When we think about culture, what comes to mind? To most of us, culture consist of traditional practices in our communities and with the evolving world and modernisation, we believe that these practices no longer impact relationships or marriages. However, lately I have come to realize that culture is simply how we do things; from how we dress, how we eat, to our perceptions of finance as well as, our religious beliefs.
When two people come together, they bring to the union different ways of doing things (culture) based on their backgrounds.This means that people from different continents have a greater diversity of culture compared to those from the same country but different tribal communities. This however, also means that you could be from the same ethnic community but have cultural variations either based on societal status or religion.
Depending on the culture, you may have different eating habits which may spill over and affect what you buy when food shopping. How much are you willing to compromise? Financially, what are your spending habits? In most cases based on our backgrounds and experiences, there is bound to be disagreements if not handled properly. Religious beliefs is another major issue which again carries with it, values which vary from one person to another. While these may look like very deep issues to deal with, the beauty is that they vary from one relationship to another and are very manageable.
I have seen friends break up because of cultural differences but I have seen others survive the test. Do cultural differences have an impact on relationships? Yes they do, but it’s all about viewing the person for whom they are, not based on your own cultural lens or what society thinks about them. To get a male perspective on this, click HERE to read my colleague Mitchell’s views.
