Week Three: Social Class and Cultural Diversity

In Week Two I mentioned "boundaries", but I decided to wait until this post to explain them a little more clearly.  "Boundaries" can be looked at as how open or closed we are to people in our relationships to them.  For example, there might be rigid, permeable (clear), or poor (diffused) boundaries.

Rigid Boundaries include little exchange between two people.  For example, this might be a good boundary to have between two people who break up.  An ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend rarely need to be close after a break up.  Sometimes this boundary is created after a divorce, family conflicts, or death of a family member.
Permeable Boundaries would be a healthy and appropriate relationship with a quality exchange between persons.  A good example of this could be drawn around a couple who just got married.  It's important that both the husband and wife are close together, but that there is a boundary between them and their parents.  This isn't to say that extended family is forever shut out of their lives, but that the dynamics of intimacy have change in a healthy way in the starting of a new family unit.
Poor Boundaries are ones that are easily violated and seem to be overly-open or unclear as to where the lines are.  These might be created between persons such persons as sisters who were very close and shared everything this each other, but now that one of them is married, there might be some things that don't need to be mentioned.  Keeping this boundary too open might cause problems between people.  This type of boundary would be very dangerous if created between co-workers, something I would even call inappropriate.

The reason I included these boundaries in this weeks post is because depending on our social class and cultural we might be prone to more distinct boundaries than others, almost naturally.  Does money, mannerisms, education, or religion play a role in the boundaries we create between family members and friends?  I think there is an influence there, whether we want it to be or not.  Now, this doesn't mean that boundaries can't be changed or redefined.  In fact, that is encouraged when changes occur to our family units.  Also, depending on what our cultural background is, we might be might have certain sets of rules, boundaries, or structures in place that seem natural and right to us, but unethical or extreme to there people.