Mattie Thomas

What Makes You Modern

If I were to own every new item that hit the market, would that imply that I am modern?
Does modernity come from the idea of having what's new to the world, or is modernity a concept
of belief and understanding? In defining modernity it's important to look backwards before
stepping forward. That is to look at the broader contexts of what is implied in contextualizing
what is modern. By doing so, through looking into the contexts of culture and even broader into
the idea of globalization, we can become modern.
Karl Marx once said, "All that is solid melts into air," this is important in understanding
the relationship of modernity, culture, and globalization because the one thing all three terms
have in common is that they are ever-changing. The ideas of modernity and culture are always
changing along with time, as are the flows of globalization. These three terms are ever-changing
because they are affected by the world we live in, which is always changing (Karl Marx, 2009).
Since the world is always changing, what is considered "modern" will never stay the
same. Everyday new ideas are being thought, knowledge is being created, and new relationships
are formed. As long as time keeps changing, the three terms will too.
No one really agrees as to what modernity, culture, and globalization really mean. There
are various opinions on each term. The only thing people manage to agree on is that modernity is
a reaction to culture and that globalization connects everybody in the world in some way. In
connecting the world, we are no longer a single being, but a whole. The globalization of the
world creates the beginning relations of the people within it. We have an effect on other nations
just as they affect us. There is an intensification of global interconnectedness; suggesting that the

world is full of movement and constant cultural interaction and exchange. We are connected
through many means, one nation can affect any other nation and no one nation can be considered
dominant over the others. This then leads into the demography of a nation, that is, the statistics
and data that surround each country and continent in comparison to one another. From these
demographics on things such as birth rates, abortion rates, death rates we can frame what each
individual culture finds to be normal or modern. Some may see this as a way to separate
countries and culture but in many ways it highlights that each country is unique by their
demographics and does not imply ranking or power to one given nation.
By looking through Tumblr discussions I have found an instance where current media has
given way to influence on various nations. On September 20, 2014, the United Nations Goodwill
Ambassador Emma Watson launched her campaign called HeForShe. Here she talked about
feminism and the important role of men in her event. She argues that gender needs to become a
spectrum instead of two opposing views. Watson is express her views about how gender equality
is a male issue as well as a females, noting that she even sees her father's role as a parent
diminish by the impact of society. In many ways this highlights the pressures that accompany
reproduction and how very gendered it is across the world. From this post, the viewers are able
to grasp a stronger understanding on reproduction and gender roles across the world and also the
influence that a single woman has. Emma Watson is a world famous actress from the money
phenomenon Harry Potter, her beauty and talent alone can grasp any audience. Moreover, her
strong media presence implies her strong effects on modern culture and thus in speaking at the
United Nations, provides a deeper impact. The incorporation of modern media incased in a
globalized conference implies a stronger connection between the countries as well as deeper
understanding of the issues at hand.

After looking at demographics such as gender roles in the broader context of

globalization, we can see deep connections to the cultures that surround them. Culture is vital for
the survival of a society and presents its own unique characteristics across the globe. It is not a
personal aspect that is given to you from birth but is learned throughout one's life. Every society
has a different culture where people may share a specific language, belief, or norm. These traits
can form different interpretations and in result create different understandings and reactions.
Culture in itself is based on the individual ties between people and the kinship that forms
unbreakable bonds. Kinship is used as a basis to classify people and form social groups within
societies and cultures. In most cases, it is a way to connect families and marriages, in others
ways it is a means to define a union.
Through the last few chapters of Conceiving Cuba, we see the practice of transnational
kinship making, where love is part of a larger political economy of emotion. The use of
transnational kinship is seen through the use of surrogacy, transfer of gametes and cross cultural
marriages. However, this then leads back to the understanding of love within these marriages,
and its presence in the larger political scale. By looking at the inner relationships in Cuba, we see
that the essence of love is taken out of a union between two parents and replaced with strategy
and ability to find resources. These means of resources are seen in through policy changes in
relation to women and state labor, where woman can now join state employment and gain a
regular income. These show implications of having an equal society for woman, in which they
are brought into state labor and have the opportunity to receive child care services and provide a
steady income for their families. However, this results in the tripling of a woman's identity and is
far from equal in comparison to men in this Cuban society. Along with a state labored job, these
woman of Cuba must also maintain a domestic role, which involves house work, taking care of

the children, and keeping and maintaining roles within their society. "...Given their association
with the feminine domestic world of home and family, it is woman who are expected to assume
responsibility for the work maintaining kin relations..." as stated in di Leonardo's key argument
(Conceiving Cuba, p.151). Through this gendered aspect, we see the strong role of gender "in the
work of revitalizing and sustaining transnational kin ties in Cuba"(Conceiving Cuba, p.151).
Within Cuba we see the expectations that thrust into gender roles and overall contribute to the
life of daily culture.
The gender roles emphasized in Somos Muchos further indicate that the expectations put
upon woman have a strong effect on their community and their culture. In the demographics of
high fertility rates, rural woman of Mexico have established that the reasoning behind having so
many children is due to the strain brought on by community pressures (Braff, 2013). For these
woman, in order to be considered modern within their society, to be recognized as a woman, they
must have children. The expectations of this society then places a heavy burden upon the
woman's choices and on her bodies. "After all, reproduction is a key mechanism for the
regeneration of families, societies, and polities, all of which comprise hierarchal relations of
gender, race, class, and region" as stated by Braff. In this article, she is highlighting the social
constraints of Mexican society. In Mexico, "women in the fertility clinics evoked the notion that
racialized [urban poor] are hyperfertile and thus literally reproduce the population problem
by failing to conform to state-endorsed small family sizes." Far from hyperfertile, meaning
extremely capable of breeding or reproducing, the women that visited the clinics struggled with
infertility and were by means considered not of the urban poor and were enabled to occupy a
more desired social status. "Regardless of their social position, their experiences with
infertility...allowed them to identify as members of relatively modern, white, wealthy, and urban

groups" (Braff, 2013). Braff's fieldwork helps highlight the strain and pressure of society in the
context of being modern, within the nation's broader culture.
In comparison to the modernity pressures of Mexican society, the demand to be modern
is also seen in the context of Haitian culture, however this strain comes from within the
household. By the 1990, the use of contraceptives in Cite Soleil had barely reached 10 percent,
with the birthrate still rising. The program to limit birthrates and promote woman's reproductive
health was failing. This is due to a kind of precarious economic situation, in Cite Soleil
childbearing had become a vital necessity for woman. In order to survive, poor woman had to
rely on men, and the only way to secure a man's loyalty was by bearing his children. This was
considered the norm of society. "You just keep having children. This is how you keep a man,"
Sylvia, mother of twelve, told Maternowska. "If you don't give [children] to him, he doesn't give
[money] to you.... And sometimes even if you do give, you lose anyhow. Life is
hard."(Reproducing Inequities, 2006). The woman of Haiti found that the only way to move
forward in life is to have a husband, money, and children. Within the household, the Haitian
woman are fighting their own gendered battles by succumbing to the man's wishes and desires in
order to get ahead and survive. The idea of constant child bearing for woman is considered
modern, because it implies that there is man or husband that is providing and supporting these
woman and their children which then reflects well onto the community.
In these cases, the perception of being modern is strongly linked to idea of being accepted
by society. Many of these woman are fighting gendered expectations, from speaking at a United
Nations conference to joining the state labor force, and strive towards greater independence.
However, many of these woman are also stuck in the cultural and global pressures of
childbearing with dictation over how often and how many children they should have. In certain

cases, the limit on fertility not only reflects on the demographics of the country or state but on
the social standing of the individual woman. For many of these woman, the social status is what
determines modernity and growth.
In reflection, if woman of gendered expectations are looking to revolutionize, if a new
society is going to thrive, it will have to discard the things that came before it. A new society
must create new ideas, beliefs, and views of modernity. While time goes on, the society will have
to modify its ideas and values to keep up with the world's changes. Change can be an accident,
an unexpected outcome of an event, or an attempt to solve a problem. One thing is for sure and
that is change is inevitable. As time goes on, the ideas of modernity will change. The cultural
flows and the intensification of globalization will also change with time. These three terms will
continue to change until all civilizations have passed. Therefore, one may never be truly modern,
but rather the essence of changing norms.

Works Cited
Andaya, Elise. "Chapter 6." Conceiving Cuba: Reproduction, Women, and the State in the PostSoviet Era. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 151-52. Print.
Braff, Lara. "(We Are So Many)." Medical Anthropology Quarterly 27.1 (2013): 121-38. Print.
Cittadino-O'Dell, Rosea. "Emma Watson at United Nations." Web log post.Tumblr.com. N.p.,
n.d. Web.
<http://anth395reproduction.tumblr.com/post/111317308745/this-a-quote-from-

emma-

watsons-speech-at-a>.
Maternowska, M. Catherine. "Chapter 3." Reproducing Inequities: Poverty and the Politics of
Population in Haiti. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2006. N. pag. Print.
Patterson, Thomas C. Karl Marx, Anthropologist. Oxford: Berg, 2009. 95. Web.
<https://books.google.com >