Culture School is in session! In this series, we take an aspect of intercultural theory and apply to daily life. Basically, our goal is to expose those cultural moonwalking bears. And because this blog is about culture and education, we consider each topic in the context of the classroom.
photo by maryatexitzero
I can’t wear flip flops to work.
I just can’t do it. Even the nice, more formal looking flip flops – I can’t wear them. It’s not that they are not acceptable where I work: I have plenty of colleagues who don’t think twice about wearing them.
Then why can’t I wear flip flops to work?
Well, I had some time to think about this, and I concluded that my hesitation has got to have something to do with the high power distance country I grew up in: Romania (which scored 90/100 on Geert Hofstede’s power distance continuum).
I lived most of my life in a high power distance culture. I grew up speaking a language that reflected the large power distance between people (e.g. formal and informal pronouns, just like in Spanish).
And I was taught to wear nice, formal clothes when I interacted with people of high status, such as teachers or doctors. Or at work, where I might run into somebody of higher status (managers, directors, CEO, etc.)
photo by wharman
Basically, my culture taught me that the clothes that I chose to wear reflected the level of respect I had for the people that I was interacting with.
So, in my mind, flip flops are not “nice and formal”, and therefore are out of the question in the workplace, where I could run into the CEO at any point. The idea of talking to a CEO in flip flops just horrifies me!
Interesting the strong hold that my Romanian culture still has on me, even after 7 years of living in the U.S. Talk about being programmed by your culture!
But, back to flip flops: in the U.S. flip flops are everywhere. I even saw women wear them at weddings! And, shockingly for me, at work!
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to me that American students wear them at school. But it does.
I am sure that American teachers or students don’t think twice about the flip flops that they see all over their school. But, when I visit schools, or when I drive to work in the morning and see students walk to school, I can’t help but notice the flip flops.
And, so, I am convinced that the ease with which American students wear flip flops at school has something to do with the informal, low power distance culture that they grew up in.
I am curious what you think about this topic: how common are flip flops in your school? Are there any other visible signs of low/high power distance in your school (e.g. hair styles?).
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{ 1 comment }
The black and white flip flops in the photo are exactly the same as the ones I wear to work once in a while – but usually only on Fridays.
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