Cultural closure
by Sohail Moughal
02 April 2009
Culture in a social perspective
can be defined as a "set" of shared ideas, attitudes, values, and
practices, characterizing a group of people. Its a non-genetic phenomena and
can be called as an outcome of psychic unity of humans. Diverse ways are formed
which might be influenced by the religions, climates, terrains, and a mixture
or vicinity of other nearby cultures or religions. All cultures keep evolving
where as some may or claim to have core values that are not to be compromised.
A culture is not static and is continuously developed with the totality of experiences
and through collective or social learning and provides a sense of coherent identity
to its followers. Every aspect of a culture goes through a process before it
becomes an acceptable pattern in a social group. Sometimes situations arise
where a culture does not provide enough guidance or anecdotal reference and
a single individual develops a solution and starts a new pattern. A new idea
or a behavior is either invented out of necessity, or due to an influence from
other cultures or even as a desire to discard a behavior for any reasons or
no reasons. Older and younger people in a group see their cultures differently
and most times conflictingly. Older people try to stick to their cultures where
as younger ones try to deviate and explore new behaviors. Some times younger
people see the culture as a vehicle devised by older people to restrict individuality,
development and freedom. It has been said again and again in the near and distinct
past, that the mankind is going through a period of cultural change, cultural
amalgamation, globalization, and accelerated transformation. Advancements in
technology, population explosion, immigration, international commerce, mass
media, control of ones own life, and quest for better standards of living could
form the reasons for conflicts or resistance to change within cultures. Change
happens in cultures with the passage of generations as the resistance becomes
weaker and weaker or the patterns do not travel into the next generation.
Closure is a conclusion or a solution to an event or to a disturbing or traumatic
issue in ones life. Need for closure creates a distinct solution as opposed
to a prolonging ambiguity. Culture imposes many limitations and restrictions
on individuals. Individuals are often caught in an ambiguous state where a desire
to alter a pattern or behavior of the culture becomes a traumatic experience.
Knowing different cultures or interaction with individuals of other culture
often creates even a bigger dilemma when the basic morals and values are totally
conflicting. Individuals become hostage to their cultural patterns. The inability
to change and continuous desire to change creates a guilt that increases the
trauma and often causes suffering, lack of interest in everyday issues, inconsideration,
and depression. First a balanced closure is sought that does not conflict much
with the core cultural values. Sometimes a balance is not possible and an even
greater complexity results. This results in search of a drastically abrupt closure,
which sometimes results in closed minds and an irrational result. An outcast
is formed.
Cultures also create different values for genders. Mostly males get lenient
limitations or restrictions than females as cultures use different sieves to
analyze similar actions done by males and females. Its not the same in all cultures
though. The discrimination could also be due to the fact that males and females
have different priorities. According to a research, males placed a higher value
priority on a comfortable life, an exciting life, hedonism, stimulation, pleasure,
social recognition, obedience, politeness, and self-control. Females placed
a higher priority on a world at peace, equality, inner harmony, self-respect,
broad-mindedness, independence, self direction and being loving. A philosopher
Simone de Beauvoir once said: “One is not born a woman, one becomes one.
Which can also be interpreted as that women and men adopt the roles, values
and priorities when they see things happening in a certian way around them as
they grow up. this could also become more interesting when we know that an individual
can be a male or a female and a male can be a masculine or a feminine and a
female can be a masculine or a femine too. We all have roles to go by, sometimes
we choose them, sometimes we are forced to choose them. and thus, with all the
well known priorities of men and women, the cultures establishes roles, a set
or perceived behavioral norms, for males or females, and then the culture expects
the males and females to abide by those preceived norms. There have been movements
in the past where certian genders have considered roles assigned to them as
discriminatory, becasue there were lesser montary gains, lesser opportunities
to become famous, and lesser freedom to make decisions. The roles have changed
from what they were a few decades ago, and are still changing, sometimes due
to events in the history and some times due to revolutions. World war II made
women take up jobs which were considered male jobs only. Not to mention that
it has not really helped women, as most of these jobs were considered males
only becasue they required longer hours, necessitated long periods of exposure
to the elements, are were considered higher risk and required a fair amount
of physical strength. So women who liked to live a pampered life, never chose
to do such jobs and others who had no option of having a pampered life had no
other choice but to take on those jobs.