Cultures in action
Subtitle: family life, emotion, and male dominance in Banaras, India
By: Steve Derné.
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Albany
Language: eng
Number of pages: 232
Subjects: Family -- India; Marriage -- India; Marriage -- Religious aspects -- Hinduism
Description: In Culture in Action Derne explores the interconnections between male dominance, joint-family living, Indian emotional life, and a cultural focus on group pressures. Derne emphasizes the Hindu focus on the social group, but shows that men often distance themselves from group culture by marrying for love, separating from their parents, or embracing closeness with their wives.

Derne's suggestion that Indian men's cultural focus on the group limits men's and women's strategies for breaking cultural norms offers a new approach to understanding how culture constrains. He shows how the child-rearing practices and emotional tensions associated with joint-family living shape Indians' group emphasis. This approach suggests that the Hindu focus on the group is intimately connected with male dominance.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-220) and index.