This chapter is written with the understanding that culture is an essential component in human communication. In addition, we wanted to make clear that unless you try to understand your role in a diverse culture, meaning making is virtually unattainable. By now, you know that cultural understanding can make you a more effective communicator and enhance your sensitivity to others. But, you may not know how you function in that understanding. One theory – Co-cultural Theory – helps us to unravel the extraordinariness of diverse cultural experiences. We address the primary concepts and themes of this theory next.
Years ago, it was very common to use words like “subculture” to describe those people who had views or experiences different than those in the dominant class of people. Today, however, intercultural scholars and practitioners agree that the word no longer has relevancy and is being replaced with the word “co-culture”. Let’s interrogate this a bit more.
Theorist Mark Orbe (1998) advanced that words like subculture and minority are laden with negative inferences. Instead of assuming and expecting that one dominant voice exists in diverse and complex societies such as the USA, communication researchers like Orbe advocate that we “co- exist as co-cultures.” At its core, Co-cultural Theory suggests that societies are hierarchical and that those at the top of the hierarchy are afforded power, privilege, and position. In most Western cultures, the rich are given opportunities that other social classes can only imagine! Co-cultural theorists
propose that co-cultures – often referred to as marginalized or disenfranchised cultures – struggle to get their voices heard. In a real sense, co-cultural communication is what takes place between the unrepresented people and those individuals in the dominant group.
Orbe believes that it’s important to uncover the commonalities among these marginalized groups (e.g., African Americans, the disabled, women, gay men and lesbians, etc.) as they communicate in a dominant society. Yet, he also contends that we need to understand that each group has uniqueness and this diversity needs to be acknowledged rather than assuming that each co-culture thinks and acts alike with common visions (think back to our discussion about assuming similarity).
Moreover, Co-cultural Theory suggests that non-dominant groups usually experience mutedness, and they try to get their voices heard “to reinforce, manage, alter, and overcome a societal position that renders them outside the center of power” (Orbe, 2005, p. 65). What this means is that the marginalized “aren’t gonna take it” and that they will engage in both assertive and aggressive communication so that they are not rendered silent. In fact, co-cultural theorists have borrowed from other theories such as Standpoint Theory to advance the notion that people’s standpoints – or positions that influence their perspectives and experiences – are necessarily affected by their communication with dominant populations. Still, Melinda Weathers and Mark Hopson (2015) discovered that it’s very difficult for co-cultural group members to establish close networks with those in the dominant structures.
Let’s provide an example so that you can better understand this ground- breaking theory. Consider the challenges that are ahead for Aafa, a 14-year- old Muslim girl who was adopted by a family in the Midwest. The girl – an orphan at the age of 10 – spent many years in a run-down home in Syria and
the bombings pretty much decimated her town and her family; Aafa is the only surviving member of her family. After a non-profit organization found a home for her in the USA, Aafa thought she would be able to start a new life in a caring community.
She was wrong. First, Aafa’s English is not good; her US family helps her, but she is having a hard time grasping the basics, even with a tutor.
Second, she is not used to going to school because her school was bombed when she was nine. Her mother tried to teach her at home, but the chaos and killings surrounding them simply made that impossible. So, having a school routine is something new to Aafa. Third, imagine Aafa’s anxiety when she is confronted by many of her peers as she struggles to hide her Muslim background. Teenagers can be unforgiving of difference, and some verbally harass her at school. Further, think about the cultural challenges of not being able to practice her faith openly because her adoptive family prefers that she attend church with them. Clearly, Aafa’s transition to the USA is not only culturally challenging, but also emotionally, physically, and psychologically difficult as well.
If co-cultural theorists tried to apply their principles to Aafa’s experiences, they would explain the enormous struggles she has because of the complexities of her six standpoints: a teenager, a girl, a Muslim, a Syrian refugee, an orphan, and a non-English speaking person. In addition, co- cultural theorists would be interested in studying how the dominant group (e.g., her teen peers, the English-speaking world she is in, adoptive parents, etc.) treats her. Then, those scholars like Mark Orbe would find it important to analyze whether or not Aafa would use any assertive communication to get her voice heard. What would you recommend to Aafa as you try to understand her situation?