tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-159877872803713077.post806914063403764757..comments2023-08-23T10:49:27.027-05:00Comments on From Tanzania With Love: when are you going to have kids?Michael Leenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642651093909685811noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-159877872803713077.post-60808419927074868502014-11-21T02:55:23.422-06:002014-11-21T02:55:23.422-06:00Hey Michael, thanks for the comment! Yeah, childre...Hey Michael, thanks for the comment! Yeah, children before marriage is very much the norm here, for a couple of reasons. First, according to Tanzanian law, after living with someone for 90 days, you can be considered legally married, so the religious marriage becomes more of a formality. Second, the children are seen as a type of retirement plan for the woman. Even if the man leaves her, the children will stay and she can depend on them to take care of her in her old age. <br /><br />I agree with your quibble! I actually didn't mean that immigrants shed light on this particular issue in the United States, but I meant the statement more broadly. (For example, immigrants have helped us re-think our issues regarding immigration laws, diversity, lack of learning foreign languages in our education system, etc.) Sorry for the confusion!Ashley McLaughlin Leenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12713204318331124559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-159877872803713077.post-86938542460243929512014-11-17T17:46:32.662-06:002014-11-17T17:46:32.662-06:00Very interesting that they have children before th...Very interesting that they have children before they get married. Is that really the norm? That might point to another way in which women are repressed, because marriage often acts as an insurance that the man won't run away.<br /><br />I have to quibble a little with you here:<br /><br />"I like to think that I can use my position as an outsider in Tanzanian culture to shed light on perspectives and ways of thought that need changing, much like for decades, immigrants to the United States have been reshaping the way we think, for the better."<br /><br />But immigrants to the United States have actually been procreating much more frequently than native citizens. If immigrants have influenced our thinking on this, they have probably made us more likely to have children. Immigrants have tended to average around 3 children per woman, compared with the native-born U.S. level of 2 (right at replacement level). But one wonders if without immigrants we'd be more like Western Europe, somewhere between 1 and 2?Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14620240974866887790noreply@blogger.com