Mikayla Pate Cultural Reporter Post #1

Culture is the combination of shared experiences, attitudes, views, behaviors, histories and ways of communicating that are shared by people. When people share a few of the above qualities of what culture is they are generally in a same cultural group. The culture group that I am going to be focusing on for the semester is the group “Fathers”. Different types of fathers have different attitudes and opinions about the previously mentioned items that would make up culture. For example, a middle aged married man with children probably has different behaviors, attitudes, and histories than a teen-father would have. They do share the common trait of having a child, and being involved within the child’s life.  This is a separate culture from that of a “mother” because a Mother generally has a completely different experience with childbirth, and have a different set of priorities, attitudes and behaviors than the father would. My group of “Fathers” will generally share a similar experience when it comes to childbirth/childhood to a point although will differ when it comes to a live-in/ live separately relationship with the mother. The overall attitudes and views will likely be similar when it comes to children though.

Not every male that has a child is able to be considered a father and be a part of that cultural group. In order for a male to be considered a father they must be active and present within their child’s life. There is a struggle when it comes to un-wed parents. The father can often not play as big of a role as they want to when it comes to being involved with their son or daughter. This has sparked the Father’s Right’s Movement which focuses on equal and fair treatment when it comes to custody, visitation, and child support. This culture group can be very broad and can cover all fathers in general or can be narrowed by age group, relationship status, or by how active they are in their child’s life.

I plan to access this group through friends. I have met many younger fathers and will be able to get insight from their experiences.  I plan to meet with them through Facebook, Skype and in-person when available. I will try to reach out to a few different fathers that have different experiences when it comes to being active in their child’s life.  I could attend a variety of activities such as events targeted specifically toward children. When there are events for children it is likely that at least a few Fathers will be in attendance.  

Martin, J.N. & Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural communications in contexts (6th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

"Men's/Fathers' Movement." Men's/Fathers' Movement. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.