Difference Between Culture And 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 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.

When I think of the word “cultural identity”, I think of myself, and what makes up who I am as a person. My cultural identity influences everything about me, from the moment I wake up, to the minute I rest my head on my pillow at night. My culture influences the way I eat, speak, worship, and interact with people. However, I am not only affected by my own culture, but others’ culture as well. I am fortunate to have an extremely rich heritage, and I couldn’t be prouder of my cultural identity.

“the identity or feeling of belonging to, as part of the self-conception and self-perception to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality and any kind of social group that have its own distinct culture,”. (1)

Does someone's cultural identity affect how they look at the world an other people? Cultural identity affects how someone looks at the world and how they look at others. The culture that someone creates for themselves determines how they look at the world and someone. Your childhood, lessons you learn throughout your life, and your cultural heritage all effect your culture and how you look at people and the world. There is also some people that are not affected by their culture only affected by their childhood and lessons that they grew up with in other words there not affected by their parent's culture heritage their affected by their culture they made for themselves. Culture affects everyone and the extent of the effect determines how

In my life, culture identity is very important because it tells who I am. It has shaped me into the person I am now. I am coming from culture that has had an impact on my norms, values , and beliefs. I was born and raised in Sudan, a country with a multi-ethnic group, with a mixture of African, Arabic and Islamic traditions and values. Back in my home country, I belong to the dominant social groups as being Middle Age, Male, Arabic, Muslim, and Middle Class. Although there is huge diversity among different groups and tribes live

Culture and identity are inextricably linked concepts. Identity is formed by your culture and in turn your identity shapes the respective cultures of the groups you identify with. I belong to many different cultural groups, and my identity is a complex web of competing and conflicting beliefs, experiences, and characteristics. My identity is not only complex, but also dynamic, as the experiences I have change who I am.

What is a person's cultural identity based off of? According to Google, “Cultural identity is often defined as the identity of a group, culture or an individual, influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture.” So what is my cultural identity? I believe no one person has one singular cultural identity. I can identify myself as a daughter, a sister, a Swede, an American, a water polo player, a swimmer, a Mormon, a high school student, or even a world traveler. In this paper the one I will identify as an American.

Cultural identity is a term that is used to describe ones self-conception and self-perception related to any kind of social group and their distinctive culture. In class we had an activity relating to cultural identity by bringing an artifact that represents them as who they are in relation to their nationality, ethnicity, religion and generation, which represented their culture. As a class when sharing each other’s artifacts and the culture identity behind it, I realized that this activity had a positive impact in the class because there was a numerous amount of cultural identity among each individual.

Ethnic identity much like racial identity is difficult to clearly discern and delineate. As a social construct, it is an umbrella term that mark a group affiliation to a common origin, culture, religion, or geography; it consists of shared traditions, behaviors, values and beliefs. (Waters, 1990) Outlining the elements and components of ethnic identity, Phinney and Ong (2007) stress its multidimensionality and dynamism, it encompasses several cultural, linguistic, behavioral features as well as being developmental and involving a shifting process. They consider self-categorization, commitment, and sense of attachment to the group as vital constituents of ethnic identity. They show that “the process of ethnic identity formation involves the construction over time of one’s sense of self as a group member and of one’s attitudes and understandings associated with group membership” (2007, p. 275) Exploration and commitment are the two head titles in the revised model to measure the formation of identity across different groups (MEIM-R, Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure). The model proposes a set of questions that capture the individual’s overall knowledge, understanding, engagement, sense of belonging and attachment to the social group.

As a Vietnamese, I am very proud of the values and the ethics that still remains from thousands of years ago, by the way of life of the ancient; the upbringing, and the respect that we may not have now. “Cultural identity” is what I am talking about. Every single person has a different perspective on cultural identity. Culture plays a huge role in shaping individual personality or identity. It also refers to the traditions, people around you, and religion, etc. Our background is what sets us apart from everyone else because we came from a different culture. That is why culture created; it makes you feel belonging to something. Culture determines the person we are today and in future.

Culture is one of the major influences on our lives and social interactions; culture is associated with our characteristics of religion, societal norms of behavior; moreover, culture is always changing and the influence increases. With every religion there are traditions and cultures that are a form of art as it involves many characteristics’ of individuals and their beliefs, values, and perspective, for this reason, there are various dynamics in terms of how culture is involved and the influence of our actions, such as media, peers, family, and socializations. Culture is a factor of social environment and what is modeled to us in our early years of development.

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.