Culture, Communication and Gender

Moving the MDGs Forward

By Dr. Linda Stillman

(MDG Global Watch Journal Fall 2006)

Understanding the impact of culture on communication and, thereby, gender is core to the education and implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) around the globe. To ensure their sustained advancement and ultimate success under the popular UN motto: Think Global: Act Local, MDG activists from stratified backgrounds need to nourish and nurture interpersonal relations with peoples from all cultures. An integrative approach to inter-cultural communication and world social development is paramount to provide universal peace and security and to advance human rights, fundamental freedoms and social development as chartered at the creation of the United Nations in San Francisco, 1945. Let us start to address this topic of Culture, Communication and Gender by defining these critical concepts in connection with Moving the MDGs Forward.

Culture is primarily comprised of the values, traditions, behaviors, and social interaction practiced by the majority of the members of a cohesive group of people in a geographical environment. At the micro-level, culture entails the values, attitudes and activities of a given group and provides the framework of social behavior among its members in the family, neighborhood and community. At the macro-level, culture includes the external institutions that shape societies infra-structure, such as governmental systems, educational programs, religious practices, as well as the monumental role of media as the cornerstone channel of macro-communication.

Culture also establishes a hierarchal social structure, gender identity, and communication styles/strategies considered appropriate for social interaction in the group. Furthermore, culture can also be defined as all modes of thought, behavior and production that are passed from generation to generation through multiple means of communication. In fact, all cultures, regardless how seemingly simple in structure, have developed a complex set of communication characteristics to conduct social interaction and to achieve their goals. Finally, groups with certain characteristics, commonalities and social interaction that dominate among its members, such as corporate, academic, religious institutions, even the United Nations, function as a specific culture.

Communication can be simply defined as the creation and presentation of messages, verbal and non-verbal, through social interaction of two or more people. Trust is the essential and ethical element that fosters enriching and ennobling relations. Communication and perception equal personal truth. Perception is one’s subjective truth based on an individual’s unique, sensory, knowledge, emotional and experiential levels. Truthful communication and loyalty transform into trust. Communicated knowledge and understanding underlie wisdom and its worth is valued in all cultures. No two people possess the same perception, so no two people experience truth, trust and wisdom the same way. Culture serves as the primary source for the development of a person’s communication styles/strategies, and the cultural environment of early childhood primarily shapes the values, traditions, norms and gender identity in which children learn to communicate. Finally, let us remember that: We cannot not communicate!

Gender (one’s social identity) refers to the socially constructed roles assigned to male and female groupings. Gender systems form social stratification in which the traits and behaviors of males and females are unequally valued in most cultural societies. Gender identity, determined greatly by culture, is the most dominant influence on a person’s communication ways. Gender identity is also conceived as a person’s perception of the self as male or female. The gender role signifies a social construction that establishes and shapes the behavior and social interaction deemed appropriate for men and women of a particular culture. The presentation and interpretation of masculinity and femininity vary notably, and their definitions, sociologically speaking, are considered central to the psychology of gender understanding within the framework of a culture. Today, it is understood that masculinity and femininity coexist in the same person; therefore, they should not be perceived as natural, polar opposites, but rather as different and separate dimensions, frequently found in the same person. According to renowned socio-linguist Deborah Tannen, conversational styles/strategies, derived from gender and status, are established primarily through culturally accepted approaches to male and female communication, especially concerning power.

Derived from a United Nations report of the Secretary General (2002), the gender system functions as a form of social stratification in which the traits and behaviors of males and females are unequally valued in most cultures. Many social institutions still reward and punish its members based on gender, and that principle profoundly affects the lives and opportunities of both males and females. Furthermore, most men and women worldwide still live in societies with patriarchal gender systems and what is considered masculine is more highly valued. Therefore, the communicated messages of males hold more credence and credibility in the culture. Again, the term gender, in this article, refers to both male and female identity, and not specifically the female gender, as commonly used regarding social development issues today.

Yes, understanding these three principal concepts: culture, communication, and gender, and their interconnection can exponentially further the advancement of the MDGs. So, proponents of the MDGs need to become aware, recognize and accept the value of being successful at inter-cultural communication to foster sustaining change in world social development. In order to be effective and ethical communicators, we must think about our own cultural communication styles/strategies and how they impact people, especially from different cultures. We need to be sensitive to the styles/strategies of other people, again, especially from different cultures. We need to pose pertinent questions to ourselves about our own communicative approach and application regarding social interaction and social development. We need to reflect upon our introspective answers and discern appropriate vs. inappropriate communication style/strategies that we have all learned and practiced, inherently, as derived from our cultural heritage.

Yet, in our challenging 21^st century world that requires infinite energy and effort to promote positive change for humanity, fortunately, we have the full control to change our own cultural communication to the betterment of other people and individual lives.

So, let us ask ourselves these starting questions to augment the process of positive change in our cultural communication styles/strategies and to help advance global/local social development. Below are the eight MDGs and several self investigative/evaluative, cultural communication questions to consider.

      United Nations Millennium Development Goals

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Develop a global partnership for development.

Cultural Communication Styles & Strategies

Do we understand our own cultural communication styles & strategies?

Do we understand the cultural communication styles & strategies with whom we interact?

Do we address gender identity and cultural communication practices of other cultures?

Do we communicate with people directly and/or indirectly?

Do we approach people from a logical and/or. humanistic perspective?

Do we separate the person from the topic regarding difficult and delicate subjects?

Do we speak articulately?

Do we listen actively?

Do we draw dominant conclusions from the verbal and/or nonverbal message?

Do we put ourselves in another person’s place as speaker/listener ?

Do we really care about the message of the other person/s?

Do we provide proper feedback?

Do we use ethically persuasive strategies in discussion and debate?

Do we negotiate as competitor, compromiser or collaborator?

Do we communicate change as traditionalists, adaptors or innovators?

Now, let us connect our emerging understanding of the impact of culture on communication to the impact of culture on social development.

According to Culture Matters, compiled by Lawrence Harrison (2000) and concluded from the international symposium on “Cultural Values and Human Progress” held at Harvard University, the focus of social research has returned to the powerful forces of culture and social development. Increasingly, social scientists look to cultural factors, such as communication and social interaction, to explain modernization, antagonism, military motives, social issues, ethnic group behavior, gender differences, etc. Certainly, the advancement of the MDGs are at the crux of world social development in the 21^st century, and we, the advocates, will benefit from the academic research presented in Culture Matters . According to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former US Senator and former Ambassador to the UN:

“Culture, subjectively defined, is the values, attitudes, beliefs, orientations and underlying assumptions prevalent among people in a society; human progress is the movement toward economic development and material well-being, social-economic prosperity and political democracy.”

Pertinent topics presented at the symposium, and still prevalent today, include: the link between values and progress, the universality of values and western cultural imperialism, geography and culture, institutions and culture, and cultural change. Harrison contends that today’s world has become a far poorer, far more unjust, and far more authoritarian place to live than most people at the mid-20^th century mark could have imagined. Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger is, of course, MDG Goal #1, and the use of effective and ethical inter-cultural communication practices will help achieve this daunting global goal since decades. He focuses on differentials of progressive vs. static societies and the cultural criteria that determine social development at present. He discusses how progressive vs. static societies communicate their values and attitudes toward time, work, education, frugality, merit, community, ethical codes, justice, fair play, authority and secularism. Clearly, these cultural characteristics that help define static vs. progressive societies strongly influence the advancement of the MDGs.

Barbara Crossette, noted writer of the New York Times newspaper, has examined Culture, Gender and Human Rights premised on the rekindled interest and reexamination of one’s cultural heritage in North America, Europe and elsewhere in the world today. She claims that renewed cultural identity has spawned destructive ethnicity in many circumstances, fueled by economic difficulties and political uncertainty. Concurrently, most countries worldwide are experiencing the sweeping effects of social cultural change, especially, though not exclusively, through the assertion of women’s rights and their political successes of late. These events are causing long-term effects on culturally fueled gender communication styles/strategies and social interaction. The intellectual disputes challenging culture vs. human rights have become harsh and frequent in recent years, particularly concerning issues of international dimension. Civil society has responded through the firmly established non-governmental organization community, and through their increasingly respected representatives at the United Nations on behalf of men and women worldwide. MDG Global Watch works to galvanize and support civil society to assume the responsibility to move the MDGs forward. Understanding the interconnected roles of culture, communication and gender is paramount to the cause.

Since the nineties, the international NGO community has also been accepting and addressing the interconnectedness of culture, gender identity (male/female) and social development, particularly from the woman’s perspective. In a special edition by Oxfam Press, called Women in Culture, the publication focuses on gender and development. Edited by Caroline Sweetman, contributions from leading NGO women from least developed and developing nations stressed that cultural traditions and practices determine the omnipotent power relations in a society; establish men’s and women’s access to economic and political control; and form both gender roles and their behavioral expectations.

Cultural biases influence every element of human existence and shape the views and actions of individuals, families, communities, organizations, institutions and nations. Social development interventions and programs simply cannot ignore traditional, social or customary practices that often obstruct human rights, fundamental freedoms and social development. Furthermore, the secondary status of women still stands as one of the universal, i.e., pan-cultural, truths. Most cultures continue to define the role of women as primary care givers to family/children and promoters of cultural values. Women are perceived as the ultimate guardians and teachers of culture to their offspring, even though their lessons may promote repressive practices against their rightful well being.

Spokeswomen from the Southern Hemisphere, lawyer Seble Dawit and poet Abena Busia, concur that gender relations, developmental practices and culture are closely intertwined, and the combination greatly influences social reaction and transformation. They add that gender relations rank among the most intimate aspects of cultural traditions, and thereby undergo gradual change, at best, within developing societies with rigid cultural traditions. They underscore the need for progressive governments, world organizations and civil society to consider gender identity in social development, but, concurrently, they emphasize the danger of reinforcing cultural relativism as reason to hinder social progress.

Gender discrimination is resoundingly viewed as a global problem today by all social scientists and social workers. Yet, social leaders from the southern hemisphere understandably worry about the north/south dialog and the formidable influence of the northern liberal community that focuses on female gender issues as a primary cause for social struggle. These complicated cultural realties call for diplomatic and even delicate, if determined, communication styles/strategies in the education and implementation of the MDGs, particularly in least developed and developing countries.

Social activist from India, Maitrayee Mukhopadhyay discusses the dilemmas that exist in the spheres of gender and local culture. The third MDG calls to: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women. Although she is a cultural “insider” who strives for gender equality in social development in her country, many rural Indian communities, both men and women, have claimed that she threatens their local culture, violates their traditions and, worst of all, attempts to westernize their society. Her hands-on efforts and accumulated experience, often met with vehement rejection, reinforce the level of intimacy and sensitivity that must concur for sustaining social development. She contends that rigidity in culture, through the reinforcement of the imbalance of power between the genders, severely constrains the creation of an environment of equitable gender relations.

Cultures are constantly challenged in various, sometimes, extraordinarily subtle ways. Moreover, culture is perpetually undergoing an evolutionary process that impacts ideology, meaning, values, symbols, ideas, language, communication and social interaction to mention a few matters. It is, therefore, necessary to identify the social constructs of the local community and to work within the broad framework of such dynamics to create positive social interaction and thereby move the MDGs forward.

Gender specialist of Sub-Saharan/Zimbabwean cultures Colleta Chitsike addresses culture and multiculturalism vs. gender injustice in the context of the NGO world community. Demeaning attitudes towards women continue to pervasively prevail. For example, men often refuse to marry educated women, who are condemned on the premise that they have lost their cultural knowledge, as their core responsibility to teach and practice. Cruel female gender stereotyping as inferior human beings and the demonizing of educated women as confused/ psychologically disturbed creatures conjures up a strong negative self-image of women. It frequently leads to women oppressing other women who seek social change in their community. 

Consequently, cultural change and social interaction must be approached as a long-term goal that often requires delicate diplomacy, subtle persuasiveness, non-threatening and carefully planned initiatives regarding both genders to move the MDGs forward. It calls for an inter-cultural paradigm, i.e., the adjustment to cultures without sacrificing one’s own values and beliefs towards social development. This approach allows for the dignity of people to stay in tact, for the inter-cultural perspective recognizes he differences of individual communities through the exploration of the reasons underlying cultural practice, especially communication and social interaction. Social development is most successfully founded on positive relations first that often result in solutions to situations.

UN expert Robert W. Connell, for gender issues and the role of men and boys to achieve gender equality, argues that gender inequalities are entrenched in a complex system of relationships. They can be detected at every level of human experience within the construct of society, culture and institutions. He highlights several key areas that invariably impact gender (males/females) communication and social systems. Gender relations are an interactive system of connections and distinctions among people and groups of people. What happens to one group in the system affects the others and vice versa. Gender social interaction is not superficial, but rather deeply embedded in organizational routines, religious and legal concepts, and understood arrangements of peoples lives in conjunction with the culture. Gender relations are multi-dimensional, interweaving relationships of power, economic arrangements, emotional relations, communication systems and meaning, etc. Finally, gender relations are diverse and constantly changing. They arise from different cultural histories from equally different geographical regions of the world. They have changed in the past and are undergoing change/transformation at present. Connell reminds us that males continue to wield enormous control as gatekeepers to gender equality, and their participation remains crucial to philosophical and practical social reform/change. Ultimately, to attain gender parity will require males and females to change traditional images steeped in centuries of deeply imbedded social beliefs and behaviors.

It will clearly benefit civil society to become aware, recognize and accept culture’s impact on communication and gender. Civil society in partnership with the United Nations, governments and NGOs need to seek win/win collaborative solutions by encouraging, empowering and persuading the world globally/locally that the MDGs must be realized. Culturally enlightened people can learn to communicate as agents of change to forge necessary closure to harmful societal practices; to welcome exploration of emerging options and opportunities; to create new beginnings, to develop new alignments; to command commitment to positive social policies; and to establish appropriate action.

Yes, together, we can certainly move the MDGs forward, through the application of effective and ethical communication styles/strategies. Yes, let us help people of all cultures to achieve a dignified life founded on peace, protection and prosperity.