Cultural assumptions and stereotypes

Cultural assumptions are an important aspect of understanding context. Culture is a system of beliefs, lifestyles, customs (usual habits and practices), values, attitudes and lifestyle of a particular people. Culture can refer to groups of people such as nations or more specific groups such as sporting teams.

The culture of a particular person will influence the way they perceive gender (male/female), ethnicity, religion, youth, age, disability, sexuality, cultural diversity, social class and work. A cultural assumption is when we assume that a person has particular values and attitudes based on their cultural background.

Understanding cultural assumptions and how they work will help to analyse written texts. Composers of written texts often use cultural assumptions to reach their audience. A written text such as the novel 'Looking for Alibrandi' by Melinda Marchetta, for example, is based on a number of cultural assumptions. These are based on:

• Age - it is assumed that growing up is often a difficult time.
• Gender - that growing up as a girl has its own issues.
• Lifestyle/family - that it is the norm to have two parents.
• Ethnicity - that being Italian puts particular pressures/expectations on a person.

You will make many cultural assumptions in your everyday life. Think very carefully about the cultural assumptions that you make about:

• Gender - what are the characteristics of males and females? Are girls nice like sugar and spice and boys mean and never clean?
• Age - what are the characteristics of young people (perhaps you believe them to be fun-loving) and older people (perhaps they are boring).

These assumptions are based on stereotypes. A stereotype is an assumption made about a person based on superficial (surface) criteria. You must be careful not to use stereotypes and remember that each person is an individual, therefore their personality is not defined by their ethnicity, gender or age. Giving people characteristics based on race is racism and through gender is sexism. Be aware of how composers use stereotypes and be able to identify them.

Composers of written texts will also use the cultural assumptions of their audience in more subtle (less obvious) ways. For example, what does the colour red mean to you? You may think of things such as danger, stop, love and passion. When the composer of a written text uses descriptions that include the colour red they are perhaps trying to make you think of these things.

If a composer were to describe a red sky they may be implying impending (coming) danger.

Typically it is assumed in Australia, and many Western countries around the world, that the following colours signify the following things:

• Red: anger, passion, danger, stop
• White: peace, purity, cleanliness, life
• Black: death, sickness, evil
• Green: go, nature, happiness
• Blue: peace, serenity, boys
• Pink: love, girls

This of course is not exhaustive - there are many, many more. When you approach a written text, remember that the use of colour is often an attempt to communicate through cultural assumptions.

It is important to note that different cultures attach meaning to colours in different ways. In China red is a colour that has connotations of happiness. Significantly, the traditional colour for Chinese brides to wear is red. Notice also that red is the dominant colour on the Chinese flag. The colour green dominates the flags of many Muslim countries and this is because green represents Islam. These differences in meaning can have a significant impact on written texts.

For example where in Australia a written text that describes a lot of red may imply danger or passion, in China it may imply patriotism.

Consider what a poem that uses red imagery might mean in Australia and what it might mean in China. An Australian responder is positioned to see anger or danger whereas in China the responder is positioned to see happiness.

We can also see examples of cultural assumptions that are made through language, in particular through gendered language. Examples of these in Australian English include referring to a car or a boat as she, 'She's a beaut new Holden, Tim' or 'Her bow sluiced through the roaring waves'.

Using cultural assumptions to analyse a text

The girl sat in her room talking noisily on the phone to her friend about the new pink T-shirt that she had bought. Outside, her brother kicked the football to his friend. His blue football shirt was torn from making a tackle.

Text One

Text one is a written text that demonstrates stereotypes. The girl who is referred to is stereotypical because she fits the cultural assumption that teenage girls use telephones. Also, the composer has used pink to further highlight her girlishness. Is it only girls who use telephones? Do all girls wear/use pink? The boy on the right is kicking a football. This is a stereotypical image because it is culturally assumed that all boys like sport. Further, the boy is wearing blue which is the culturally assumed colour for boys.

Look at text two:

Girls like pink and boys like blue.

Text Two

This is a very simple written text form that also indicates that there is a difference between girls and boys.

Refer to the 'Cultural assumptions activity' to practise understanding cultural assumptions.

In this chapter

It is important to be aware that each individual responder is positioned by their cultural background to attach meanings to particular written cues. The interpretation of a written text is often dependent upon the values that individuals place on age, gender, ethnicity and lifestyle as well as the connotations that arise from more subtle cues such as colours. An awareness of the use of these cultural assumptions will enable you, as a responder, to read texts more objectively and, as a composer, to express ideas more concisely (in fewer words).