Just like sub-systems within a family unit, sub-cultures exist within a culture. That may seem obvious, but let's break it down... shall we?
The American Dream
When the United States was first established as means for immigrants to come, whoever could get on a boat would try to come to this part of the world.
With so many people from various countries and cultures came all sorts of diversity, including economically with different social statuses. But you are already well-aware of this information.
Within each culture are subcultures, the subculture you are part of varies depending on social class and your family background. These have obviously developed and evolved over time.
Throughout the course of building the country, we have adopted a new way of carrying ourselves day-to-day based on our social class. It's incredibly tough to change to a higher social class, most people are unsuccessful. I, however, have a different story.
Changing Social Classes
At the age of 5, my parents divorced. For many years, my mother was a single parent filling in both roles and working over full-time (by that, I mean she worked 12-16 hour days). My mom never really disclosed to me what social class we were considered to be under, but I always knew we had to be frugal with our money constantly.
After 14 long years of being single and raising a family, my mom finally remarried. She married a man who was certainly a step up in both shown love in parenting as well as a step up, or two, in our social class.
This scenario, however, doesn't happen to everyone. You don't always get another chance as my family did. Some families sacrifice a lot just to reach a steady income.
Immigration
Many people have continually immigrated to the United States since the knowledge of its existence. Some families don't see the father for a few years because he's working in the United States to make enough for his family to come.
This causes some hard times in the family to arise. Family tensions increase and maybe even feelings of neglect. Coming over to the states also forces families to adopt new cultures they aren't used to, we're finally getting to subcultures.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am certainly part of a subculture in a different way, but so are different immigrant families.
Subcultures vs. Stereotypes
The tricky part of subcultures is knowing when to uphold those cultural traditions you know and when to put a hold on those traditions. What I mean by this is that there is a time and place for everything. There are times to incorporate what you've learned about the culture surrounding you, there are times to keep what you've known in your subculture just within those who are aware of the subculture's traditions, and there are times to show others more of your subculture.
For example, I had the chance to travel to Jerusalem for a semester at the BYU Jerusalem Center. During my time there, I traveled almost the entire country, as well as a good portion of Jordan and Greece. I immersed myself in so many different cultures while traveling a large portion of the world. While in different parts of the world, we were taught different manners to keep in mind when coming in contact with others.
When I came in contact with people, I kept in mind certain mannerisms I was taught, but I was often proven wrong. Certain things I was taught that would offend people, definitely didn't offend them. They actually adapted to my mannerisms they were aware of to make me feel comfortable.
In conclusion, subcultures are a very real thing to consider when learning about people different from than you. The biggest takeaway is to distinguish the differences between subcultures and stereotypes and that subcultures are important to keep the traditions.
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