northern Vietnam

Morality in Thinh Tri, a Vietnamese rural commune in the Red River delta, is a social practice, according to Rydstrom (social anthropology, Linkoping U., Sweden). She studied rearing practices as experienced by nine girls and four boys (aged 0-13 years) in order to examine how Thinh Tri children learn how to gain social acceptance as moral human beings. She argues that the way morality is constructed differs in accordance with both biological attributes of sex and socio-symbolic attributes of gender. The patrilineal nature of the village means that boys embody the honor, reputation, and morality of the father's lineage, while girls bodies emerge "as being truly blank" and in need of special moral instruction. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)