My personal environment is western society. This encompasses a wide array of different cultures and values but can be seen as very different form eastern society. As someone who has traveled to China, in the eastern world, and stayed in a Chinese family home I can confirm that subtle and more obvious differences exist. Western society seems to value individuals more than groups and communities than they do in the western world. The preservation of culture is also very important in China, and I can only assume that this sentiment is present in other countries in the East.
Western culture is present in many European countries as well as others that have experience immigrants from european countries such as Australia and the Americas. Western values have many different influences including Celtic, Greek, Latin and Slavic as well at the different variations of the Christian faith. Despite Western Society’s many faults, there has been great ideas and customs that have orginated in the west. Western concepts include democracy, the separation of church and state, freedom of speech and the pursuit of equality. Western societies are often concerned about self discovery, self criticism and self inprovement and this has helped western countries because more interlectually developed. Western countries are generally economically and superior and more powerful than eastern countries with the exception of China. Although countires such as Japan and South Korea that have adopted a more western values have economically benefitted from the changes. There are many different opinions about the top five most powerful countires so I have included lists from three different websites linked below.
Most powerful countries according www.usnews.com
- United States of America (West)
- Russia (West)
- China (East)
- United Kingdom (West)
- Germany (West)
Most powerful countries according to www.themeshnews.com
- United States of America (West)
- United Kingdom (West)
- Germany (West)
- China (East)
- France (West)
Most powerful countires according to www.the-american-interest.com
- United States of America (West)
- China (East)
- Japan (East)
- Russia (West)
- Germany (West)
http://www.themeshnews.com/top-10-most-powerful-countries-in-the-world-2016/
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/power-rankings
http://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/01/24/the-eight-great-powers-of-2017/
Western culture is also built on capitalism which is why western countries or countries that have adopted certain form of western culture are on average more economically developed then countries with easter culture. Many people believe that western culture is superior to eastern culture and this is partially to do with western countries being, on the whole, rich and more powerful than eastern countries. Western culture is also more progressive and inclusive than eastern culture. In the west people of all races, sexualities, gender identities and backgrounds are more likely to be accepted in western countries. Here is a link to an essay describing how western values are superior to eastern values in the opinion of Ibn Warraq, an anonymous author critical of Islam, who we can only assume from the pen name is of middle eastern origin. I cannot say that I agree with everything said in the essay as I feel that Warraq is often overly critical of the islamic faith as many muslins live in western countries very peacefully.
Essay on the superiority of western culture.
Something that is present in both eastern and western cultures is patriarchy, men and women are not considered equal in either cultures. However, the west are known for their objectification of women and do this much more consciously and obviously than in the west. Above is some examples of how women are sexualised and objectified in western advertising. The Dolce & Gabbana advertisement depicts a women being pinned down be man while three men look on. The woman is not even making eye contact with the man she is being restrained by which emphasises the passivity she is displaying. The image actually makes me, as a woman, rather uncomfortable. The American Apparel advertisement again shows a woman being held by a man, this time upside down by the ankles in a suggestive position. Although both figures have no sense of identity with the lack of faces, there is more of the male figure on show, suggesting that he is the dominant of the two. I want to explore the idea of how women are presented in the western world in this project and perhaps look at the time of women that are celebrated for their looks.
Something that I want to explore in my personal study is my personal environment of western society and the western female stereotypes that I fit into. I explored female stereotypes of the 20th century with an outsiders perspective as I was born in 1998 and was not present to see the stereotypes I explored first hand. In this project I hope to explore my own archetypes and how I do not fit into one box, but many.
