Have you had an experience when you became aware of a cultural lens you were looking through? What happened when you did? How was your experience changed when you identified that you were looking through a lens?
Are we not ALWAYS looking through a lens? Is it possible to understand culture without viewing it a certain way? I guess my answer to the question would be that yes, I am constantly having these experiences (I am just not constantly aware of the lens I am viewing through). It is my belief that we all have very strongly tinted lenses that are biased to the beliefs and ethics that we grew up around. These tinted lenses may be so strong that sometimes we have a hard time grasping the concept the there IS another way of seeing. I try hard to be open minded and see/understand things in many different ways but the truth is I am very stubborn. Sometimes I make assumptions, and even judgments about other ways of seeing/understanding. A strong worldview based on ethics tells me what I believe to be "right" or "wrong", sensical or irrational, moderate or excessive. This shapes my cultural lens. It feels like I have gone one without really answering the question, but I think what I needed more was to really work on defining cultural lens. So this was my attempt at that, I think?
Taylor I completely agree with you on this as I too am trying to further define cultural lens. As I commented earlier Im still a bit confused on the difference between dominate culture hegemony, ignorance, and cultural lens. I think they all relate in ways but are also really different...it is here where the lines become a bit blurry. I think that since I am a person who learns so much from experience that is what I base most of my beliefs on regardless of what they are and where my cultural lens is formed. For example my perception of love is based on what people have told me about love and how i have experienced it through my personal relationships....When thinking about times when I realized my cultural lens I think of times when i have had stereotypes come into my mind that I have to consciously push aside. Like walking alone at night and seeing a man or seeing a homeless person ask for money, my brain automatically goes to what the media and my culture tell me, "the man is going to hurt you, the homeless person is going to use your money for drugs" but i know these things are not true and I have to tell myself to push these first initial thoughts out....im going to keep thinking on this and post again later.
Surely I experience the world around me through my cultural lens on a daily basis. A clear example is when I pass by the corner of Lincoln and Grove across from school and witness a few dozen Latino day laborers waiting for work. Most of the time I feel sorry that they haven't found consistent work to support them and their families. I think about how extremely privileged I am to be going to school and how I wish I had better ways of helping them support themselves besides hiring them for the day. If I hadn't worked with day laborers before, didn't speak Spanish, and was opposed to their potentially illegal citizen status, I might not have the same cultural understanding or lens. In this way I concur with Sarah as well, that experience shapes cultural lenses. Another important aspect of cultural lens is how one defines culture. The Oxford American Dictionary defines culture as follows: "the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group". So does the U.S.A really have a collective culture? U.S. citizens are largely mixed ethnically, and potentially identify with different cultures within their own families. This suggests that customs differ within U.S. families regardless of whether everyone participates in similar social institutions. So in terms of defining my own culture and therefore my own cultural lens, I must accept that my own culture is specific to my upbringing in specific regions in specific time periods. This is not to say that I'm not affected by cultural norms in my society, but rather I'm challenged on a daily basis to establish my own cultural identity amidst the intercultural melting pot of the U.S.A.
I agree that everyone has a lens, even Anthony and I (constantly moving around the world since birth), and that it is ever-changing based on one's experiences. There is a specific experience that comes to mind for me. I was about ten years old, in the U.S., and I had two friends sleeping over. For some reason our conversation led up to whether or not homosexuality or bisexuality is appropriate. Both my friends, who have now changed their views, kept yelling at me about how it was Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve. My Mom heard us arguing, came in, and told them that I was right and heteros, homos (not in the derogatory sense), and bis are all equal when it comes to morals, rights, etc. That was probably the first time I realized that I saw the world differently than my friends because of our different cultural lenses, at that age, formed and shaped by the values our parents held.
I come from a full Italian family, 3rd generation, in the US and for most of my life I proudly took the “Italian” label without ever knowing the Italian culture outside of my own family. Finishing high school, I built curiosity to my roots and had the privilege to live in the country where my ancestors grew up. Growing up in the bay area of California, I have constantly been exposed to diversities, using my cultural goggles on a regular basis, but this cultural immersion surfaced much realization. Naturally I gained an appreciation of my family’s history being there, but I didn’t expect to gain an appreciation of my home in California. Amongst the pleasures of Europe, I felt much of the still existing segregation of gender roles rooted from old traditions. These assumptions of women being weak and expected to cook, clean, and tend to the family was difficult to witness being close with women and girls there my age who have mothers expecting them to be housewives. This cultural lens gave me an appreciation for the diverse, accepting culture I had the privilege to grow up around… having successful, independent women to constantly look up to and support me.
I grew up around Washington, DC, in a small hippy suburb clinging to the dividing line of Maryland and the district. I was raised both as a city girl and identifying with North East Culture because of my parent’s northern roots. I had never been below upper VA until I was 21. Then I moved to NC for a year, and suddenly started hearing and seeing subtle things that I just had never been exposed to, like such enthusiastic and assumed Christianity- or blatant and accepted racism. Most of the instances were so small that I cant even come up with solid examples, they were just words or phrases dropped here and there. Sometimes I saw my cultural lens and consciously shifted it. Other times the experience was not as enlightening and came in the form of shock that other people didn’t share parts of my philosophy that I took, and still take to be morally just and correct- and which had been socially assumed by most people I respected. People are raised with certain assumptions about what makes a person good, my year in NC made me realize that those criteria are not absolutes. I was surprised to find wonderful people living in McMansion houses, driving jet skiis and drinking budlight, going to church every Sunday and being completely against gay marriage. Im not sure if this is attacking a cultural lense or simply personal prejudices. I don’t really think theres a difference. A lense is a lense whether cultural, regional or personal.
One experience that comes to mind is my experience in Iraq. I went over there thinking that everyone was miserable. After interacting with the local communities I came to realize that they are for the most part very content with their simple way of life. The only thing that these families want is education for their kids so they have a better future. This experience has caused me to be more open-minded when interacting with different people groups and not go into these experiences with preconceived viewpoints.
I don't know if people have heard of Friendly's Restaurant before (it's an East coast thing), but it is not exactly a fancy establishment. It's pretty similar to a Denny's. One summer, when I was 17 years old, I got a serving job at Friendly's; I was not only taken aback by lower-class America, but I was also surprised by my own cultural lens. I grew up in a small town on the coast of Maine. Both of my parents went to college, all of my friends parents went to college, and most of my friends had similar aspirations. At Friendly's, I was one of few servers who wasn't pregnant or already had a baby. None of the women had gone to college, and they ranged from 17 to 30 years old. I became aware of my cultural lens pretty quickly. Of course, not all of my friends leading up to that point were of the middle to upper class, but never had my entire cultural setting been lower-class. A lot of things shifted for me that summer: the way that I personally thought about money, the way I viewed American society,the way I viewed people with lower incomes and less education, and the way I interacted with people in my new setting. I'm not sure that my coworkers ever knew that my parents were still supporting me--to forget about my cultural upbringing every morning I went into Friendly's helped me recognize my own culture in an objective way, and appreciate a new one in another light.
I’m having the same problem Adair is with separating my personal prejudice from my cultural lens. Is there a difference? And if there is does it matter? An example I came up with is a perception I created in my mind of a perceived difference between myself and some other girls I know. When I was about 13 I worked full time at a stable in exchange for riding lessons and board for my horse. There were other girls who boarded horses at the same facility that had money from their parents so they didn’t have to work, and would only come to the stable to ride their horse. I resented these girls for their perceived higher statues then myself. I spent an enormous amount of time cleaning out stalls and they didn’t, they were always clean and well dressed and I lived in rubber boots. In my mind the amount of money someone had went hand in hand with their social status. But social statues is all relative, I’m now the one who is boarding horses with other people, not to mention traveling to Kenya, that is a very privileged position from my perspective. Your personal upbringing really defines how you perceive the world, so does experience, or lake of experience. My mother admitted to me the other day that she has a fear of black men, she grow up in the south in the 60s. This was a surprise to me, it is such a typical stereotype that she bought into. She has this fear from watching TV and listening to her friends, not from personal experience. It is so easy to make assumptions about something that is unknown to you, the farther you are from it, the more your imagination takes over.
9 comments:
Are we not ALWAYS looking through a lens? Is it possible to understand culture without viewing it a certain way? I guess my answer to the question would be that yes, I am constantly having these experiences (I am just not constantly aware of the lens I am viewing through).
It is my belief that we all have very strongly tinted lenses that are biased to the beliefs and ethics that we grew up around. These tinted lenses may be so strong that sometimes we have a hard time grasping the concept the there IS another way of seeing.
I try hard to be open minded and see/understand things in many different ways but the truth is I am very stubborn. Sometimes I make assumptions, and even judgments about other ways of seeing/understanding.
A strong worldview based on ethics tells me what I believe to be "right" or "wrong", sensical or irrational, moderate or excessive. This shapes my cultural lens.
It feels like I have gone one without really answering the question, but I think what I needed more was to really work on defining cultural lens. So this was my attempt at that, I think?
Taylor I completely agree with you on this as I too am trying to further define cultural lens. As I commented earlier Im still a bit confused on the difference between dominate culture hegemony, ignorance, and cultural lens. I think they all relate in ways but are also really different...it is here where the lines become a bit blurry. I think that since I am a person who learns so much from experience that is what I base most of my beliefs on regardless of what they are and where my cultural lens is formed. For example my perception of love is based on what people have told me about love and how i have experienced it through my personal relationships....When thinking about times when I realized my cultural lens I think of times when i have had stereotypes come into my mind that I have to consciously push aside. Like walking alone at night and seeing a man or seeing a homeless person ask for money, my brain automatically goes to what the media and my culture tell me, "the man is going to hurt you, the homeless person is going to use your money for drugs" but i know these things are not true and I have to tell myself to push these first initial thoughts out....im going to keep thinking on this and post again later.
Surely I experience the world around me through my cultural lens on a daily basis. A clear example is when I pass by the corner of Lincoln and Grove across from school and witness a few dozen Latino day laborers waiting for work. Most of the time I feel sorry that they haven't found consistent work to support them and their families. I think about how extremely privileged I am to be going to school and how I wish I had better ways of helping them support themselves besides hiring them for the day. If I hadn't worked with day laborers before, didn't speak Spanish, and was opposed to their potentially illegal citizen status, I might not have the same cultural understanding or lens. In this way I concur with Sarah as well, that experience shapes cultural lenses.
Another important aspect of cultural lens is how one defines culture. The Oxford American Dictionary defines culture as follows: "the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group". So does the U.S.A really have a collective culture? U.S. citizens are largely mixed ethnically, and potentially identify with different cultures within their own families. This suggests that customs differ within U.S. families regardless of whether everyone participates in similar social institutions.
So in terms of defining my own culture and therefore my own cultural lens, I must accept that my own culture is specific to my upbringing in specific regions in specific time periods. This is not to say that I'm not affected by cultural norms in my society, but rather I'm challenged on a daily basis to establish my own cultural identity amidst the intercultural melting pot of the U.S.A.
I agree that everyone has a lens, even Anthony and I (constantly moving around the world since birth), and that it is ever-changing based on one's experiences. There is a specific experience that comes to mind for me. I was about ten years old, in the U.S., and I had two friends sleeping over. For some reason our conversation led up to whether or not homosexuality or bisexuality is appropriate. Both my friends, who have now changed their views, kept yelling at me about how it was Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve. My Mom heard us arguing, came in, and told them that I was right and heteros, homos (not in the derogatory sense), and bis are all equal when it comes to morals, rights, etc. That was probably the first time I realized that I saw the world differently than my friends because of our different cultural lenses, at that age, formed and shaped by the values our parents held.
I come from a full Italian family, 3rd generation, in the US and for most of my life I proudly took the “Italian” label without ever knowing the Italian culture outside of my own family. Finishing high school, I built curiosity to my roots and had the privilege to live in the country where my ancestors grew up. Growing up in the bay area of California, I have constantly been exposed to diversities, using my cultural goggles on a regular basis, but this cultural immersion surfaced much realization. Naturally I gained an appreciation of my family’s history being there, but I didn’t expect to gain an appreciation of my home in California. Amongst the pleasures of Europe, I felt much of the still existing segregation of gender roles rooted from old traditions. These assumptions of women being weak and expected to cook, clean, and tend to the family was difficult to witness being close with women and girls there my age who have mothers expecting them to be housewives. This cultural lens gave me an appreciation for the diverse, accepting culture I had the privilege to grow up around… having successful, independent women to constantly look up to and support me.
I grew up around Washington, DC, in a small hippy suburb clinging to the dividing line of Maryland and the district. I was raised both as a city girl and identifying with North East Culture because of my parent’s northern roots. I had never been below upper VA until I was 21. Then I moved to NC for a year, and suddenly started hearing and seeing subtle things that I just had never been exposed to, like such enthusiastic and assumed Christianity- or blatant and accepted racism. Most of the instances were so small that I cant even come up with solid examples, they were just words or phrases dropped here and there. Sometimes I saw my cultural lens and consciously shifted it. Other times the experience was not as enlightening and came in the form of shock that other people didn’t share parts of my philosophy that I took, and still take to be morally just and correct- and which had been socially assumed by most people I respected. People are raised with certain assumptions about what makes a person good, my year in NC made me realize that those criteria are not absolutes. I was surprised to find wonderful people living in McMansion houses, driving jet skiis and drinking budlight, going to church every Sunday and being completely against gay marriage. Im not sure if this is attacking a cultural lense or simply personal prejudices. I don’t really think theres a difference. A lense is a lense whether cultural, regional or personal.
One experience that comes to mind is my experience in Iraq. I went over there thinking that everyone was miserable. After interacting with the local communities I came to realize that they are for the most part very content with their simple way of life. The only thing that these families want is education for their kids so they have a better future. This experience has caused me to be more open-minded when interacting with different people groups and not go into these experiences with preconceived viewpoints.
I don't know if people have heard of Friendly's Restaurant before (it's an East coast thing), but it is not exactly a fancy establishment. It's pretty similar to a Denny's.
One summer, when I was 17 years old, I got a serving job at Friendly's; I was not only taken aback by lower-class America, but I was also surprised by my own cultural lens.
I grew up in a small town on the coast of Maine. Both of my parents went to college, all of my friends parents went to college, and most of my friends had similar aspirations. At Friendly's, I was one of few servers who wasn't pregnant or already had a baby. None of the women had gone to college, and they ranged from 17 to 30 years old. I became aware of my cultural lens pretty quickly.
Of course, not all of my friends leading up to that point were of the middle to upper class, but never had my entire cultural setting been lower-class. A lot of things shifted for me that summer: the way that I personally thought about money, the way I viewed American society,the way I viewed people with lower incomes and less education, and the way I interacted with people in my new setting.
I'm not sure that my coworkers ever knew that my parents were still supporting me--to forget about my cultural upbringing every morning I went into Friendly's helped me recognize my own culture in an objective way, and appreciate a new one in another light.
I’m having the same problem Adair is with separating my personal prejudice from my cultural lens. Is there a difference? And if there is does it matter?
An example I came up with is a perception I created in my mind of a perceived difference between myself and some other girls I know. When I was about 13 I worked full time at a stable in exchange for riding lessons and board for my horse. There were other girls who boarded horses at the same facility that had money from their parents so they didn’t have to work, and would only come to the stable to ride their horse. I resented these girls for their perceived higher statues then myself. I spent an enormous amount of time cleaning out stalls and they didn’t, they were always clean and well dressed and I lived in rubber boots. In my mind the amount of money someone had went hand in hand with their social status. But social statues is all relative, I’m now the one who is boarding horses with other people, not to mention traveling to Kenya, that is a very privileged position from my perspective.
Your personal upbringing really defines how you perceive the world, so does experience, or lake of experience. My mother admitted to me the other day that she has a fear of black men, she grow up in the south in the 60s. This was a surprise to me, it is such a typical stereotype that she bought into. She has this fear from watching TV and listening to her friends, not from personal experience. It is so easy to make assumptions about something that is unknown to you, the farther you are from it, the more your imagination takes over.
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