influenced government in Japan provided for women’s suffrage and abolished Shintoism as the state
religion. The Japanese preserved their traditional respect for their elders by creating a social security
system for the elderly. After the end of the U.S. occupation, the Japanese government began asserting
more control over the lives of its citizens, including controlling the content of student textbooks.
Traditions such as the tea ceremony, Kabuki, and No theater continued.
Japanese work schedules allowed for less leisure time than in Western societies. One leisure
activity that became extremely popular was baseball, introduced to Japan during the U.S. occupation.
Women continued to occupy traditional homemaking and childrearing roles.
China
China’s May Fourth Movement (1919) honored the role that women had played in the Chinese
revolution by increasing women’s rights. Footbinding was outlawed, and women were given wider
educational and career opportunities. Although the Guomindang attempted to return Chinese women
to their more traditional roles, Chinese Communists gave them a number of roles in their revolution.
Women were allowed to bear arms in the military. Since the institution of Mao’s government in 1949,
Chinese women have been expected to work outside the home while maintaining their traditional
responsibilities in the home as well.
Latin America
After the Mexican Revolution, Mexican artists such as Diego Rivera painted murals on public
buildings. The murals depicted scenes from the revolution and hopes for social progress in the future.
Latin American folk culture includes strong elements of the Native Indian and African cultures.
Although the region remains largely Roman Catholic, the latter decades of the twentieth century and
the beginnings of the twenty-first century saw significant increases in the popularity of evangelical
Protestant denominations throughout Latin America. Also popular in Latin America as well as in sub-
Saharan Africa is Liberation Theology , a belief that emphasizes social justice for victims of poverty
and oppression.
Throughout the twentieth century, Latin American women tended to retain their traditional roles.
Women were not allowed to vote until 1929, when Ecuador became the first Latin American nation to
allow women’s suffrage. By the latter part of the twentieth century, Latin American women controlled
small businesses and were sometimes active in politics, including membership in legislatures.
Africa
Women’s suffrage was written into the constitutions of new nations. The participation of women in
African independence movements was rewarded, resulting in some opportunities for women to hold
political office. Many of the new nations also granted women increased opportunities for education
and employment. Early marriage, however, often continued to confine women to traditional roles.
Government imposition of shariah law in regions of Nigeria and other Muslim-dominated African
nations threatened not only the independence but also the security of women.
A Global Culture
In today’s world, the global culture has been dominated by Western trends and styles, a situation that