Do you find mom's groups to be very homogeneous?
Recently, I visited a few mom's groups with my 20-month-old because I've been thinking about whether or not to engage in a regular local playgroup. I couldn't help but notice that most of the people attending are caucasian. I don't have a problem with that, but I find it odd given how diverse the bay area is. I expected there to be more Asians and other races? Got me wondering why.... At least for many of my Asian friends (Chinese, Indian, etc.), their grandparents play pretty active roles and perhaps that's why they don't feel the need for these organized playgroups?
What have your experiences been like?
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Anonymous
Oct 22, 2010
1 Answers
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0 votes
My experience has been exactly that as well, at least at the younger ages (0-9 months). The only place where I met a lot of Asian (Chinese, Indian, etc) families was at our local hospital groups. Do you think "playgroups" might be a cultural idea that some cultures don't appreciate / don't require (as you said, more support from extended families, no need for people with small children to self-congregate & isolate from the rest)?
As an opposing phenomenon, as a visibly pregnant woman in a tech company in the bay area, I found that the warmest support and overwhelming happiness I received from coworkers was from Asian (particularly Indian) women, and even some Indian men. The caucasian crowd was friendly if they knew me well, and otherwise opted not to speak much of it. The Indian crowd, in contrast, seemed to come out of the woodwork - one-time acquaintances, even, if that - to talk to me about it! It was surprising, and quite lovely.
I began to wonder if we Caucasians feel like we need to underplay pregnancy and children because they are seen as oppositional to the workplace, and if Indian-American cultures had no such hangups.
Anonymous
Oct 27, 2010
