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Skidmore College

Publication Date

Fall 2022

Program Name

Vietnam: Culture, Social Change, and Development

Abstract

This paper aims to articulate how ‘traditional’ gender roles are resisted, conformed to, and changed among youth within the context of Vietnam’s emerging market economy and consumer culture. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of how gender conceptions have progressed throughout Vietnamese history was a significant portion of my research. The data collection consisted of qualitative data through online surveys and in-depth interviews to understand the impacts of Vietnamese gender conceptions on the embodied sexual experiences and perceptions of university students in Ho Chi Minh City. My findings suggest that contemporary Vietnamese youth, specifically students residing in Ho Chi Minh City, are enmeshed in a web of both market and familial pressures, drastically impacting their sex perceptions and experiences. The way that students are impacted by these changes are directly correlated to gender conceptions, of which produce distinct experiences and sometimes, negative sexual health outcomes. It becomes increasingly clear that in order to address issues such as high abortion rates, early pregnancies, sexual assault, and rape, the state must implement policies that listen to the lived experiences, desires, and frustrations of Vietnamese youth.

Disciplines

Asian Studies | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Gender and Sexuality | Higher Education | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Social Psychology and Interaction

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