Culture refers to the set of values, norms as well as the beliefs that a particular society holds. It includes both the things that are tangible and those that are intangible. It is often divided into two categories, that is, the realm and the ideal culture. In the United States, just like in many other countries, the ideal culture differs from real culture. Ideal culture includes both the values and the beliefs that a given society claim to hold; however, most of the time they are never followed. On the other real culture involves both the values and beliefs that a society follows. This paper discusses three examples of how real and ideal culture differ in the United States today. The examples include marriage, equality and premarital sex.
For instance, marriage is regarded as a life-long bond between to people. The ideal culture dictates that marriage is supposed to last for the entire lives of the couples and they should not break the union. Most families in the U.S. encourage and promote the ideal view of marriage as a life-long commitment to a partner. However, despite the belief, many couples across the U.S. file for divorce almost every single day. It is when couples file for divorce and eventually divorce that the real culture is witnessed. The courts rule on divorce cases and most of the time the couple’s parents and other family members support the divorces. Therefore, while the ideal culture dictates that married couples should remain together forever, the real culture is that so many Americans are filing for divorces and are divorcing every single day.
Also, real culture includes the adaptable system of values that is often applied as a guideline for preferred or a recommended behavior. It separates the right and the wrong; however, there are exceptions to almost everything. For instance, a look at the U.S. and the value placed on equality then one can not miss to see the clear diffidence between the ideal and the real culture. While in the U.S. children are taught that equality is very essential; it just forms part of Americans ideal culture. What one sees is inequality in almost every place. For example, the men earn more than the women even when the women do the same amount of work as the men. Apart from that, the minorities access less opportunities compared to the minorities. The real American culture does not include as much equality.
Apart from marriage and inequality in the U.S., the difference between ideal and real culture also comes at play when it comes to premarital sex. The American society looks at marriage as something very special and therefore, the society frowns on sex before marriage. The norm or the ideal culture is that there should be no sex before marriage. However, a large majority of Americans engage in premarital sex including the ones who abstained from engaging in sexual activities during their teenage years. Only about three percent of Americans wait until they are married to engage in sex. It means that in the U.S., even though the ideal culture requires that people do not engage in sex until they are married, the real culture is that a majority of Americans had sex before marriage and the trend continues.
