Cultural Identity

According to the Hay’s addressing model, my cultural identities as a Latina woman of low socioeconomic status makes me part of non-dominant groups. My identities set me apart from the majority population which means that; I am perceived inferior than those of dominant groups. My lineage constitutes of indigenous ancestors that like me, share a darker skin tone that till this day is seen imperfect.

Though it does not come up in everyday thought, cultural identity is an idea that all humans possess. Abridged, cultural identity can be simply explained as the sharing of a similar culture by people of various ethnicities. However, cultural identity is more complex than that, defined by an individual’s values, beliefs, and ideas of moral behavior influenced by their culture. Furthermore, cultural identity is ever changing from individual to individual. This means that although two individuals may be of the same ethnicity, differences in circumstances may cause variations between the individuals’ personal beliefs. As a result of interracial interactions, multiculturalism has grown during the twenty-first century.

There is a Mexican man that enters with the rest of his family. They eat beans, rice, flour tortillas and etc. The family does there every day routine, the dad wakes up at six- thirty to go to work in his truck. The children go to school and the mother stays at home. The things a person does in their all has a reason which goes all back to culture. Culture is what makes up everyone different from one another. Texts such as “What is Cultural Identity?”, “Where Worlds Collide” and “Two ways to Belong” supports that depending on one’s culture it effects one perspective on the world and others.

Cultural identity can be difficult for people to determine because it is often invisible until you are introduced to a culture different from your own. It also has numerous meanings to different people around the world. Your cultural identity does not necessarily mean your heritage or where your family comes from, it can mean what you believe in, what your values are or how you treat people. Therefore, it can even mean how you view the world. Just like many other young people, I have struggled with identifying my own cultural identity.

Cultural Identity is “The definition of groups or individuals (by themselves or others) in terms of cultural or subcultural categories (including ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, and gender)” (Oxford Reference). Everyone has cultural identity even though some are unaware of theirs because their habits and traditions might be seen as normal to the person and they might not make the connection that it is a cultural tradition or connected to their cultural identity. Some people are very aware of their cultural identity and have conflict within their identity because the cultures may not coincide. Frida Kahlo’s Self Portrait: On the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States and Pat Mora’s “Legal Alien” both show cultural conflict through symbolism, conflict, and purpose.

For me, cultural identity is simply the things an individual does. But what really creates the foundation of one's culture is broken up into three parts: interests, family and beliefs. Personally, my cultural identity contains a ton of Latino and just a pinch of American. I am Mexican -American.

As I was faced with the questions on what my cultural identity was, I started to question myself on what it really meant to me. Do I even have a cultural identity, to begin with? I started to think what I enjoyed most that has evolved me into the person I am today. Everyone seems to have their own cultural identity, some even based their cultural identity off of their personal interests. So I started to think of my own personal interests that would blend into my own cultural identity. Food is something in my life that resembles my culture as well as what I am like as a person. As a child growing up in America but is raised in a Vietnamese household, I was able to get a taste of many different cultures through food. With my culture’s food with a mix of other different cultures, I was able to identify who I really am as a person. The food from my culture really helps me learn more about where I came from and the family traditions that follow it. The foods that I eat show the different cultures that I have tasted in order to identify who I really am today and it helped me get closer to my cultural traditions as well as my family. My family takes food and cooking very seriously, especially for family gatherings because it helps brings us closer together and this side of my family also represents how I view the foods I consume as well.

Cultural identity varies from person to person and To me cultural identity basically means what kind of person you are and the way you see others. it plays a big role in life and there are lots of aspects such as religion, language, racial identity, values and gender. Those aspects define your cultural identity.

Human nature wants us to feel a sense of belonging and find our community. Culture can be defined as the rituals, beliefs, and values that survive through generations and are practiced in each generation (University of Kent). Identity can be defined as how we view and perceive ourselves as different than others (University of Kent). Therefore, we can consider cultural identity as the features of a culture that all together, make it unique from other cultures. A certain cultural identity allows its participants to feel a sense of belonging in that culture and for its participants to keep their connection to their roots. There are many features of a culture that help create a unique cultural identity, such as its practices and rituals, costumes,

If everyone in the world had the same culture, then learning more about someone would be so boring. Our cultures are what makes us different from everyone else. Our cultures are the reason we want to learn more about the people around us. For instance, my culture is different from many people, but similar to many as well. That’s what makes us all unique.

Picture yourself watching people cross a busy road with speeding cars on every block. What kind of people do you see? Are they with others, or sprinting to safety on the other side? Or do you notice the isolated man on a bench, patiently waiting for cars to slow down? Now the important part: identify the cultural identity of the various people you see. This may be tricky not knowing what cultural identity is. No matter where you are or what you decided to do in this situation, it makes up a piece of your cultural identity. Every kid, every teenager, every adult–no matter shape and size–has a cultural identity. Cultural identity is a part of why you do what you do; it identifies you as a person in a particular group. A certain religion, a specific class and even types of clothing can be a person’s cultural identity.

Culture is a term that is used heavily in conversation, yet little do people know what culture really is. It may be difficult to talk about culture and to define it, but it is even harder for people to understand how culture has shaped their lives. It is also hard for them to be able to breakdown and analyze their own culture. For some reason, it is challenging for us as people to be able to see the way that society and relationships have affected the way that they view people and situations. Being able to view our culture from an outside perspective is a difficult task which gets more confusing when you try to identify markers that shaped who you are as a person.

Culture Identity is the things that describe who you are as a person. The food you eat, the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, the language you speak, and your age. The type of culture identity that I have is what I eat being that I’m from Louisiana, me being black influences the clothes that I wear, my age affects how I react to things and how I treat others. Being from Louisiana or the United States my language is English, the music that I listen to is also apart of my culture that really shows apart of me.

The purpose of this essay is to critically reflect on the new ideas I have learnt throughout this semester, ideas that has changed the way I understand the experiences of the Aboriginal and Torres strait islander people. The essay will also link my understanding of how cultural identity can influence health equity, using the CATSINaM’s definition of cultural safety.

Cultural identity is the basis in which identification is used to express different aspects pertaining to identity and heritage. A person's cultural identity may be created by social organization, as well as traditions and customs within their lives. The two aspects that construct my cultural identity are the frequent chores I must complete every day in order to fulfill my behavioral expectations, and the youth group I attend weekly. These aspects are important to my family and me. Therefore, my identity has an immeasurable effect on my upbringing into this multi-cultural world I live in.