The Creation and Differences of Family Cultures

 Families can be influenced by several factors, such as social class, privilege, religion, and culture. I am mostly going to focus specifically on culture. Culture surrounds us, and nearly everything we do is affected by it, even if we do not realize it at the time. Even something as simple as the food we make or how we eat it is influenced by our cultures. However, different cultures do not simply range from just country to country or religion to religion. Culture can differ in each state and even each town, and each family even has its own specific culture. I will elaborate a bit more on the difference between these cultures and how they affect families.

When people first think of the word culture, they think about the different cultures--and often the stereotypes--of different countries. For example, in the United States, it is very common for people to eat hamburgers, hotdogs, and other Americanized food. However, in Mexico, people often eat enchiladas and tacos. This is definitely a generalization, as not all Americans and Mexicans eat all these foods, but overall these are the foods commonly eaten and accepted within these cultures. This obviously affects families, as they will often eat the common foods associated their cultures or surrounding areas. Another example of differences in cultures is how affection is viewed and used. In Italy or France, there is definitely a lot of PDA. It is normal for couples to hold hands or kiss in public. However, in many Asian countries this is usually not the case. Some couples rarely or never kiss, not even in private. Some countries even shame and punish those that show affection in public. This can have a huge impact on families, as it greatly influences how they can interact with one another. Even though these cultures have big impacts on families, culture also changes based on specific areas.

Countries as a whole have generally recognizable cultures, but the can culture also differ depending on  the geography or the privilege in a certain area, along with several other factors. For example, people from the south of the United States are generally different from people in the north. Southern states are usually considered very hospitable and the stereotype is that many of them are rednecks and love guns. Many of the southern states are also Republican. However, many of the northern states are not known for these things as much, and a lot more of the north states are Democrats instead of Republicans. This is just an overgeneralization, but it shows that cultures differ quite a bit even within one country. But culture also differs not just from one side of the country to the other, but also between towns and cities sometimes. For example, I am from a small town in Idaho. It is generally tight-knit community with the occasional problem here and there, but it is often considered pretty calm and peaceful. However, the next town over is much different, know to have some gangs and even sex trafficking. The culture is much different, as I can generally walk the streets of my hometown alone or with a couple friends without worrying about my safety. However, in the next town over, people have to be much more cautious and stay out of many specific areas, especially at night.

As you can see, cultures can differ all over, even a few miles from another area. All of these factors play a big role in how a family functions. A family may eat certain foods based on the country they are from, have a different political view based on who they live around, and have different rules based on how safe they feel in their town. To go a bit further, families also develop their own cultures based on their family structure, employment, and social standing. A couple of neighbors could have completely different cultures because of these aspects. It just goes to show why each and every family is different in some way.

I think it is really cool how many factors play into the creation of a family's culture, and I would love to hear if any of my readers have any thoughts. Thank you for reading! :)