The Cultural Iceberg

The cultural iceberg is a metaphor often used to describe the difficulties of truly understanding another culture and how this affects our behavior and interactions with those around us.

The iceberg analogy works well because there are some aspects of culture which are easy to notice, things like language, dress, holidays and festivals, and food. Most things that differ about culture, however, reside beneath the surface. This other "90%" of the iceberg includes things like family values, gender roles, gestures, personal space, and so much more. All pieces of this iceberg are vital in understanding how culture affects an individual or group.

Here in America, we might be very unaware of just how much of our way of life and perspective is shaped by our culture. Take a second and look at some of the items on the invisible portion of the iceberg: our sense of humor, aesthetics, worth ethic, family structures - all are impacted by our culture.

The Visible Culture

These are the aspects of culture that are easy to see and understand rather quickly. When you are in a culture different from your own, it is easy to look around and notice the different clothes, food, physical traits, and language. These are also the things that may be easier to catch on to. Especially here in America, we love food from other cultures! Just think of the last time you decided you wanted Mexican after church, or decided to order Chinese for dinner, or that Italian restaurant you love to take out-of-town visitors to. It's also relatively easy to pick up a few key phrases from other languages: "¿donde esta el baño?" and "konnichiwa" are both words and phrases from other languages that you probably recognize.

These visible aspects of culture can be fascinating and help us appreciate the diversity of the world around us.

The Invisible Culture

But what about those aspects of culture that are not immediately visible? These actually have a far greater impact on how people think and behave. There is a long list of items in this category which would be both exhausting and pointless to list here, but a few for you to think about:

1. Religion: While there may be visible portions of this such as churches dotting a countryside, or women dressed in hijabs, or the lyrics and style of music played – there are many aspects of religion that remain invisible to a visitor. Consider your own religion and how many aspects of that would remain invisible to a tourist as well as how deeply and fundamentally your religion changes the way you think and behave.

2. Worldviews: *while this word can mean a lot of different things, in this context, I am using it to refer to the different mindsets we see in the world. There are three different (and hundreds of combinations of these three) mindsets or worldviews that we see in cultures globally: guilt/innocence, honor/shame, and fear/power. Depending on which of these is the dominate feature in a culture, their views of right and wrong, their heroes and villains, and what they view as success and failure in life change drastically. (if you are interested in the differences in these belief models and how they all stemmed from The Fall, check out Honor and Shame: Unlocking the Door by Roland Muller)

3. Gestures: Pick up any country guide and you are bound to come a cross a section about gestures. In the United States, we use a lot of hand gestures, many of which are used to portray a positive emotion. However, in another country these gestures may be extremely offensive - meaning a visitor may unintentionally and unknowingly create a rift in a relationship when they were just trying to be friendly!

In Conclusion

The cultural iceberg is a helpful metaphor that reminds us that culture is much more than just the visible aspects we see on the surface. By taking the time to understand the invisible aspects of culture, even if it's just an awareness that they exist, can help us avoid and work through misunderstandings and build stronger relationships with people from different backgrounds. There is a richness and diversity in the world and in individuals. And I believe that there are reflections of God's character inside each and every culture and individual - both in the visible and invisible aspects.