Culture shock

Culture shock

 

If you are a person who recently arrived in Quebec or come from a cultural community, you may have personally been confronted with important differences between your culture of origin and the dominant one in Quebec. If you have been born here, you may have experienced such situations by dealing with people new to us or people from socioeconomic backgrounds totally different from yours. This is what we call a “ culture shock ”.

 

 

Although at the base of culture, we find values that are generally similar, behaviors, ways of doing and interpreting situations can be very diverse. Have you ever met someone who did not consider respect for others to be crucial? The majority of human beings, regardless of their origin, agree that respect is an essential value in the context of life in society. However, the way of living it will be very different from one culture to another ...

 

For example, in some cultures, for a woman to question or contradict her husband, especially in public, may be seen as disrespecting him. In Quebec, this behavior will not be interpreted in this way at all and a woman, like a man, may question the ideas of her spouse regardless of the context. So, immersing yourself in a new culture or going to meet people who do not share the same cultural references as us is both an interesting challenge and an experience in which actors on both sides can feel overwhelmed. .

 

In this kit, we address the theme of culture and culture shock, because we consider that, in your role as a parent or as a person working with adolescents, it is important to take these disparities into account. to better understand what young people are going through. Based on your experiences and observations, do you think that some young women around you are confronted with a culture whose values ​​are different from theirs? It would be very surprising if you answered no!

 

 

Through this kit, we stress the importance of taking into account these impacts of culture on our perceptions in order to support young people and intervene with them. Whether you educate your own children or work with young people, you may encounter different ways of seeing life… and that's good!

 

When we speak of culture , we consider the term in its broadest sense. For example, the fact that a young person is invited to a friend's house and finds out that her family has a totally different way of life than hers can cause her to experience culture shock. It is therefore a confrontation between two different family cultures .

 

In reality, each person carries within them a unique culture, made up of a system of norms , values and beliefs from their family, school, friends, those around them, etc. This means that a "culture" shock can even occur between two people of the same family, between two sisters, for example.

Equality between women and men is one of the issues where important cultural contrasts can emerge. Also, the situation of women is one of the most discussed themes in the media when it comes to cultural communities. However, the differences raised regarding the situation of women from various communities are not always explained and put into context. This can then fuel the prejudices of some and others towards certain cultural groups on the issue of equality between the sexes, which, in our view, is detrimental to the exchange and consideration, by all, of the equality as a value.

 

Although Quebec is a welcoming society that wants to be open to the world, to others and to their values, it is founded on essential values, including equality between women and men; equality between all people, regardless of age, origin, sexual orientation, political allegiance, etc .; as well as freedom (freedom of expression, freedom to exercise the profession of one's choice, freedom of opinion, etc.).

These values ​​are the result of very long years of struggle, they are very dear to Quebeckers, and they are inalienable. Thus, the individual rights of freedom and equality cannot, in any case, be called into question in the name of a religion, a customary practice, a culture or any other reason.

Equality between women and men implies in particular that parental authority is shared. Thus, in the event of a dispute or disagreement, neither parent will have precedence over the other. Mediation and negotiation are therefore favored within Quebec culture so that the opinion of each member of a couple can be considered and discussed at its true value. The mainstream culture also wants a young girl to have the freedom to choose her dress style, field of study, the activities she wants to participate in, her friends, her life partner, etc. However, the role of the parent and other significant adults working with her will be central in guiding her in her learning. All will be able to give him the benefit of their personal experience,

 

These ways of doing things can be destabilizing for people who have recently arrived in Quebec and who come from cultures that operate totally different. They can make them experience important questions, raise fears, cause very heated discussions, or even quarrels, within their family. It is possible that these people feel torn between what is “normal” according to them and what Quebec society values, and that they feel the need to discuss this with their loved ones, but also with other families. living similar realities. To fuel reflections and possible discussions, it could therefore be interesting that you reflect on your position in relation to sexual stereotypes, the way in which sexuality is represented in the media,

 

So, if you come from a cultural group and want to meet other people who share your realities and, at the same time, to equip yourself to discuss these subjects with your own children, do not hesitate to take contact with organizations working with members of cultural communities, particularly with women. Below you will find references concerning resources that can assist you, and allow you to better understand and experience equality as it is understood in Quebec.

 
If you are a parent, conflicts can also arise between you and your children, especially during adolescence, due to the differences between generations; it is then a question of generational shock . It has nothing to do with place of birth or cultural origin. This situation is frequent since adolescence corresponds to a period of questioning identity , that is to say a phase when it is normal for a young person to seek his place in society and to question the model established by his parents. or by the adults around him. This kind of shock has always existed, but the intergenerational divide seems larger today, in particular because of technological advances which are being made at a frantic pace and which are leading to major changes in the way of life of young people.

 

Don't you get discouraged at times when you see young people spending so much time texting their friends or updating their Facebook page? The current way of communicating young people as well as their way of apprehending the world is, in fact, very different from that of adults, all generations combined. Thus, the referents of young people, that is to say what they identify with, and their way of doing it are not at all the same. You have to take this into account when talking to them. This is especially true when tackling themes like friendship, romantic relationships, self-image, etc.

 

If you teach or work with adolescents, a clash of cultures can also arise between you and these young people, because your references and your cultural and generational references may not be the same. It is therefore important to adopt an attitude of openness to differences rather than imposing your own way of seeing the world.

 

If you are accompanying a young girl from an immigrant background or from a cultural community, you must not lose sight of the fact that she has surely been confronted, in one way or another, with the divergences between the values ​​of Quebec society and that of his home society and particularly between his values ​​and those of his parents. She may have had difficulty dealing with these cultural differences.

 

 

We invite you to open the door to the unique experiences of young people as immigrants. Get them, without judgment, to express themselves in relation to their experiences. These young people will surely have a lot to say! Take an interest in their company of origin and do not hesitate to document yourself to better understand their background. It would also be interesting to organize a discussion between young girls from Quebec culture and young girls from other cultures. The theme could be this:

 Culture ... is like an iceberg. The part you see is just the tip. The treasures it conceals are in the part which is submerged. To discover and understand it, you have to dive!

Ask them questions like:

• What are the main differences between your culture and Quebec culture?
• What are the similarities?
• How proud do you feel about your culture?
• What would improve your integration into Quebec society?
• What is different between how it goes in your family and how it goes in the families of Quebec origin that you frequent?

To continue with the topic of gender stereotypes from a culture shock perspective, ask them:

• How do you experience romantic relationships in your parents' country of origin?
• Do young people choose themselves because they love each other?
• Does the family have a role to play in this choice?
• What is the daily life of a young girl like in your culture of origin? Is she going to school? Is she on the eve of getting married? Will she go to college?