'Oddly hybrid': Childbearing and childrearing practices in colonial Penang, 1850-1875

Abstract

European society in the British colony of Penang was ethnically very mixed, which makes it interesting for a study of cultural interchange of child raising practices. Most women included in the European community were of Asian descent, from a variety of Asian backgrounds; women of European descent also came from a range of cultural backgrounds. In their child raising practices, they were involved in complex processes of cultural mixing - acculturation processes to which they contributed significantly. Although there was increasing medical intervention in child care during this period, practitioners in Penang achieved only a limited degree of influence over modes of child raising. The cultural agency of women in the colonial context is highlighted.