Dowries for China's Urban Middle-Class Families:Changes in Gender Norms,Filial Piety Ethics,and Intergenerational Relationships
Existing research on the use of matrimonial property begins primarily from the perspective of the groom's family,especially his parents,and often is focused on issues including rural bride price.There lack critical reflections on the underlying logic of patriarchal culture.This study focuses on women's families,including both the parents'and the daughter's perspectives.It investigates the dowry preparation process for their daughters by urban middle-class parents,and the daughters'understanding,management,and usage of their dowries after marriage.We find that during the preparation of their daughter's dowry,these parents strategically utilize a set of cultural capital mixed between both traditional and modern elements,including adhering to traditional gender norms on"surface"while also in-corporating modern legal knowledge in the"inner lining".Moreover,the big dowry,featuring gold jewelries and real estate,carries an in-tergenerational unified property tie of the bride's family and the parents'subtle yet strong expectations for their daughter's support for their old age.The daughter's understanding,management,and usage of the dowries during her marriage further reflect the forming of bi-lateral kinship family relationships and the transformation of traditional filial piety ethics.The concept of filial piety has not declined but has evolved with a new quality of vitality.Traditional filial piety has undergone a shift towards bilateral kinships and a balance of respon-sibilities among generations.As married women,their practice of filial piety extends beyond their in-laws as the patriarchal parents to in-clude their own parents in their family of origin,based on"dense"intergenerational emotional bonds.The relationship between the daughter and the daughter's parents is not merely a"one-way"street,but a model of mutual dependence and a"two-way devotion",re-flecting an intimate symbiosis between parents and children.
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