Audrey Beedle
COMM 211 – Reflection 2
Chapter
5 is all about the idea of identity, and how it affects intercultural
communication. I found this chapter very
interesting because someone’s identity is all based on your own perspective.
You can either have a lot of control, or almost none at all regarding your own
identity, as in how you identify yourself and how others identify you. I find this especially interesting because it
really puts things into perspective and helps one to realize that it is nearly impossible
for one person to fully understand the identity of another, which in turn
affects them in nearly every aspect of their life. No one will every fully be able to understand
why or how I am the way that I am, and simply being aware of this notion can
help us immensely in communicating with others.
One
form of identity that has always fascinated me is gender identity. Gender identity is defined as the
identification with the cultural notions of masculinity and femininity and what
it means to be a man or a woman. This is
not to be confused with biological sex, as gender is a socially constructed
idea. Gender identity has changed over
the years, for example the book mentions that the ideal body type of a man and
a woman has changed over time and is different from culture to culture. The fact that gender is thought of so
differently among cultures only further proves that it is socially constructed
and that there is no universal standard for what is accepted and what is
not. Similarly, sexual identity varies
from culture to culture as well. Some
countries shun homosexuals while others put them on a pedestal. I think the most important thing to take from
these varying standards of gender and sexual identity is that although
different cultures view them in different ways, it is important to be aware of
those standards and to prevent any forms of violence or discrimination against
any certain group of people. I wanted to
write about this because I think many people forget that gender/sexuality is
also part of someone’s culture, and it can cause issues with communication and
understanding someone who is different from you. Although we may not commonly think of this
things as part of our culture, it is important to be aware of them and how to
communicate effectively.
Questions:
1. Why
does the U.S. census not include a third option for gender and how does this
create a problem? Why is this important?
2. How
does gender identity affect your everyday life?
3. What
do you think would be different about gender identity if people were raised in a
completely gender-neutral world?
4. How
does gender identity relate to sexual identity?
Great! As you rightly put it, effective communicators are aware of identity differences. I agree such awareness helps you stay away from hatred, discrimination and violence.
ReplyDeleteNice visual and really good questions. Your question about a third gender option is the U.S census is big one.