10.18.2021 Week 6: Personal Space Differences

 

PERSONAL SPACE DIFFERENCES

    Let's take a moment to reflect on the cultural differences of personal space. There are some countries where personal space is crucial to their happiness, where other cultures are completely the opposite. 

    I, personally, am a very private person when it comes to physical contact or giving others their space. I lived in Mexico and I have traveled to other countries where it is very common to give a lot of hugs and to kiss each other on the cheek. This is not just the women or men, but both! At first, being from the United States, for me it was very shocking to me and quite the change. I adapted quickly, though, and I now wish that the rest of the world was more connected in that way. I felt so much love for my Mexican friends and family and I knew I always had someone to hug or a shoulder to cry on. Now that I live in the United States again, I do not hug or kiss anyone on the cheek regularly, a part from my husband. 

    In a study done by the Washington post, however, one thing that almost all cultures agreed on was this: Women prefer more personal space from strangers than men. Interesting. The results also showed that the warmer the climate, the less distance there tended to be between people. The colder the climate, the more distance was kept. This could definitely be correlation and nothing to do with causation, but still an interesting study result. 

    When we misread someone's intentions or even cultural differences, confusion and even negative feelings can occur. I went to Guatemala to visit one of my companions from my mission in Mexico. One thing, we loved to do was dance. We went to a couple of dances where the music was loud and the men our age were dancing very close to us. It could have easily been interpreted as them trying to flirt with me or something else, but I knew the Guatemalteco culture well enough to not take any of it personally. They weren't dancing inappropriately by any means (as they were also members of our same church), but according to what I was used to in my culture, I could have easily thought that they liked me as more than a friend or were trying to flirt with me. The personal space difference was definitely evident.

    As, I have mentioned previously, we need to be ever so careful to not misinterpret other's intentions and actions. It could very well be the cultural difference when it comes to personal space.  What will you do to help ensure that others around you are comfortable?  

References: 

What 'Personal Space' looks like around the world, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/04/24/how-close-is-too-close-depends-on-where-you-live/