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The Language of Looks
 Each year, the Cultural Connections program explores a different cross-cultural theme as a window into understanding our rich cultural diversity in Chicago.
Over the 2005–2006 program year, Cultural Connections focused on the common concern of “image” – the collection of messages about ourselves that we send and receive through appearance. Participating in this Language of Looks is unavoidable, because people read messages from our appearance, whether we want them to or not. Clothing, jewelry, accessories, tattoos, hairstyles, gestures, and even the forms of our bodies convey messages about who we are. Some of the important messages that people of all cultures read from appearance are: a person’s values, profession, group and community memberships, social status, gender, and age.
Making decisions about appearance is a dynamic cultural process. People change their appearance as they enter new stages in the life cycle, undergo shifts in their circumstances (such as a change in income or residence), and experience changing tastes and values in themselves and the society around them. Day to day, we vary our appearance based on who we are with and the activities in which we participate. Focusing on this dynamic part of human culture helps us understand how culture is learned, shared, and changes.
continue to Cultural Connections Event: "Beauty in Action" >>
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