The Classes and Cultural Differences of Families

After learning more about the different family dynamics and the variety of relationships that can exists withing each group, this week we focused our studies on how the culture, class, and socioeconomic status affect decisions such as when to start a family, the number of children and how to rear them along with many other important choices in life.

We started studying the impact that the difference in social classes can have in marriages. It was shocking to learn that “marrying up” sometimes have negative effects, mostly because spouses will perceive many aspects of life in a completely different way, thus leading to discussions and conflict.

Defined in a simple way, class refers to the economic and social position of a person or family within a society, often based on income, education, and occupation. This is a very curious phenomena because in many environments, money does not grant class automatically as one might think. Interestingly, my family has experienced one of the benefits of education and the power it has of giving status to someone whose income is low. In all honesty, whenever the classification was defined by income, in paper we should’ve been the low end. However, my parents always valued knowledge and refinement over other aspects, and they made an effort to pass these traits to us. These attributes helped us socialize with “higher class” people, excel in school and overall, adopting a vision of ourselves above the situation we lived in.

So, from my experience, class can influence family dynamics by affecting the financial resources and opportunities available to a family but there is another aspect that contribute to this influence and can be seen in the example above: culture. We can define culture as the shared beliefs, values, traditions, and behaviors that characterize a group or society. In my case, my family’s culture allowed me to obtain resources and opportunities, such as scholarships or jobs that otherwise would’ve never been at the reach of someone of my “class”.

Something that really made me think was a paragraph from reading: “As you consider aspects of culture, bear in mind that culture is not created, defined, or maintained by skin color, language, or geography. Each family has its own culture which is influenced by several factors. Consider how your own family culture is influenced by your religious values and practices, the cultures of your grandparents, and the community in which your family now resides.”

When I first came to the United States, I had a tendency to separate myself from others based on race. I thought that it was my country’s culture vs others in many aspects. However, the more people I had the chance to meet and interact with, the more I understood that there are many individuals from different nationalities that share similar traditions, behaviors, and beliefs with me. The same way there are a lot of people from Mexico that share nothing in common with my culture.

Now that I have my own family, I can’t stop thinking how culture can shape family dynamics by influencing the roles and expectations of family members, as well as the values and traditions that are passed down from one generation to the next. That is something my wife and I are working constantly. What should we keep as part of our culture? What are the views and expectations of our roles? How does our class, nationality, ethnicity, religious beliefs, and traditions affect our perspectives of what is right and wrong for our family? I can tell you that those are the hard questions but also the ones that make life interesting.

In short, class, culture, and family dynamics are all interrelated and can shape and be shaped by one another in a continuous feedback loop. All we have left is to try to do our best to learn from others and share what we have.