relationships, sexuality and culture

• relationships

  • personal relationships is one of the best predictors of overall life satisfaction and well-being
  • relationships reinforce our self-concept and sustain self-esteem
• cultural norms influenced state of our close relationships:

  • economics
  • individualism
  • technology
• reproductive technologies

  • reproductive technologies permit women to control their fertility and directly impact the birth rate in many countries - more access than ever before to contraception
  • women can have children when they choose (single women having children through insemination)
  • communication technologies and social media have changed the process and conduct of relationships
  • e..g. through smartphones and computers, we have the ability to immediately connect with others at any time in any location across the globe
• technoference and phubbing

  • facebook, snapchat, and other social media friends fulfil social contact needs for millions of people globally
  • it is extremely common for romantic partners to begin their relationships online though dating apps or websites
  • contribute to less than satisfying relational interactions
• courtship patterns and mate selection

  • proximity and physical attractiveness
  • the matching hypothesis ( people who are equal in physical attractiveness select each other as partners)
  • the similarity hypothesis (similar demographics, religion, social class, education, intelligence, attitudes and physical attractiveness)
  • the reciprocity hypothesis
• across all cultures the top four factors in choosing a mate were:

  1. mutual attraction
  2. emotional stability and maturity
  3. good health
  4. pleasing disposition
• least preferred mate characteristics

  1. chastity
  2. similar religious background
  3. similar political background
  4. favourable social status
• cultural and gender differences

  • cultural and gender differences in buss's study
  • in china, india, taiwan, and iran, chastity was viewed as highly desirable in a prospective mate
  • while in the netherlands, sweden and norway, it was considered irrelevant
  • being a good housekeeper was highly valued in estonia and china and of little value in western europe and north america
• cultural and gender differences

  • refinement/neatness was highly valued in nigeria and iran and less so in UK, ireland and Australia
  • being religious was valued in iran, moderately valued in india, but little values in western europe
• love and marriage

  • western cultures, marriage is viewed as the culmination of romantic love represented by a fairy-tale notion
  • people in collectivistic cultures place less emphasis o romantic love and love commitment in marriage
  • historically, people married for political reasons - to acquire status through influential in-laws, family alliances and increased labour forces, and business merges
• cultural blueprints of friendships

  • friendship relationship is heavily linked with how children are:
  • socialised;
  • the cultures value system
  • emphasis placed on issues like collectivism and individualism
  • friendships occur within a defined sociocultural context with 'cultural blueprints'
  • = the expectations and norms of what friendship signifies in terms of
  • who
  • types of interactions
  • degree of emotional connectedness
• variation between collectivistic and individualistic cultures

  • cross-cultural studies have found friendships in collectivistic cultures being more intimate and less extensive than those in individualistic cultures
  • e.g. within western individualistic cultures, individuals are more likely to personally choose whether or not and with whom to enter into social relationships
  • self identity and self worth
• in contrast

  • east asian collectivistic cultures emphasise affiliative and cooperative activities along with advocating for interpersonal harmony and responsibility within friendships
  • indonesian friendships being lower in intimacy and more extensive and transient
  • korean friendships tend to be very intimate, exclusive and durable
• sequence of friendship reasoning

  • gummerum and keller- friendships among children in china, russia
  • found a universal developmental sequence of friendship reasoning for children in different societies (e.g. stages that begin with friendship formation and include trust, jealousy and conflict resolution
• however

  • friendship formation similar, but that cultural factors influence the types and expectations of friendships
  • e.g. heart to heart friendship in china emphasise the psychological and intimate aspects of friendship
  • share cultural beliefs about what it means to be a friend