Vietnamese Gender Roles

From: Le Phan

Date: Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 11:46 AM

Dear List,

My name is Le Phan (My Le) and I am a PhD student in sociology at UC Davis. My current research looks at Vietnamese women and men in nail salons. I was wondering if anyone could recommend some books/articles that discuss Vietnamese gender roles/gender norms. Thank you,

Best,

My Le

--

Le Phan, MA

Graduate Student, Sociology

Teaching Assistant, Asian American Studies

University of California, Davis

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From: Hue-Tam Ho Tai

Date: Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 12:21 PM

A good article would be by Angie Ngoc Tran about men working in the garment industry. The difference might be that nail salons operate on a smaller scale and often involve members of the same family. Men who work there full time sometimes consider themselves as "supporting" their wives or sisters. This is not the case in large factories.

Hue-Tam Ho Tai

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From: Hung Thai

Date: Thu, Apr 30, 2009 at 12:44 AM

Hi My Le,

Just a brief note to let you know that I love this topic; and to ask if you

know about the nail salon schools that are popping up in Saigon (Vietnam) so

that pre-migrants can learn to do nails and then work as soon as they land

in the USA? It also works the other way. In short, it is now a transnational

labor niche. I know two cases of nail salon owners in the US who have

returned and opened up shops in central Saigon (and charge premium prices).

I'd be very interested in learning about your work.

Hung Thai

Pomona College

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From: Dr Alexander D Soucy

Date: Thu, Apr 30, 2009 at 2:46 AM

Hi My Le,

Tine Gammeltoft's "Women's Bodies, Women's Worries" is a good place to start. Also, Lisa Drummond's and Helle Rydstrom's collected work "Gender Practices in Contemporary Vietnam." Both of these scholars have written extensively on women in Vietnam, so you should look at their other writing as well.

Best,

Alec Soucy

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From: Lonán Ó Briain <lonanobriain@hotmail.com>

Date: Thu, Apr 30, 2009 at 7:18 AM

To: vsg@u.washington.edu

Dear My Le,

Chapter 6, "Engendering Mediumship," of Barley Norton's new book looks at how gender roles in len dong rituals challenge established social norms. The full reference for this work is as follows:

Norton, Barley. 2009. Songs for the Spirits: Music and Mediums in Modern Vietnam. Urbana and Chicago, Il.: University of Illinois Press.

Best,

Lonan

--

Lonán Ó Briain

PhD Candidate in Ethnomusicology

University of Sheffield

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