Cultural Mindfulness and Halloween
“Halloween gives you the opportunity to be creative. Be spooky, not cringey” Illuminative
Halloween 2022. Now that most of us are back in our workplaces, many employers are resurrecting the festivity of celebrating Halloween in the office. There might be pumpkins decorating the lobby, those orange corn candies in the breakroom and maybe spider webs decorating doorways. Some may have organized a Halloween Party at work, encouraging people to wear their costumes as part of the day’s festivities. It’s fun! Why not?
However, between the spooky and the silly, comes the cringey: those costumes that reflect a culture or dress of that related to another person’s culture or country not of their own. I’ve seen afros being paraded by white and male co-workers, costumes mimicking Indigenous garments or clothing. Even worse, these ill-fitted costumed people would pair a caricatured voice to match the outfit. While it might seem extreme, it is common. And it is offensive and harmful. And it continues to happen, especially in spaces where the global majority* is not fully represented in leadership.
Cultural mindfulness is essential as you approach this Halloween. I won’t use the term ‘cultural sensitivity’ because often this term is focussed on a hyper need to not offend someone rather than connect and understand them. You’re right. We must not offend. AND we need to go deeper into connecting with others in our shared humanity.
Did you know that we learn more from people who are different than us than from those who are similar to us?
Many studies within the vein of creativity research have concluded that when “uncertainty or chaos is managed with an open-minded attitude, team members . . . [can create] the best of all cultural approaches in solving workplace problems.”** Multi-diverse perspectives create higher-quality solutions to everyday work processes, patterns and policies. When uncertainty or difference is in our peripheral sphere or is something we encounter, we can be changed. That is if we are open. Being culturally mindful person is not only having a posture of open-mindedness, but it’s also having a posture of empathy, humble curiosity and a genuine willingness to learn. It provides a platform to go beyond consuming knowledge about another person or their culture, but to appreciate, to learn and to be changed by them.
We all have our assumptions about other cultures, our expectations of what cultures are and many of us might pride ourselves on our cultural competence. But just as I don’t want to be only thought of as loud and ignorant (a common stereotype given to Americans), neither do you want to be coerced to fit a stereotype or cultural norm*** either. It’s the same for those of the global majority.
We live in a globalized society. Wherever we go, this is the reality. And if we want to create healthier workspaces, stronger leadership, and organizational growth, we have to be aware, mindful in our interactions and work to honour differences. To be culturally mindful, we must begin with mindful listening.
“Mindful listening demands that we pay thoughtful attention to both the verbal and the nonverbal messages of the speaker before responding. . . Learn to listen responsively. . . to the sounds, tones, gestures, movements, nonverbal nuances, pauses, silence and identity meanings in a given intercultural situation. Mindful listening essentially involves a consciously competent shift of perspective, taking into account not only how things look from YOUR identity perspective, but also how they look and feel from the other’s . . .” ****
As you approach this upcoming holiday with costumes and festivities, remember that culture is to be celebrated, is to be approached with curiosity and centred on listening and allowing a person to be as they are. Be creative. Don’t be cringey.
Terms Defined and Sources cited:
‘Global Majority’ is a term to represent “people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities'.” Read Rosemary Campbell-Stephens excerpt explaining this phrase and the full context of what it means. Global Majority; Decolonising the Language and Reframing the Conversation about Race.
Ting-Toomey, S. and Chung, L.C. Understanding Intercultural Communication. Second Edition. 2012: Oxford University Press. p. 8.
A ‘cultural norm’ refers to “the collective expectations of what constitutes proper or improper behaviour in a given interaction scene”. Ting-Toomey, S. and Chung, L.C. Understanding Intercultural Communication. Second Edition. 2012: Oxford University Press. p. 18.
Ibid, Understanding Intercultural Communication, p. 87.