Up to this point you may have noticed that culture has a lot of different meanings attached to it. In this section we are going to explore some of the various aspects of culture sociologists focus on. We will begin with language and symbols and then discuss values and norms. We will then turn to how we each have a cultural toolkit that helps guide us as we move through society. Finally, we will move our focus to subcultures and how meaning making can occur more at a group level, while challenging mainstream culture.

6.3.1 Signs, Symbols, and Meaning

Sociologists often distinguish between symbolic culture and material culture. Symbolic Culture includes ways of thinking, beliefs, values and assumptions. It also includes ways of behaving like norms, habits, and communication. Symbolic culture often does not have a material existence. Symbolic culture allows us to communicate via signs, gestures, and language.

Signs are the building blocks of symbolic culture. Signs are symbols that convey an idea. It could be something everyday like a traffic signal or price tag. They convey information. Numbers and letters are the most common signs, usually their meaning is taken for granted. Gestures are the signs that people make with their body. Gestures are another way of saying body language. This includes things like how much personal space someone has in an interaction and facial expressions.

Language is a system of communication using vocal sounds, gestures, and written symbols. Language is probably the most significant component of a culture because it allows us to communicate with other people in interaction. Further, language allows culture to be transmitted from one generation to the next.

Even while it constantly evolves, language shapes our perception of reality and our behavior. In the 1920s, linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf advanced this idea which became known as Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or linguistic relativity. It is based on the idea that people experience their world through their language, and therefore understand their world through the cultural meanings embedded in their language. The hypothesis suggests that language shapes thought and thus behavior (Swoyer 2003).

Words have attached meanings beyond their definition that can influence thought and behavior. For example, in the U.S. where the number thirteen is associated with bad luck, many high-rise buildings do not have a 13th floor. In Japan, however, the number four is considered unlucky, since it is pronounced similarly to the Japanese word for “death.” Overall, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis emphasizes how language filters our understanding of the social world.

Let us now turn to material culture. Material Culture includes, art and artifacts, tools and utensils, machines and weapons, clothing and furniture and so on (figure 6.2). It is anything physical or tangible that people create, use, or appreciate that has a meaning attached to it. Studying material culture can tell you a lot about a group or society. Sociologists have studied the art people hang in their homes (Halle 1996) to how buildings influence people’s actions (Gieryn 2002).

Material and nonmaterial aspects of culture are linked, and physical objects often symbolize cultural ideas. A metro pass is a material object, but it represents a form of nonmaterial culture, namely, capitalism, and the acceptance of paying for transportation. Clothing, hairstyles, and jewelry are part of material culture, but the appropriateness of wearing certain clothing for specific events reflects nonmaterial culture. A school building belongs to material culture symbolizing education, but the teaching methods and educational standards are part of education’s nonmaterial culture.

6.3.2 Values and Norms

When exploring culture, functionalist sociologists tend to place an emphasis on shared values. Values are shared beliefs about what a group considers worthwhile or desirable. They can help determine what is right or wrong in a particular group. You can think back to Weber’s discussion of the Protesent Ethic in Chapter 2, where Protestant values placed an emphasis on hard work and being frugal. Values tend to exist at a rather abstract level, they are agreed upon, but how they influence everyday life can be difficult to determine.

A sociologist whose work emphasized the importance of culture was Talcott Parsons. His work, which studied values, was popular in American sociology from the late 1940s until the mid 1960s. Particularly he took culture to mean values. Parsons and colleagues argued that without common values social order would be impossible. In other words, values are at the heart of social order. Without values people would not know how to interact with each other. Further, if the values are followed by all of a group they could lead to harmony. Parsons argued that there were value orientations that are systems of linked values. This linkage can be either in an individual’s mind or at the societal level. For example a society or individual could have goal directed values or expressive values.

Some researchers argue that countries can be grouped based on the different value orientations that they have. Based on survey research in 80 countries, the researchers found that there were four distinctive value orientations across the world: traditional values, secular rational values, survival values, and self-expression values. Traditional values emphasize the importance of religion, family, and nationalism. These values are often contrasted with secular-rational values, which place less emphasis on religion and family life as sources of authority. Survival values tend to focus on economic and physical security. These are contrasted with self expression values, which places a strong emphasis on freedom and individuality, with survival and security taken for granted.

In research on values orientation, the United States and most of Latin America score high on traditional and self expression value measures. A large part of Europe scores high on secular-rational and self expression values. Countries in Africa and the Middle East score high on traditional and survival value measures. While countries in Eastern Europe, like Ukraine, score high on secular-rational and survival values (Inglehart and Baker 2000). To see a recent cultural map based on this research, check out this link: World Values Survey Cultural Map 2022 [Image]. Specifically, focusing on the United States, some of these different value orientations may map onto differences between urban and rural areas. In urban areas there is a stronger emphasis placed on self expression values, in rural areas a stronger emphasis is placed on traditional values (Edsall 2022).

Do Americans have a core set of values? Some research from 50 years ago suggested, yes there are a set of central American values (Williams 1970), such as valuing achievement and success, activity and work, efficiency, practicality, that some argue show evidence of a self-centered individualistic culture. More recent research suggests that values of Americans are actually more complicated and shift depending on social events (Cerulo 2008).

An example of this can be seen in debates around democratic values within the United States. Within the politics of the United States there exist pro-democratic and counter-democratic values. These values can be seen undergirding different types of political actors, interactions, and institutions. In terms of democratic actors, those motivated by such values are seen as rational, calm, and realistic decision makers. Counter-democratic actors in contrast are typically portrayed as irrational, passionate, and angry. In our interactions with other people, democratic coded interactions are open, trusting, based on being truthful. Anti- democratic interactions lean towards being secretive, deceitful, conspiratorial, and deferential to authority. Democratic and anti-democratic values are also present in social institutions. Those institutions following democratic rule are regulated, law abiding, and impersonal. Which again contrasts with counter-democratic institutions, which tend to be arbitrary and focusing on personal loyalty (Alexander and Smith 1993). How might this apply to contemporary American politics?

Up to this point we have focused on rather abstract values. What about the beliefs that guide most of our everyday interactions? This brings us to norms. Norms develop out of a value system, they are largely agreed upon by most members of a group. Norms are the social expectations of how to behave in a situation. While values operate at an abstract level, norms provide the specific dos and don’ts of a specific situation.The American political system has relied on several norms over the past century, one of which is mutual toleration. Mutual toleration involves recognizing that our political rivals are decent and patriotic. As long as our rivals follow the constitutional rules that they should have the right to govern (Levitsky and Ziblatt 2018).

Some norms are officially codified and made formal, particularly into laws or rules. Others are informal and left implicit/unspoken, generally the “way things are done”. That said, norms are specific to a culture, time period, and are not universal.

There are different types of norms. Folkways are loosely enforced norms, ordinary conventions of everyday life. It could be standards of dress or dinner table etiquette, usually if people don’t conform to them they are considered eccentric or peculiar, they are not seen as a real threat.

Mores are norms that carry greater moral significance, we are expected to conform to them. They are closely related to the core values of a social group. Breaches are treated seriously and bring severe repercussions. An example is theft.

Taboos are the most powerful type of norm. They are so deeply ingrained that if they are violated it creates a sense of disgust or horror. An example is cannibalism.

Norms are enforced through sanctions. Sanctions can be negative or positive. Positive sanctions express approval, praise, for following a particular norm, conformity towards norm. Negative sanctions express disapproval for not following a norm. In other words it is a type of punishment. Both positive and negative sanctions are mechanisms of social control. You can find a more thorough discussion of norms, social control, and sanctions in Chapter 7.

6.3.3 Cultural Toolkits

Contemporary cultural sociologists have moved away from emphasizing values and norms. There are questions if values actually influence people’s actions. Instead there has been a move to understand culture as a “toolkit”—that is, culture as a “repertoire from which actors select differing pieces for constructing lines of actions” (Swidler 1986:275). Our cultural toolkits allow us to piece together and carry out different actions as we go about our days. The toolkits include symbols, rituals, habits, and stories that may conflict. Even though our toolkits might not be too coherent, people have the capacity to employ their toolkits to meet most circumstances they find themselves in.

Let’s focus for a moment on the influence of habits on our actions. How often have you driven a car or ridden a bike from point a to point b without really thinking about it? Or regularly engage in a variety of morning habits such as drinking coffee, eating breakfast, brushing your teeth? All of these habits are part of what sociologists call nondeclarative culture.

This type of culture is acquired slowly and we usually aren’t that conscious of it. Nondeclarative culture is something we have internalized deeply and we usually employ it automatically in our actions. Examples include skills, dispositions, and classification schemes. This type of culture contrasts with declarative culture which can be verbally expressed. It includes when we consciously classify the world or provide justifications or rationalizations for our actions (Lizardo 2017; Cerulo 2018). In our interactions declarative culture tends to be slower and deliberate, less automatic. This includes our values, attitudes, worldviews and ideologies.

Karen Cerulo (2018) provides an interesting application of these forms of culture to how we interpret and understand smells. Using focus groups she had people smell perfumes and then reflect on them. She found that the people in her study had nondeclarative/automatic reactions to the perfumes. Drawing on their declarative culture, the participants also attached particular smells to different classes and races. In other words, she found that smell could be used by people to create boundaries between groups. In this particular study, Cerulo found that the participants associated the smells of cheaper perfumes (floral) with a lower class standing. While the participants associated a daytime professional scent (citrus/apple/fresh) with whiteness and being a member of the middle class.

6.3.4 Subcultures

Let’s return to the example at the beginning of the chapter. How exactly can we understand riot grrrl given what we have discussed so far? What were some of the values and norms associated with the movement? What might be some material and symbolic cultural objects associated with the movement? Perhaps the movement might be best categorized as a subculture.

As a concept, subcultures don’t make sense unless we have a notion of dominant or mainstream culture. Dominant culture includes the values, norms, meanings and practices of the group within society that is the most powerful. It is hegemonic, meaning it is everywhere within our society and largely taken for granted.

As an example of dominant culture, take commercial radio stations. They typically only play a limited type of music, with songs determined by business interest to sell as much as possible. Artists not on large labels and with fewer resources might then only be played on college radio, public radio, or online. In the United States the dominant culture is often associated with white middle class culture, which leaves little room for diverse voices.

One way to define a subculture is a group within society that is differentiated by its distinctive values, norms, and lifestyle. The culture is different from the dominant culture. The people making up subcultures have distinctive ways of life, yet they exist within the larger cultural system and have contact with external cultures. Within a subculture there are powerful and elaborate symbols and meanings. They produce cultural objects that are significant to insiders and mystifying to outsiders.

Teenagers and young people are drawn to subcultures because they provide a way for them to express themselves and differentiate themselves from their peers. Further, subcultures tend not to be as anchored by the institutions of adult life.

The group boundaries of a subculture can become problematic. If the group boundaries are strong, non “authentic” members might be kicked out, and it might be hard to admit new members to the subculture. If the group boundaries are fluid the subculture might become absorbed and assimilated into mainstream culture.

When sociologically examined subcultures style is a major theme that comes up. Style is a way to indicate membership in a subculture. Style can be defined as including: image, demeanor, and argot. Image is the appearance component which includes clothing, accessories like hairstyle, jewelry and artifacts. Demeanor is made up of expression, posture. Think of how members of a subculture present themselves, how they wear the clothing. Argot is the special vocabulary and language of the subculture and how it’s delivered. For example, for punk rockers a mosh pit is “an area at a punk show where punk rockers bang into each other (mosh), pogo, slam dance, etc.” (Reid 2006: 26).