Chapter 5 Communication and Culture 141The Associated Press initially described it as “flesh-colored,” but changed it to
“champagne” when one editor questioned: “Whose flesh? Not hers” (Phanor-
Faury, 2010).
This is a simple and common example of ethnocentrism, a belief in the
superiority of your own culture or group and a tendency to view other cultures
through the lens of your own. Together with intercultural anxiety, ethnocentrism
can inhibit our ability to have satisfying intercultural interactions and experiences
(Neuliep, 2012). Ethnocentrism can make communication biased: we tend to
communicate from the perspective of our own group without acknowledging
other perspectives. The offense is often unintended, which further reveals the fact
that we sometimes behave in ways that “normalize” one group and marginalize
another—without even realizing it. Describing a peach-colored dress as “flesh”
colored, for example, insinuates that light-colored skin is the default standard,
and that darker skin tones are therefore something “other” or different from
the norm. It’s also unclear. “While beige may be ‘nude’ for most white women,”
noted one commentator, “‘nude’ for me would be brown” (Phanor-Faury, 2010).
Ethnocentrism is not the same thing as ethnic or cultural pride. It’s a won-
derful and uniquely human experience to express feelings of patriotism or to
experience a deep respect for your religion or ethnic heritage. Ethnocentrism
arises when you express a bias on behalf of your own co-cultures—when you
treat others as inferior or inconsequential, or ignore them altogether. Carlos,
for example, is a proud Catholic for whom the Christmas holidays have great
religious meaning. He decorates his home with a nativity scene and sends Christ-
mas cards to family and fellow Christians as December 25 draws near. But he
also sends a separate set of “Season’s Greetings” cards to his friends who do not
celebrate Christmas. He thus shows respect for their traditions while still sharing
his wishes for peace and goodwill with them.
Discrimination
Ethnocentrism can lead to discrimination—behavior toward
a person or group based solely on membership in a particular
group, class, or category. Discrimination arises when atti-
tudes about superiority of one culture lead to rules and
behaviors that favor that group and harm another group.
Recall from Chapter 2 that stereotypes about and prejudice
toward a particular cultural group may result in
discrimination, preventing individuals from under-
standing and adapting to others (Cargile & Giles,
1996). Yet seemingly positive stereotypes can
have similarly discriminatory effects. For exam-
ple, consider the “model minority” stereotype
of Asian Americans that characterizes them as
quiet, hardworking, studious, and productive.
As Suzuki (2002) points out, these beliefs
have led some employers to dismiss Asian
Americans’ complaints about discrimination
in the workplace and have made government
A BEAUTIFUL
GOWN? Yes. A flesh-colored
gown? Only if you’re white
and think ethnocentrically
that white skin is the norm for
“flesh.” Brendan Smialowski/Getty
Images