Cultural Sensitivity Essay

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Cultural Sensitivity Introduction to Communication 10/20/13 Cultural Sensitivity As a future nurse practitioner cultural sensitivity is very important, I have to be thoughtful of other cultures and their traditions. There are several aspects of cultural sensitivity that come to mind, stereotyping, discrimination, racism, and prejudice. These are situations in which we may portray a lack of sensitivity without realizing it or intending to offend someone else. A stereotype is “...a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people.” (Cardwell, 1996). Stereotyping happens all the time, people assume that everybody has the same believes and same ideas. Stereotyping imposes certain expectations on others based on partial information and limited experiences. For example, many men assume that they are superior drivers than women. Also, we tend to assume that all Asians are good at math, and that all Arabs are Muslims and are terrorists. Mostly after 9/11 people were stereotyping most Muslims in the USA. Some people discriminate against race, beliefs, sexual preference, employment, religion, gender, size, and even health. Obese individuals are highly stigmatized and face multiple forms of prejudice and discrimination because of their weight (Brownell KD,2005). In the work place obese people are viewed as unhealthy, and pose possible liabilities for the company, thus some companies are discriminating on employing these people. Many airlines discriminate against obese people by creating policies such as if you don't fit in a seat with an extension seatbelt and the armrest down, you will be charged for two seats or removed from the plane. In itself these polices are discriminatory, however, I can see how these companies are trying to maximize their profits and also to protect themselves against further complains from other passengers.

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