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FAMILIES AND MEN IN CHINA

1. FAMILIES AND MEN IN CHINA 2. Married Life in China 3. Married Life, Parents and Family in China 4. Confucianism and Families 5. Extended Families and Smaller Families in China 6. New Family Structures in China 7. Chinese Family Customs 8. Genealogies in China 9. Chinese Men 10. Pulled Up Shirts and Exposed Bellies in China 11. Mens Cosmetics Take off in China 12. Mens Bags in China 13. History of Male Handbags in China 14. Chinese Men with Designer Purses 15. Male Designer Handbag Market

FAMILIES AND MEN IN CHINA

The family is arguably the most important social institution in China and blood ties have traditionally been the cornerstone of society. In accordance with Confucian customs many families keep careful genealogical records on bloodlines, achievements, even graveyards.

Traditionally, sons and their wives lived with the sons parents until the parents died at which time the sons divided the household and property. In some cases the older son inherited a larger share than the others and often got the house. Married daughters were usually left out of the equation (they were taken care of by their husband and his family) unless they were unmarried or the family had no sons. Parents have traditionally ruled with absolute authority. The idea that children are independent entities worthy of respect in. their own right is a relatively new concept in China. One child families have given children more power. Whereas once several generations shared the same dwelling, more than half of all Chinese over the age of 60 now live separately from their adult children, according to a November 2010 by Chinas National Committee on Aging, an advisory group to the State Council. That percentage shoots up to 70 percent in some major cities, the report said. At the same time, younger generations are moving away from their parents and quickly developing different values, Ninie Wang, international director of the Gerontological Society of China, a Beijingbased nonprofit research group, told the New York Times, Filial piety is a myth. [Source: Sharon Lafraniere, New York Times, January 29, 2011] Traditionally, fathers ruled the roost and sons resented their father because of the their absolute authority but were bound to follow their fathers' authority due to Confucian filial obligations. By the same token sons and mothers were often very close, with mothers often competing with wives for the love of the son-husband. The relationship between mothers and daughter-in-laws has traditionally been very stormy, especially when they lived in the same household. In the Mao era, families were sometimes broken apart and genealogical records, which were looked on as feudal, were destroyed. Family life was put under stress in the Cultural Revolution when children were encouraged to snitch on their parents or even disown them, especially if they came from the landlord classes and had bad roots, and parents and children were separated and sent to the countryside. Modernization has resulted in a slight breakdown of the extended family structure and replaced it with a more Western-style nuclear family. Inheritance is usually passed on from father to son. Good Websites and Sources: Chinese Family Basics mandarintools.com ; Family Titles kwanfamily.info ; Family and Lineage weber.ucsd.edu ; Family Issues asianinfo.org ; strong> Links in this Website: WOMEN IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ; CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China

Married Life in China

In a survey by Pew Research Center in the late 2000s, 67 percent of those asked said they were satisfied with their family life. A 1997 survey by the Leo Burnett ad agency found that 36 percent of Chinese agreed that a loving relationship was important (compared to 69 percent of Americans). During the Cultural Revolution many people married for political reasons. Intellectuals were forced to marry peasants. Many married people from safe political classes for political selfprotection or married peers at their posts in the countryside or married city dwellers so could leave the countryside. "During the Cultural Revolution," a Beijing reporter married in 1975 told the Washington Post, "marriage wasn't like it is today. It wasn't about feelings. It was about loneliness and survival." As part of the effort to reduce Chinas population the government has been encouraging couples to marry later and have fewer children. University students are required to wait until they graduate to get married. In the cities, couples that get married when they are in their early twenties are sometimes denied housing and jobs. In a popular 1940s book The Fortress Besieged, Qian Zhongshu wrote, "Marriage is a fortress besieged. Outsiders want to get in. Insiders want to escape." On married life one elderly Chinese man told the New York Times, Try to be nice to each other is easy before marriage. It is difficult after marriage and all life. In China, we say that a couple must respect to each other like noble guests. An old man from Shanghai, who had a more positive view about his marriage told Theroux, "About a year after I was born my parents decided I was to marry a certain girl from the village. When I was twenty-three I finally married her. She was the most wonderful wife a man could havethe best cook. She made noodles. She made fishballs. She made the best dumplings. I can still taste those delicious dumplings." The mans wife had died and he remembered her by carrying his only photograph of herresting in a satin coffin.

Married Life, Parents and Family in China

Living conditions after marriage often depend on income levels and availability of housing. Many couples move in with one of their parents because housing is in short supply. In rural China, newlywed couples traditionally moved into the husband's parents house, which was often already filled with relatives, and stayed there for some time. Changes in the marriage laws made by the Communist Party after it took power gave newlywed couple more freedom from their parents by allowing them to set up their own households and not be required to move in with the groom's parents. One young newlywed woman who recently moved out of her husband's parents house told Newsweek, "I like living in my own place, alone with my husband. No one can order me to do this or that or tell me when to clean or not to clean. We can have our own rules." Many urban people getting married come from single-child families. Many have a single child themselves and let their grandparents raise it so they can enjoy nights out at bars and restaurants with being burdened by responsibilities.

Confucianism and Families

Under Confucianism, the oldest male and the father are regarded as the unchallengeable authorities. They set rules, and the "duty and virtue" of everyone else is to follow them. The oldest male and father, in turn, are supposed to reciprocate this reverence by supporting and looking out for the best interest of the people subordinate to them. Love and respect are principals that are practiced in the context of the family. Confucians do not ascribe to the idea of loving all people equally. Confucius promoted the concept that it was important to worship one's parents while they are still living and old people should be venerated because even though they are weak physically they at the peak of their knowledge and wisdom. This sentiment is best expressed during the "elders first" rite, the central ritual of the Chinese New Year, in which family members kneel and bow on the ground to everyone older than them: first grandparents, then parents, siblings and relatives, even elderly neighbors. In the old days a son was expected to honor his deceased father by occupying a hut by his grave and abstaining from meat, wine and sex for 25 months. Filial piety is regarded as the most important Confucian duty. Confucian filial piety encourages the younger generation to follow the teachings of elders and for elders to teach the young their duties and manners. Both children and adults are taught to honor their parents no matter what age they are and obey their commands and not do anything that would bring suffering or pain to them. Some young Chinese today scoff at the tradition. A man forced by his mother to follow his father and six generations of ancestors to be a Peking Opera actor against his will told the Los Angeles Times, A young man should be able to follow his heart, instead of being burdened by Chinese perceptions and family loyalty. Sons have traditionally been taught to give whatever money they make to their parents. To do otherwise would incur a loss of face. This unquestioning acquiescence was expected to be maintained regardless of how their parents responded. "In early times," one Chinese man told

National Geographic, "even if your parents were not nice to you, you were still responsible to them in their old age." Sometimes family comes before conventional morality. In The Analects, after being told about a man who bore witness against his father for stealing sheep, Confucius said: The honest men of my country are different from this. The father covers up for his son, the son covers up for his father...and there is honesty in that too. One Chinese woman who worked in marketing told The New Yorker, In both the U.S. and China, people say that the family is the No. 1 priority. But in the U.S. they really mean it. In China, everything is about career and getting ahead.

Extended Families and Smaller Families in China

A traditional family was headed by an elderly patriarch with children continuing to live with their parents after they were married. It was not unusual for three generations to live under the same roof and for all the generations to act as a single unit with grandparents, uncles, aunts, other children and cousins often being involved in child rearing as much as the parents. Extended families still live together in rural areas. A typical family of nine in rural southern China is made up of two aging parents in their fifties, their two sons and their two son's families (two wives and three children). The adults in the family work an average of 30 hours a week in the family fish breeding business. Sometimes five generations live in a single houses and a whole village belongs to the same family. One Shanghai family with 115 members applied for inclusion to the Guinness Book of Records. These days most urban households contain parents, usually one child, and sometimes a grandparent. Large families are relatively uncommon because of the one-child laws and lack of space. The housing shortage is so severe in Shanghai couples postpone their marriages because they can't afford a place of their own and girls dump boyfriends if they don't have access to an apartment.

The one-child policy has created what some people call 4-2-1 familiesor families with one child doted on by two parents and four grandparents.

New Family Structures in China

Nicholas Eberstad wrote in Far Eastern Economic Review, The most far-reaching implications of the many demographic changes inadvertently promoted by the One Child Policy, however, may not concern those who cannot find a spouse. Instead, they may entail a revolution in family structure for those who do manage to marry and have children. With the advent of steep sub-replacement fertility rates, single-child families are increasingly common, a trend which may portend the demise of the extended family network and the rise of a peculiar new pattern: only children begotten by only children. In such families, children will have no siblings, uncles, aunts or cousins. Their only blood relatives will be ancestors and descendants. [Source: Nicholas Eberstad, Far Eastern Economic Review, December 2009] Research by Professor Guo Zhigang of Peking University and his colleagues suggests how far China has already moved toward this new family type. By their estimates, as of the year 2011, nearly a quarter of China's urban adults between the ages of 25 and 49 will be only children. By 2020, this figure would rise to 42 percent, and by 2030, they would constitute the clear majority at 58 percent. [Ibid] The emergence of what we might term the kin-less family is expected to pose extraordinary challenges. After all, Chinese culture is predicated on the existence of robust and extensive family bonds. Yet the inherent problems in this impending revolution are not solely metaphysical; the atrophy of the traditional Chinese family structure will also complicate the Chinese way of doing business. [Ibid] In the past, China was what Professor Francis Fukuyama of Johns Hopkins-SAIS has termed a low-trust society. It remains one today. To overcome this lack of confidence in laws and official institutions, Chinese entrepreneurs and economic agents have relied upon informal relationships (guanxi) to get things done. These informal networks have served to lower both risk and transaction costs for the parties associated with them. They have, in fact, been an integral and often unacknowledged ingredient in China's economic success over the past three decades. Yet with the advent of the kin-less family, many rising, young economic and political actors will no longer be able to count on blood ties in their quest to conduct secure transactions. [Ibid]

Chinese Family Customs

In a traditional family, the father is dominant, the mother is home-centered and devoted to raising her children, and grandparents, aunts and uncles play an important role in a youngster's life. A husband's first duty has traditionally been to his parents and a wife's duty has been to her parents-in-law.

The wife has traditionally been regarded as the master of the house and overseers of the family finances. Men traditionally were supposed to turnover whatever they made to their wives who made decisions about how the money was spent. The oldest son has traditionally been responsible for taking care of his parents in their old age, overseeing all family matters, providing a gathering place for family get-togethers, making funeral arrangements when a parent dies, and tending the parent's tombs. He also has traditionally had the responsibilities of carrying on the family name and receiving the bulk of his parents property and inherited wealth. These customs are largely shared throughout Asia, which is one of the main reasons there is a preference for boys. Young wives get the rawest deal in China and other Asian cultures. They are ordered around by their father- and mother-in-laws, and the majority of family disputes involve arguments between wives and mothers-in-law. The relationship between daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law is so important that Chinese lead Deng Xiaoping once gave a major policy speech on the issue. There is hierarchy of families and clans and children as reflected in titles such as No.1, and No. 2 sons and daughters. In the old days society was held together by a patriarchal system in which the leadership of the family was passed down to the legal wife's oldest son. Chinese sometimes think generations in the future. There is a long tradition of the men going to the city to work, sending money back home, while their families remain behind in their hometowns. Many men are fine with the prospect of moving somewhere to earn more money and seeing their family once or twice a year. Increasingly mothers are also living this lifestyle and children are raised by grandparents (See Migrant Workers).

Genealogies in China
Almost every family in China, from the richest rich to the poorest poor, used to possess genealogy records. After taking over China, the Communists destroyed many of these records because of their purported links to backward feudal society. In recent years many Chinese have been attempting to rediscover their past by seeking out their genealogy history. Chinese genealogy records are clan biographies. They contain information on the origins of names, times of births, location of burial grounds, marriage records, claims to fame, and migration patterns. The oldest genealogy records were carved in turtle shells, animal bones and bronze. More recent versions were written on paper made from grass or bamboo. In the past they were locked away and accessible only to clan elders.

Chinese Men

Men in the 19th century having a meal Chinese men have a reputation for womanizing and drinking too much. They often treat women very rudely, often ordering them around, entering a room first, and rarely helping out around the house. Men often smoke and drink heavily because of the guanxi routine. Huang Minjie, a 24-year-old woman from a well-to-do family in southern China who was educated overseas, told the Strait Times: "Many Chinese men tend to smoke in public places, talk very loudly, and often jump the queue. Even those who receive university education or well-dressed people behave like that,' she said. 'I prefer some Europeans who are well mannered and chivalrous." [Source: Jason Ou, Straits Times, November 15, 2011] Chinese men are not known for being well-dressed or suave. Describing one guy he knew, Peter Hessler wrote in The New Yorker, Yuan wore a white tank top, khaki shorts, leather loafers, and black socks pulled up to his kneecaps. He carried a money bag in one hand and a dirty white towel in the other. He puffed in the heat; he used the towel to mop sweat off his neck. Men are regarded as the head of the household, the major decision-maker and major breadwinner. Their status and the standing of their family is determined by their success at the roles mentioned above. Village men have traditionally done the heavy chores such as plowing the fields, clearing the land, planting and harvesting, building homes, hunting, fishing, setting traps, cutting down trees. and doing work that requires the most strength while the women tended crops. Until recently most Chinese males were hard and thin. Now many urban dwellers have boss bellies. Since the work of the village men is often concentrated into a few weeks they have a lot of free time, which is sometimes spent hanging around, gambling, making deals or seeking work outside the village Often, while women work the men spend much of the time in the tea houses chatting and playing card games and mah jong, or sitting around the radio or television tuned into soccer matches or the news. Many tea houses and even restaurants are male-only establishments. See Family Above.

Pulled Up Shirts and Exposed Bellies in China

On hot summer days in Beijing and other places, it is a common sight to see men running around without shirts or with their shirts rolled up under their armpits exposing their bellies. They hang around, play cards, drink tea, stroll on the sidewalks without their shirts, exposing their less than ideal bodies. Flabby tummies and spares tires are the norm, not rippling abs. They also like to pull up their trousers past their belly button, with the legs rolled up. One Chinese academic told the Los Angeles Times, Foreigners who visit always ask why are there so many half-naked men in Beijing." Chinese men expose their bellies to the air as a means of cooling themselves. Some also hike up their pants legs. Even though men from a wide range of ages engage in the custom those that do it are smirkingly known as bang ye (exposing grandfathers). One man spotted with his flabby tummy exposed told the Los Angeles Times, I dont know, it just feels cooler. Look, you just shake your shirt to create breeze. [Source:John Glionna, Los Angeles Times, August 2010] Many younger, more sophisticated Chinese dont like th custom. A man who works at department store in told the Los Angeles Times, It lowers Beijings standing as an international city. If my dad reaches for his shirt when Im out with him, I threaten to go home. Its just so embarrassing. The habit is actually a sort of compromise to the custom of men going totally shirtless. A Chinese medicine doctor told the Los Angeles Times, People chose to expose their belly because they feel so hot in summer but feel embarrassed to take off their shirts completely. Authorities began to crack down on the no-shirt habit during the pre-Olympic run up. During that campaign the Beijing Truth Daily ran pictures of men who went around shirtless, often with less than attractive upper bodies, in an effort to shame them into dressing respectfully.

Mens Cosmetics Take off in China

Pascale Trouillaud of AFP wrote: More and more Chinese men are looking to the power of skin creams and anti-age serums to help them get ahead professionally, sparking a booming new market that has major cosmetics firms salivating. Chinese men have fewer hang-ups than Western men about using skin care products and keen customers, especially in urban areas, are even snapping up pots of foundation, toners and whitening creams traditionally bought by women. [Source:Pascale Trouillaud, AFP, March 4, 2011] Industry giants such as Frances LOreal and German group Beiersdorf, which makes the Nivea line, are spending big on ads and distribution in China to conquer the promising market and concocting new tailor-made products. Its a very dynamic market, Jackson Zhang, vice president of LOreal China, told AFP, saying that about 10 percent of Chinese men are already using skin care products specifically made for them. [Ibid]

The typical customer is an urban professional living not just in the capital Beijing or cosmopolitan Shanghai, but also in smaller cities nationwide. When Chinese mens income rises, in the beginning, they buy a good watch, then they move on to electronics then they move to clothes, buy famous brands and finally they move to personal care products, Zhang explained. Men believe that using skin care products can give them a better competitive edge for their jobs, or for girls. [Ibid] China will account for half of global growth in the mens skin care market in the 2009-2014 period, market intelligence firm Euromonitor said in a study released last November. During those five years, the Chinese market is projected to expand by 28.7 percent, as compared with growth of just 5.7 percent in North America and 7.9 percent in western Europe, Euromonitor said. [Ibid] In 2010, sales of mens skin care products soared 30 percent to $280 million in China ahead of North America, Euromonitor said, noting that the market had evolved in a few years to include more sophisticated product lines offering anti-ageing, exfoliating and energy-boosting properties. Our customers are mainly white-collar workers, entrepreneurs, people whose salaries are above average, Ouyang Jiale, the young manager of a mens beauty salon in Beijing, told AFP. As the Chinese say, the better the image you project, the more money you will earn! [Ibid] Attitudes have changed about these so-called city jade men the Chinese equivalent of metrosexuals who spend a great deal of time and money on their appearance, Trouillaud of AFP wrote. Business has been so good that the spa can no longer accommodate its client base. Ouyang said he will open another flagship salon in September as well as a third location.

Mens Bags in China

Many men carry purse-like handbags. Some regard them as symbols of their success and spend quite a bit of money on them. Gucci, Burberry, Louis Vuitton and other companies have introduced mens handbags aimed specifically for the Chinese market. For Dunhill, the English menswear company with 70 outlets in China, a bag selling for around $500 is its best-selling product in China. The owner of mans purse, a 25-year-old construction manager, told the International Herald Tribune: Its perfect when Im not carrying too much stuff. I have a lot of bags, but this one is the most convenient. You dont have to dig aroundjust open it up and everything is right there. A 31-year-old man said, Its comfortable. I can fit everything I need in here, and I know I wont lose things. Designed for men, many of these guy purses often known as shou bao in Mandarin would be right at home in the women's handbag section of an upscale department store, David Pierson

wrote in the Los Angeles Times. Popular styles include the oversize wallet with wraparound zippers like Zhang's and the embossed leather Coach handbag with the slinky shoulder strap and handles. Colors trend toward solid brown, black and gray. But some fashion-forward gents don't mind showing a little flash: Burberry plaid, Gucci's interlocking GG pattern or Louis Vuitton's distinct LV monogram. [Source: David Pierson, Los Angeles Times, February 07, 2011] For Chinese, it's a show of masculinity," said Zhang Lianhai, a 33-year-old marketing strategist gripping a plain, black leather Prada handbag outside a Gucci store in Beijing. "We need luxury brands. You won't be taken seriously if you look too casual." [Ibid] Not everything likes them, A Beijing-based fashion stylist told the International Herald Tribune, A bigger business bag is fine, but a smaller handbag looks like something women use. Frankly, I dont understand whey men carry that type of bag.

History of Male Handbags in China

How China's often gruff, male-dominated business culture developed a taste for purses owes a little to history, necessity and vanity. The country's economic awakening 30 years ago launched an entrepreneurial class bent on dressing for success. Mao tunics quickly gave way to Western suits, but Wall Street-style briefcases never really caught on. Enter the fat wallet problem. China is now the world's No. 2 economy, but it still runs largely on cash. The largest paper bill, the 100-yuan note, is worth only about $15. So even modest debts can require businesspeople to carry thick wads of cash that could choke a traditional billfold. The proliferation of smart phones and other electronic gadgets in recent years found men running out of pockets to put them in. In a nation where most people still use public transportation to get around, commuters need to keep their hands free to hang from a subway strap or bus pole. Super-size wallets, handled clutches and strapped bags turned out to be not only useful, but also a way to display rising affluence. Any common laborer can afford a cheap nylon satchel. Designer accessories that are expensive and streamlined, with European flair, are viewed here as the trappings of the successful Chinese alpha male. [Ibid] Such bags first appeared in China in the 1980s when government cadres used slim cases called "gongwen bao," or public document bags, to carry important papers. Hong Kong films in the 1980s and 90s featured similar bags, with men carrying them under their arm and holding them in their hand. Today they seem to be particularly popular in Beijing. The editor of Mens Uno, Chinas No. 1 mens fashion magazine, told the International Herald Tribune, the hand bag is a special look embraced by businessmen or government officials. Its the sign of a successful, traditional, stable man, someone to be taken seriously.

Chinese Men with Designer Purses

David Pierson wrote in the Los Angeles Times, Tiger Zhang browsed the sweaters at the Hugo Boss boutique at the upscale Oriental Plaza mall looking for fashionable additions to his wardrobe. The 41-year-old investor was dressed in the unofficial uniform of Chinese businessmen: dark blazer, crisp white shirt, designer slacks, silky tan socks, hand-tooled loafers and an expensive purse. Lest anyone think the $500 Dunhill clutch with dual bronze zippers belonged to his wife, he proudly explained how his business cards, cash and two cellphones fit neatly into its buttery leather interior. [Source: David Pierson, Los Angeles Times, February 07, 2011] "It's crucial for business," Zhang, who chose the chocolate-colored bag because he thought it was stylish without being flashy, told the Los Angeles Times. "It shows I have good taste." Zhangs bag wrote Pierson shows that the designer handbag, long a fashion staple for stylish women worldwide, has become a status symbol for upwardly mobile men in China. At business meetings and social events across China these days, many of the Prada, Louis Vuitton and Burberry bags are being toted by the fellows in the crowd. [Ibid] Wang Zhongzhu, a 42-year-old insurance executive, wouldn't dream of networking without his $1,000 leather Dunhill slung over his shoulder. He said the creamy brown minimessenger bag sends a message that he appreciates and can afford fine accessories. "It's a way of representing where you stand," Wang said. "It makes people think you could potentially work for a big company." [Ibid]

Male Designer Handbag Market

David Pierson wrote in the Los Angeles Times: Luxury leather goods makers can't believe their luck: Both sexes in the world's most populous country adore purses. Men represent 45 percent of the $1.2-billion market for all luxury handbags in China, according to Victor Luis, president of Coach Retail International. That figure is just 7 percent in the U.S. "China is a fantastic opportunity," Luis said. "There's a confidence and comfort in Chinese men utilizing bags in the same manner as women do."[Source: David Pierson, Los Angeles Times, February 07, 2011] Indeed, pricey handbags power purses, if you will are often wielded for maximum effect, said Paul French, a Shanghai-based author and chief representative of the market research group Access Asia. The retail analyst said he was struck by the way many first-generation Chinese entrepreneurs used these props, leaving them unzipped just enough to whip out a gold lighter or reveal a brick of 100-yuan notes. "They're a tribe like any other.... They needed to be able to recognize each other across the banquet table," French said. "They're the guys that built modern China." [Ibid]

These men are also boosting the fortunes of luxury retailers such as Hermes International... Companies are already retooling their marketing efforts to reflect the purchasing clout of Chinese men. In Louis Vuitton's new ad campaign, Taiwanese-Canadian model Godfrey Gao carries a slender checkered bag with its strap slung across his body. [Ibid] It's exactly the kind of bag Yang Jun aspires to own, Pierson wrote. The 20-year-old office clerk at a Beijing cosmetics manufacturer knows it could set him back more than $1,000. He'll have to save for months. But he said it would be money well spent. "As a man, you must have one of those bags," he said. "It will bring you status, dignity and boost your image." In the meantime, Yang makes do with a $45 knock-off Louis Vuitton. Despite its provenance, he said his superiors at work told him the strappy number was a handsome accessory. They should know: They all carry the real thing. "It gave me more confidence immediately," Yang said of his trusty bag. "But I have no doubt I will buy a real one sometime in the future." [Ibid] Image Sources: 1) Posters,Landsberger Posters http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/; 2) Family photos, Beifan.com http://www.beifan.com/; 3) 19th century men, Universty of Washington; Wiki Commons Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, Lonely Planet Guides, Comptons Encyclopedia and various books and other publications. Page Top 2008 Jeffrey Hays Last updated April 2012

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In big cities, direct eye contact is important when meeting and discussing with people. In smaller, more rural settings, it is still polite to lower ones head when speaking with an elder. It is generally a rule of politeness to follow the elders lead in greeting and conversation

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A community built guide to cross-cultural etiquette & understanding

The one thing we all do when heading out on an internati

pack different things depending on the climate, availabilit needs. But a suitcase full of socks and toothpaste isnt th

Whether or not we know it, most of us also tote around a baggage. Like any good suitcase, our cultural baggage co

hidden pocketsbut they are stuffed with things that are get you into trouble when crossing borders. What is Culture?

Before you start sorting through your cultural baggage we mean by culture. Culture can mean many things defined in a wide variety of ways. One of the simplest to think about culture is as the complete way of life of purposes of the Culture Crossing guide, we focus on a etiquette, communication, social and business interacti to fostering sensitivity, awareness and understanding i community. To read more about the kind of cultural in Culture Crossing guides, click here.
Whats In Your Cultural Baggage?

Our values, assumptions, biases, and communication s turn up in our cultural baggage. Neatly folded into one views of time. In the other corner, your expectations a zippered side pouch and you may find your sense of p with confrontation. And then there are the countless ge inevitably tumble out of your overstuffed bag when yo

Are You Culturally Aware of Yourself?

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When you are immersed in a foreign culture, lack of a traits can make you feel vulnerable, frustrated and fear from other cultures might leave you thinking; Thats How uptight! Although some of these reactionsor j individual personality, many of them are based on a se perceptions instilled in us by our respective cultures. B that comprise our own cultures can result is some serio few things to chew on as you begin to take stock of yo

How close do you usually stand from a friend business colleague? A stranger? How close i

How much eye contact is too much? Too littl How comfortable are you when a friend touc

your arm while talking with you? A colleague does it become too much?

When do you show up for a party: on time? 1 minutes early? How about a business meetin

Do you usually get directly to the point? Bea Somewhere in between? Why?

Whats more important, the group or the ind concerned with maintaining harmony with th

the best results for yourself? When showing someone where something is

one finger? The whole hand? How do you be inward? Outward? Whats the sign for mone

The way you answer these questions may be based on than) individual personality. Culture influences our be subconsciously guiding our actions, reactions and inte more self aware and discovering some of the origins o some of the key aspects of culture including: views of verbal and non-verbal communication styles. Note: no culture will fit neatly into these groupings and definiti truth in these generalizations.
ME or WE: How Do You See Yourself?

Around the world, people have differing views when i Some see themselves as individualists while others are cultures/countries lean toward one of these extremes, y find cultures in which people are exclusively one way
Individualist (Me) Traits:

Personal well being is more important than t Individual achievement is valued over group

Standing out from the group and being ackn Personal freedom and individual rights are p

Being a member of a group does not define w

Collectivist (We) Traits:

The well being of the group (company, famil

important than personal well being. The success of the group takes precedence o

Standing out from the group is looked down Group harmony, interdependence, and savin

Being a member of a group is essential to on survival.

ON THE CLOCK: Views Of Time

You probably never thought of time as something that way. It turns out that some cultures view time as linea cyclical.
Living by a linear clock means:

Time is limited and must be used carefully a Sticking to schedules, plans and meeting dea Punctuality takes precedence over personal

For those who live by a cyclical clock:

Time is unlimited; there is always more of it Deadlines, plans, and schedules are consider

Personal needs and relationships tend to tak punctuality.

SAY WHAT? Verbal Communications

Some cultures communicate directly, that is, they say beating around the bush). Other cultures take a more in communicating, requiring creative speaking and listen
Direct Communication

Say what you meanvery little need for read The idea of saving face is not of major conse

Silence in conversations is viewed as uncom

common. Indirect Communication

Imply what you mean. Reading into things is

communicating. Saving face and maintaining harmony is para

Silence in conversations is expected and app associated in a positive sense. Interruptions

WHATS NOT BEING SAID: Non-verbal Communicati

Non-verbal communication encompasses a wide varie this website we have chosen to focus on a few factors impact on interactions when crossing cultures.
Spatial Relations

How far or close you stand, sit, or walk with another p cultures. Personal space requirements can also vary wi on if you are interacting with family, members of the o colleagues. Generally speaking, there are some culture comfortable at less than an arms length away from on the gap if the other person feels to far away. In other c buffer zone of three to four feet between one another a the other person is too close.
Tactile Communication

How much touching goes on during conversation is of a touchy culture tend to be comfortable with hugs an greeting and departing. During conversations touching elbows, leg, etc. is very common. People from a keep are comfortable with little or no touching when greetin conversations touching is virtually non-existent and if faux pas.
Eye Contact

To look or to look away, that is the question. In some way to goit suggests confidence, respect, and interes saying. To look away may suggest being suspicious, s situations. In other cultures, people expect and appreci interacting. For them indirect eye contact us often view politeness, and reverence, while direct eye contact ma untrustworthy or aggressive.
Gestures

Each culture has its own set of gestures including hand facial expressions, etc. Some cultures have gestures th

different things. For example, the popular O.K. hand Americans usually means go screw yourself in Braz good job or yes/O.K. in most countries, but in Iran
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