Nonverbal communication and culture. Identity, stereotypes and prejudices, страница 17

Age Identity. As we age, we also play into cultural notions of how someone our age should act, look, and behave. This phenomenon is age identity. As we grow older, we sometimes look at clothes in shops and feel that we are either too old or too young for that “look.” These feelings stem from an understanding of what age means and how we identify with that age.

Some people feel old at 30; others still feel young at 40. There is nothing inherent in age that tells you that you are young or old. Our notions of age and youth are all based on cultural conventions. These same cultural conventions also suggest that it is inappropriate to engage in a romantic relationship with someone who is too old or too young.

Our notions of age often change as we grow older ourselves. When we are quite young, someone in college seems old. When we are study at the university, we often do not feel old. Yet, the relative nature of age is only one part of the identity process. Social constructions of age are also part of the process. Different generations often have different philosophies, values, and ways of speaking. For example, slang ways of speaking create in-groups among generations. Although not all people in any generation are alike, the attempt to find trends across generations reflects our interest in understanding age identity.

Racial and Ethnic Identities

        Racial Identity is largely a modern phenomenon. Most scientists have abandoned a strict biological basis for classifying racial groups. They prefer a social science approach to understanding race. They recognize that racial categories like White and Black are constructed in social and historical contexts.

Thus, racial categories are based to some extent on physical characteristics, but they are also constructed in fluid social contexts. It probably makes more sense to talk about racial formation than racial categories. This term considers race as a complex of social meanings rather than as fixed and objective. How people construct these meanings and think about race influences the ways in which they communicate with others.

Ethnic Identity may be seen as a set of ideas about one's own ethnic group membership. It typically includes several dimensions: self-identification, knowledge about the ethnic culture (traditions, customs, values, and behaviors), and feelings about belonging to a particular ethnic group. Ethnic identity often involves a shared sense of origin and history.

Ethnic identity means having a sense of belonging to a particular group and knowing something about the shared experience of the group.

It is interesting to think about what an American means and whether there is just one meaning or many different meanings. A similar interested presented the notion Soviet and all the non-Russians calling themselves (or called by others) Russians. Another issue of ethnic identity is a very common case of those born in mixed ethnic families.

Racial Versus Ethnic Identity. Scholars dispute whether racial and ethnic identity are similar or different. Some scholars emphasize ethnic identity to avoid any racism inherent in a race-centered approach. Others reject this interpretation (Spindler & Spindler). On the one hand, discussions about ethnicity tend to assume a “melting pot” perspective on U.S. society. On the other hand, discussions about race as shaped by U.S. history allow for racism. If we never talk about race but only ethnicity, can we consider the effects and influences of racism?

Our sense of racial or ethnic identity develops over time, in stages, and through communication with others. The stages of development seem to reflect phases in the development of understanding who we are. They also depend to some extent on the type of group to which people belong. Many ethnic or racial groups experience the common forces of oppression. As a result, they may generate attitudes and behaviors consistent with a natural internal struggle to develop a strong sense of group and self-identity in response to this oppression. For many groups, these strong identities have been successful in ensuring the survival of the cultural group.