Our Stereotypes & Ways Of Adapting To Different Cultures

“Art majors are useless” is what people tell me when I tell them I’m an art major. This is the misconception I used to present to the class after my professor assigned us this activity. In my Communication 1310 class each one of my classmates had to write about a hurtful assumption that was said about them and present it to the class. I was shocked to see some assumptions but I could also relate to them. After doing this activity I learned some things I could take outside of the class room and apply it to real life scenarios using the three notions to adapting to others.

One of my classmates positionality was “Being in choir doesn’t mean you’re gay.” My positionality can relate to his because people assumed something hurtful of us since we affiliated with an organization. Another positionality that is similar to me in general is “My sexual orientation is not my personality or the base of my values.” Often when my friend introduce me to their friends they say something along the lines of “Hey this is my friend Ronaldo, he’s gay.” Sometimes I don’t want to highlight the fact that I’m gay, because I feel like I’m categorized as someone different than everyone else. Therefore I can relate to my classmate’s positionality because of that. Some different positionalities that aren’t similar to mine but I can agree with is “I am Asian, not a computer” and “I am black but I’m not from the hood.” People often tend to assume hurtful things or stereotype other people because of their race.

There are three steps to adapting to others diverse culture.

The first step is gaining knowledge of the other person’s background or culture. You can do this by studying their history, art, and geography. Maybe learning what they eat, listen to and their language. Once you start talking with this person, you should exchange information asking questions and listening that helps you understand them better. This will eventually make you feel less uncertain and anxious.

The second step to adapting to others is motivating yourself. You can practice motivating yourself by tolerating ambiguity. People become uncomfortable with ambiguity especially if they are from a low-context culture. You should remind yourself that other people don’t have the same attitudes about appreciating details or knowing the future. You can also practice motivation by developing mindfulness. You should remind yourself that other people aren’t like you. You can be more mindful through self-talk which consists of telling yourself to manage discomfort, or negative thoughts about situations.

The last step to adapting to others diversity is developing skill.