Cultural Adjustment
"An analysis of cultural shocks"
Coming to America was one of my dreams, so I started working on it and
after completing collage, I received the visa for the States and bought
the ticket to come to America. I was a little bit confused because I
had been hearing about America since my childhood. There is a huge
cultural difference between my society and the modern society of the
States, and because of these differences, my friends and I faced some
problems after coming here. These problems are commonly called cultural
shocks. By analyzing the differences between America and my own
country of Pakistan, in the areas of gender roles, family, marriage and
celebrations, one can see how cultural shocks occur.
Since my birth, I have been living in a society where the men and women
are not all to interact with each other as over here. It is one of the
biggest differences in my culture and the culture here. There are
usually separate classes for girls and boys in my society, but over
here, there is no concept of this. In addition, I know you will
surprise to earn that having a boyfriend for a girl or a girlfriend
for a boy is a difficult achievement.
In my society there is a joint family system, the children live
together with their parents whether they are under 18 or not. Over
here, there is a concept of "individualism". Every one has an
individual life, making their own decisions for every thing. Here, a
person over 18 living with his parents is considered an immature
person. In my culture, a person not living with his parents doesn't
have a respectable place in the society, because it is our social and
religious custom to take care of our parents.
Divorce is common here, but in my society it's not good to even think
about it. People are divorced, but not as commonly as over here. For
example, among every 100 married people, perhaps just one is divorced,
but over here out of hundred, about fifty are divorced or separated.
Also, some couples live together without a legal marriage.
One day, I went to a wedding ceremony with my uncle .It was one of his
friends' weddings. I just sat there, wondering when the people would
sing songs and when the lunch would start, but after kissing each
other, my uncle's friend and his wife went on a long drive in their car
with a poster on the back saying, "Just got married". It was really
surprising for me to attend a wedding like this, because in my culture,
In today’s society boys become men when they hit puberty or lose their virginity. But women on the other hand become women when they get married and have children. It was commonly known that men earn more money in the workplace, and hold higher positions. Since years ago women have been able to do nothing, they had no say nor, could they vote. Women were expected to keep quiet when a problem occurred and not speak up for what they believed in. It was the stereotype that “a woman’s place was in the home”. The men were out making the money for the family so it was like what could you possi...
Philosophers have developed many different theories to explain the existence and behavior of “free will.” This classical debate has created two main family trees of theories, with multiple layers and overlapping. It all begins with Determinist and Indeterminist theories. Simply put, determinists believe that our choices are determined by circumstance, and that the freedom to make our own decisions does not exist. Indeterminists, for example Libertarians, believe that we are free to make our own choices; these choices are not determined by other factors, like prior events. In class, we began the discussion of free will, and the competing arguments of Determinists and Indeterminists, with the works of Roderick Chisholm, a libertarian who made
Cultural competence has to do with one’s culture. Culture affects among other factors, how children are raised, how families communicate, what is considered normal or abnormal, ways of coping with issues, the way we dress, when and where we seek medical treatment, and so forth. I should know because I come from a very cultural home where it is considered bad to talk to a male doctor about anything gynecological.
The constraints society has for people were already determined, and with their influences it may also cause a person to have a determined future. Therefore leading me to believe determinism is the cause of people’s events. Although this argument doesn’t explain how intuition was created, natural laws from a chain of causes gave me a reason to believe how our intuition was formed in the first place. The importance of this topic is overlooked by the majority of society. Having a choice of determinism over free will can help our society in a number of ways like, deciding what punishments should be made for people.
From a young age , many individuals worldwide are socialized according to their gender and what is appropriate for males and females. Socializing according to ones gender starts from the moment you are born when the nurses give you either a blue or pink blanket to wrap the child in. This allows society to known whether the child is a male or female. The double standard for gender occurs within many areas of development for instance the clothes one wears, the toys that are placed with, the jobs and careers one chooses in their later life. Attachment given by a child's parent reinforces an individual to be socialized and children can also contribute how their parents treat and see them , these are social constructs within parenting (Ambert,2012). All of these things can be gender separated and still are in today's society. Another area where males and females are socialized differently is in the area of sexuality and what is acceptable for males is not always for the female gender. Gender specific norms govern the appropriate amount of partners , when it is acceptable to engage in sexual activity and what motivates ones behavior (Kreager &Staff, 2009). This shows society individuals are socialized according to their gender because males are socialized into behaving a different way than girls but it still be accepted as a norm. Women are taught that it is okay to have sexual relationships but they need a reason, example being in a committed relationship, where as men just need a place. This is a common perception based on ones gender , formed from a western conservative view point ( Fugere et.al, 2008). Gender socialization is a process where boys are seen to be given wings and girls are to be given roots (Myers, Spencer, Jordan...
As one looks through society, one starts to see many cracks and loopholes where one set of standards does not apply the same way for men as it does to women, and vice versa.
Society places ideas concerning proper behaviors regarding gender roles. Over the years, I noticed that society's rules and expectations for men and women are very different. Men have standards and specific career goals that we must live up to according to how others judge.
Since the dawn of time, individuals have been taught that they possess an innate quality known as Free Will. This phenomenon is essentially the “freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention”(Merriam-Webster). Therefore people believe that they possess the ability to decide their fate. But do humans really have this ability to do this? Philosophists have argued this for some time now and have raised some objections towards this view. On the contrary, the theory of determinism, which is often contrasted with the theory of free will, says elsewise. This theory states that “occurrences in nature or social or psychological phenomena are causally determined by preceding events or natural laws” (Merriam-Webster). In other words, a determinist believes that for every rational decision that an individual has to make, there is a predetermined course of action. Various views
Pi Patel in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi is a young Indian boy who is put through a tremendous traumatic experience; he gets lost at sea! Not only does he lose all his family, but he is forced to survive 227 days at sea with very limited resources. This ordeal causes great psychological pressure on Pi and causes his mind to find ways to cope with all the stress. When asked to describe what happened, Pi tells two stories: one with him surviving with animals including an adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, and a parallel story with humans in which Pi is forced to bend morality. Pi’s story of his survival with Richard Parker is a fiction that he creates to cope with a reality that is too difficult to face.
Many people come to the United States for change. Change they think will be given to them the moment they step foot on U.S soil, which happens to be incorrect. There is a process to undergo before an individual is able to experience change. A process which occurs once they allow it to begin. Cultural assimilation is “a process by which members of an ethnic minority group lose cultural characteristics that distinguish them from the dominant cultural group or take on the cultural characteristics of another group” (medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com). It is challenging to begin, that is why when deciding on weather or not to assimilate, “people usually weigh the benefits and costs” (Konya 2). For example, parents usually assimilate even if it “imposes very large costs for them, because they want the best for their children” (Konya 2). But, there are still ethnic groups that assimilate into American society at much lower rates than others because they refuse to until they finally decide to later in their lives. To be more specific, there is evidence to support that Mexicans in Los Angeles, CA are assimilating at lower rates than any other race: “Now, a new study lays bare what sociologists and others have long argued: Mexican immigrants are assimilating to life in the United States less successfully than other immigrants” (Schulte 1). The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse portrays the terrible effects caused by the slow cultural assimilation of Mexicans in Los Angeles compared to other races. These effects such as poor income and daily struggles can be seen through Felicia Esperanza and remarks made by Freddy Blas as well as Efren Mendoza.
At some point in our lives we experience a culture as an outsider by moving from one culture to another.In the world today there are so many different cultures and not one of them is found to be the same.Instead they all have something that makes them unique, whether its language or even the clothes they wear and their behavior as well.The differences they have is what separates them from one another and who ever joins that particular culture must get accustomed to their way of life.In the society today we have many people immigrating to the United States to start a new and better life but what they soon begin to realize is that it’s a whole new world out there and in order to survive they have to get accustomed to the new way of life which is much different from their lives before.
Cultural sensitivity occurs when people recognize and are aware that each country or various ethnic groups of people have their own set of experiences, beliefs, values, and language that affect their perceptions toward life. Addressing Cultural sensitivity permits people to comprehend that there are differences between cultures. Furthermore, having awareness in the differences between cultures permits a culturally competent person to communicate effectively with others that are outside of one’s realm. Some of the differences of Cultural sensitivity can be discovered while traveling outside of the country, such as through Cross-cultural sensitivity experiences. Likewise, a culture has its own norms and beliefs to how one should dress; how one should greet others, such as by referring to a significant individual by his or her first name or surname (comprehending which name should be stated first in foreign names); and/or what foods are permitted to eat or forbidden to eat or understanding what may offend a person (e.g. not accepting a home cooked meal). There are norms, taboos, cultural cues, and cultural etiquette standards that are significant to learning about one’s culture before exploring another country or while working with people who are from your country but who are part of another racial group. It takes time and patience to build a high level of Cultural sensitivity. Educating oneself with a culture’s psychology and its norms is significant toward achieving an increasing awareness toward Cultural sensitivity.
Men have assumed a more aggressive and dominant role “Many traditional gender-based stereotypes are widely accepted in our society. Someof the prevailing notions about men maintain that they are aggressive” (Crooks and Bauer, 2014: p 134), whereas, woman are supposed to nature and run the household “Women are frequently viewed as nonassertive, illogical, emotional, subordinate, warm, and nurturing (Crooks and Buaer, 2014: p 134). However, in today’s society gender equality has become a more common practice where both sexes take on masculine and feminine roles to in every day life “Research suggests that women are less entrenched than men in rigid gender-role stereotypes and are more inclined to embrace positions of equality with men (Ben-David & Schneider, 2005)” as cited in (Crooks and Bauer, 2014: p 135). Due to ability to work from home, woman have accepted a modern role of holding a career as well as raising a family and men are seen working and helping out with regular house hold chores. People are beginning to conform to are less traditional view, but in my personal experience woman still hold a more traditional role and men are still the primary providers for a family. Women tend to be stay at home moms and only work part time jobs, while men establish a career and focus primarily on their work. In smaller communities this seems to be more of a
The differences between women and men are not solely biological. Our society’s culture has established a set of unwritten cultural laws of how each gender should act, or in other words society has ascribed a stereotype. Men’s gender identity has been one of masculinity, and masculinity is defined as referring to a man or things described as manly. What does manly mean though? Is a male manly if he is “Mr. Fix-it”, or the jock, or if he sits on the couch on Sunday watching football? This latter statement is a stereotype of men, that has been around for decades, and is current as well, but starting with the 1960’s a man’s role started to change, despite the stereotype not changing to accommodate it. For the past 40 years one can see how men have taken on roles stereotypically ascribed to women, such roles including being the “stay-at-home mom”, which we can find an excellent example of in the 1980’s film “Mr.