Gender and Culture in Marriage
The impact of gender and culture on marriage and interpersonal communications reminds us that different cultures have different expectations. For example, eye contact, physical touch, body gestures, and aspects of importance, when interacting with people from different cultures, requires a solid understanding of how values, attitudes, behaviors and communication styles differ.
Some theories are more pertinent to this understanding in marriage, while others to the ways in which we cope, and still others to the nature of human vulnerabilities. Remember that our culture is the framework that tells us what is important to attend to, how to organize what we see and how to interpret it.
When significant attention is applied to these considerations within the function of marriage, biological, psychological or social interaction, and structural or functional integrity, will require little else but the knowledge of how to love and communicate with each other. Culture gives us a sense of identity to define ourselves and others.
What we perceive in the world, depends on what we pay attention to, organize in perception and how we interpret what we perceive. We can sometimes have an illusion of insight. For example, getting close to someone appears to create the illusion of understanding more than actual understanding. Nara Schoenberg of the Houston Chronicle, confirms that affective affirmation—behavior that makes your partner feel loved, cared for or special—plays an important role in happy marriages.
Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Marriage
Most of us have diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and carry remnants of our cultural heritage. When we communicate, we bring our cultural backgrounds into those encounters. In marriage, gender communication is not as contentious as it has been interpreted to be years ago. The husband may cook and care for the children, while the wife becomes primary wage earner. This challenges expectations defined by society, and the perception of being male or female which is still in a debating posture.
Gender roles influence all kinds of behaviors, particularly within specific cultures. In some cultures what is considered appropriate for an individual of a specific gender, may differ greatly from what is acceptable in another culture. In certain social settings, you will find, for example, proponents of a gender role theory, which asserts that observed gender differences in behavior and personality characteristics are socially constructed.
These gender roles become expectations defined by society and indicate appropriate behavior. In short, we perceive based on what we believe to be possible. Again, your culture is the framework that tells you what is important to attend to, how to organize what you see and how to interpret it. Always protect your similarities and embrace your differences.
Interpersonal Communication in Marriage
Perception is one of the oldest fields in sociology. Much of what is understood about the way the mind works, initially analyzes sensory messages. Yet, investigations are only now beginning to suggest how the brain moves beyond the mere extraction of features and how it combines sensory messages with past experience ,and with expectation to identify both the stimulus and its particular meaning to the individual. In other words, sensual pleasures are an integral part of the human existence; the same as eating, they keep the body alive. A touch, a hug, a kiss, even a smile can create an aphorism of love, enriching the insight into the art of making love.
In final resolve, a happy marriage involves sending and receiving loving gestures, permitting one’s true self to be known, encompassing a high level of self-value, surmounting barriers through effective interpersonal interactions, and having a keen understanding of each others beliefs and desires. Spend time engaged in quality conversations about these tools.
Try to touch on goals, values, important friendships and new sources of self-disclosure. Identify acceptable gender roles from time-to-time. Interpersonal skills should include the habits, attitudes, manners, appearance, and behaviors that affect change and positive outcomes. Establish a keen understanding of how to develop mutual trust, with an acute appreciation of each others diversity. Use positive reinforcements and look for commonalties when interacting.
It is crucial in mariage that you avoid letting past experiences influence the present by confirming what you perceive in each other as warm and kind and reinforcing that. Nurture these qualities in each other with a positive perception of love and understanding. There is no anticipation of this synergy; the vibration will happen before it becomes thinkable and quickens to scurry with the silence of the words unspoken. These are the elements that ironically contain the sweetest consciousness of all and radiates from the center core of the heart to confirm a successfull marriage with the person you found.
See Marriage Success: Tools to Help Your Marriage Succeed Part I
See Marriage Success: Tools to Help Your Marriage Succeed Part II
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