Culture is something that seems to be the foundation on which an individual is built upon, and from individuals, the foundation that society itself seems to be built upon. The way a person thinks, dresses, and acts are reflections of the surrounding culture and society is a reflection of the individuals in it. Culture is constantly changing it seems, and individuals and society are interdependent on each other in creating it.
Culture brings to mind the concept and depth of the word perception—the reality is one, but it can be perceived and interpreted in an infinite number of ways that gives so much color to our world and serves as a basis for analysis of this “culture” that branches out from one objective occurrence. In analyzing different cultures or perceptions, individuals can broaden their own social horizons and societies can integrate and overlap their traditions with other societies, making for a incredible mosaic of ideas, each building upon others but each holding its own and unique in its own respect.
Analysis of culture seems to take on many forms. Culture is inherent in every part of a society, and is manifest in all the particular segments. In reading these ubiquitous signs in a particular society, one can unravel the different layers of meaning and significance certain elements have in that particular society. It is always interesting and intriguing to see that while certain objects are universally made, manufactured, and classified the meanings, purposes, and importance of each is fascinatingly different in different cultures. These readings of the implications of these signs are important in dissecting and understanding the different cultures, and putting them together in the unified context of the world and its inhabitants.
Another interesting point in analysis of cultures is that the subjects, the individuals who make up the culture, are not static. They are constantly changing and dynamic, taking in more information and processing, and integrating those changing perspectives and positions into their culture. These changes seem to be important to document and analyze but it is equally important to identify the common theme or overarching theme that lays the foundation of a particular culture—the inter-textuality of a culture. There seems to be a line between what may change and branch out and what constitutes the basis for those branches, the core of values that define the essence of a culture. This can be made to be analogous to the concept of a rainbow of sorts, each color is explicably classified and unique in its own right, but all blend and conform and unify into an image that is stunning on a different level.
Bordo’s ideas on feminism and bodies exemplifies this idea of culture being dynamic, changing, the subjects altering their positions due to the changing tides of society or influence from positions of subjects of other cultures while maintaining a distinctive core. Bordo explicates that the core value of feminism is self-control, submissiveness, emotional and physical nurturing. The way these values have been shown however has changed as time has progressed. Before, feminism was exemplified by staying at home, looking after the needs of others before attending to her own now it has branched to exemplify some male characteristics as well-- independence and self-mastery. Feminism nowadays has been retained in terms of maintenance of body while external activities such as going out and working have been added to embody the arising need of a masculine tinge to this value of feminism. This again alludes to concepts of culture changing, overlapping, diverging, and converging while still maintaining a definitive core—before masculinity and femininity were mutually exclusive, now they have converged to a certain extent while still comprising several unique features.
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