The Positive and Negative Ideas of the Culture - Research Paper Example

There are certain trends, social values and cultural ideas which prevail within the geographical boundaries of a region. Different states and even different cities have their distinct living standards, habits, ideologies and values. Their cultural and social boundaries are extended to different level of limitations and independence on different grounds. Their cultural traits, clothing, living style, attitudes, habits, activities and gender roles differ greatly as well as their expectations from the social environment around them (Agarwal 1996, p. 71). The children who grow up in one society differ greatly from the ones growing up in the other. Religion is another factor which influences the choices and culture f a region. A particular state where Christians are in majority would have cultural traits which will be in line with their religious principles and laws. In the same way people following Hinduaism will adopt their religious ceremonies and principles in the region where they live in. Cultural constructs are also affected by religious preaching and beliefs. UNDER YOUTH CULTURE  The cultural values and differences that prevail in the societies affect every aspect of the lived of the people living in a particular region. Their culture affects their values, ideas, thoughts and perceptions. The different social boundaries and constructs lead to different attitudes and choices of people. Every age group, gender and ethnic group in a particular region is affected by the cultural values being followed and developed. The differences in the youth culture form a significant part of studying differences between societies. The Youth culture of UK has always been associated with drinking beer at pub, involving in sports and their interest in music. The activities which are most popular in the youth of England involve Rollerblading, hiking, Mounting Biking, Snowboarding, Surfing, rock climbing and skateboarding (Cordero 1996, p.221). The punk music lovers in the UK youth are often found to be tremendous skateboarders. They find it fashionable and exciting. Their music choices include punk, rock, rap and pop Pardue, 2008, p. 49). Trendy and slow music is less famous among the UK youth population. Youth of Bahrain, on the other hand, avoid music as they are restricted by the Islamic boundaries. The behavior, reverence and respect which Bahrain youth tends to give the older/elder people lacks in Britain youth. The culture and religion form the basis of this difference. Bahrain’s culture is abundant with values which encourage good attitude, respect and care for older people. Whereas, the UK culture is more independent and the youth does not want any restrictions imposed on them from the older people. They lack understanding about the value of older people and their advices in their lives. Bahrain youth is abundant with information on how to treat older people and trained to follow their advices most of the times. The cultural difference as well as difference in the social structure allows such a difference between youth perceptions about older people and behaviors towards them. The fashion differs greatly from one state to the other. The fashion and clothing of every society differs as per the liking, priority and beliefs of the people residing in the social boundaries of a region. Since Bahrain is a country with Muslim population in majority, the youth clothing and fashion is affected by Islamic foundations. However, there are certain youth groups who are modern and like to stay up to date. The girls in Bahrain’s normal culture wear abaya with scarves to cover their heads and boys wear long sleeved shirts with jeans/trousers (World cultures 2004, p. 21-25). On the other hand, UK adopts a more independent approach when it comes to outfits. They wear almost everything that suits them. Most popular outfits, however, include jeans and T-shirts for both genders, skirts for female population and so on. UNDER FREEDOM AND EXPECTATION The concept of freedom today is often associated with the concept of being an adult. Adulthood brings power to an individual of making decisions and shifting away from the parents. These concepts may be taken as negative and positive as per the perceptions and culture of a society. The age of majority (adulthood) in the UK is 18 which is lower than the age set in Bahrain at 21. This minimum age level is set out in order to save youth from involving in negative activities misusing the independence given to them by law and culture. The age is set out at a higher degree in Bahrain as the culture of Bahrain is much restricted and gives more weight to their values and religion. The youth is, hence, restricted by the parents’ rules, surveillance and finances until they reach the age of 21 (Reuvid et al. 2005, p.7). In contrast, UK provides independence to the youth at a younger age. This independence gives them a right to vote. The youth is then considered as an adult with control and accountability on their actions and activities like smoking and drinking. This legal age of majority terminates the control and responsibilities of parents on and from the children. This freedom may be used in a wrong and abusive manner, however, this trend is less in Bahrain as compared to the UK society. The socialization of Bahrain youth is highly dependent on their parents. They follow their parents’ trends of socialization. Unlike UK, Bahrain society does not allow late night socialization and dating to the youth. Parents and guardians of Bahrain youth are more conservative in allowing late night parties, meetings and enjoyment opportunities. On the other hand, late night socialization, weekend outings and dating is a more common practice in the UK. Youth enjoys and takes it as a fashionable practice. UK parents and guardians are not expected or identified as forcefully restraining the youth from socialization. In comparison, Bahrain’s society is strict in this regard and parents’ tend to use all means to avoid any happening against their teachings and religious concepts (Dwairy 2006, p. 53). The lifestyle of UK youth, hence, allows more freedom to choose their regular activities, dressing, education and socialization choices and behaviors. They live an independent life with less or no restrictions on their living patterns. However, Bahrain’s culture provides a restricted lifestyle with restrictions imposed in almost every field. These restrictions, however, also restrict the negative cases of alcohol misuse, rape, smoking, exposure to sexuality in early age and so on. These restrictions are, in one way or the other beneficial for the youth and overall society. UNDER GENDER  Gender plays a major role in any society. The roles and expectations from genders differ greatly as per the society people live in. The role of women in Bahrain’s culture is more inclined towards maintaining home, doing home chores, nurturing children, maintaining relationships, compromising and accepting the hold of male counterparts like brothers, husbands and fathers. On the other hand, men are supposed to be superior to women in the Bahrain’s society. Their responsibilities include earning food and necessities for the family, holding and maintaining their status and power on the family and making major decisions about the family. This way the Bahrain’s family structure is maintained by dividing work in gendered groups. Both men and women are expert in their fields and provide the best they could do to maintain happiness in the family. The discrimination on the basis of educational facilities is, however, no longer existent in Bahrain. Both male and female are provided with equal opportunities to attain academic success and attain prestigious careers without losing the modesty of their character. In UK, discrimination on the basis of gender is less common than other forms of discrimination like on ethnic, cultural, social, racial and financial grounds. Both genders have equal rights to education, work, socialization, career achievements and decision making. The UK society provides independence to both genders on their issues (Ruxton 2004, p. 203). The responsibilities are also not restricted to a single gender. They are supposed to take part or help in maintaining the house, child raising, working, home chores and accumulating finances for the family. This independence and equality is maintained in UK to avoid any misconceptions in the women’s mind about their roles and status in the society. In conclusion, we can say that the two cultures differ greatly in every respect. However, the positive and negative ideas are attached to the culture and values of both societies. The youth culture differs greatly which translates the youth problems in each society. Since, Bahraini culture is more conservative, the involvement of youth in negative activities like extreme drinking in minority age, dating, sexual involvement and drug addiction is less probable. However, the independence provided by the UK culture may be misused by the youth and they may get involved in negative activities like binge drinking, smoking, sexual involvement at an early age, gambling, violence and crimes. The gender equality of UK culture, however, can be appreciated as compared to the Bahrain’s society. But, both UK or Bahrain’s gender roles and responsibilities cannot be accused of being useless or harmful. Both have positive and negative aspects like in child nurturing process, Bahrain’s children get more attention as compared to the attention given to the children by working parents’ of UK. Bibliography: Agrawal, M M. Ethnicity, Culture, and Nationalism in North-East India. New Delhi: Indus Pub. Co, 1996. Print. Cordero, Kristina. Frommer's Complete Hostel Vacation Guide to England, Wales & Scotland. New York: Macmillan, 1996. Print. Dwairy, Marwan A. Counseling and Psychotherapy with Arabs and Muslims: A Culturally Sensitive Approach. New York: Teachers College Press, 2006. Print. Pardue, Derek. Ideologies of Marginality in Brazilian Hip Hop. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print. Reuvid, Jonathan, and Marat Terterov. Doing Business with Estonia. London: GMB Pub, 2005. Print. Top of Form Ruxton, Sandy. Gender Equality and Men: Learning from Practice. Oxford: Oxfam, 2004. Print. Bottom of Form Read More