Formation Of Cultural Identity

According to one source, cultural identity can be defined as, “The system of understanding characteristics of that individuals society, or some subgroup

Finally, people’s cultural identity are totally different from different places they were born. Everybody is themselves and there is no way you can change that or them. The most important elements are ethnicity, relationships, community and family to cultural

Cultural identity is the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is part of a person’s self-conception and self-perception and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has it's own distinct culture, my culture identity is being Mexican American.

The prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races; discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race, is the definition of Racism, according to Webster’s Dictionary. Today the use of the term “racism” doesn’t just fall under one single definition. Racist practices often include the idea that humans can be subdivided into groups that are different in their social behavior and innate capacities and that can be ranked as inferior or superior.

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.

There are two forms of racism: individual and institutional. Individual racism involves one-on-one scenarios where racist attitudes are expressed based on a particular individuals belief towards another. For example, one person might be of the opinion that all Aboriginal’s are dirty, and therefore, be racist to an Aboriginal when they are walking down the street, at school or work.

Throughout this course we have learned about many things, one in particular would be Racism. We have learned about many different types of racism along with examples of racism. Before I go into specific examples of racism that I have learn about in this class, I will first define and explain the differences between racism, prejudice or also known as bias, discrimination, race, and racist so there 's a clear understanding of why I picked the specific examples. The definition of racism that we learned in class would be an “Institutionalized system with disproportionate unjust outcomes for a particular race”. Prejudice or also known as bias was defined as “A negative feeling, opinion, or attitude toward a certain category or people” this would be an feeling with no action acted upon, where discrimination is defined as “Action or inaction toward a category of people” which would be acting on the negative feelings or opinions of a certain group. The definition for race is a “Social construct, but a lived reality” while a racist is “Discrimination based on the category of race”. (Disadvantage privilege notes, 2016)

Cultural identity is feeling of belonging to a group, it is an element that is brought about when a person comprehends his/her own culture, it is part of a person’s self –conception and perception and this helps the person to also comprehend and appreciate the culture of other people as well. It is related to nationality, religion, ethnicity, generation or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture. So culture plays an important role in one’s life because it is a strong factor in shaping one 's identity.

Each individual has multiple identity. Through all aspects of life, you identify objects and categorize them. Similarly, people are categorized as well. By their; gender, religion, social class, and culture. At birth you’re immediately identified or categorized by; gender and race. As you grow up, your parents religion and social class are imposed on you. But identity is not a thing to be had, but an experience of the relationship between the different experiences and feelings that make up identity over time. Each individual perceives the world through their own senses. How each individual; process, understand and respond to experiences and feelings, differs greatly. However, each individual’s senses are inured by their culture and communities. This means although, each individual is capable of changing their identity, through experience and feelings. How they perceive the world, is through what they unconsciously learned from their culture and communities. As a result, affects how they identify themselves and other individuals and communities.

Stereotypes is one of the most common causes of racism. Through radio, through television, through the internet, through music, through books, and many alike, the real potential for stereo types to arise are an inevitable possibility. Parents, willingly or not, expose and teach their children, subconsciously, by saying statements and/or watching programs that involve racism. When there is a constant source of negativity towards a certain race, then it will eventually effect the overall opinions of the populous. (The 4)

In most case, identity is shaped by culture. Since culture is a set of ideals life practices, routines and attitudes set up by a certain community hence culture plays a major role in shaping the identity of an individual. An individual’s character and attributes can be because of their background. This is due to the set up that one has grown up (Dumas 19). People tend to learn more about their culture, and as they grow up it becomes part of them. They embrace the culture’s beliefs and tend to do things following the set routines. The aspect of following the set routine and beliefs play a significant part in shaping the identity of an individual.

Cultural identity is defined as the sense or feeling of belonging to a group. I connect my cultural identity to my immediate family. My immediate family consists of my parents, two younger sisters, and myself. Each one of us has significant values that have been instilled in one another. I believe that they play a large role in making me who I am today. Coming from a large, Sicilian family, the importance of love, loyalty, and support has always been prominent.

Some people may believe there are not specific types of racism, but there are indeed different categories such as: Colorism, Internalized Racism, Subtle Racism, and Reverse Racism. Colorism is discrimination based solely on the color of your skin and in result, darker skinned people are treated worse than people with lighter skin complexions. Internalized racism is basically self hatred of individuals from minority groups. They may hate their skin tone or other characteristics because throughout history, they have been devalued. Racism does not have to be enormous such as hate crimes, this is when subtle racism comes in. Subtle racism are minor things that minorities experience such as being ignored or laughed at because of their ethnicity or

The first stage of a typology of cultural identity is cultural psychological captivity. This is when a person begins to take in the negative views about his or her cultural group believed within the society. They begin to have a negative cultural image and low self-esteem. They reject their culture during this stage and want nothing to do with it because they are ashamed. Therefore, they begin to try to assimilate with the dominate culture. People who belong to certain cultural groups that have experienced cultural discrimination, such as African Americans, the deaf, and gays, are more likely to have experienced cultural psychological captivity.

Cultural identity is a part of the psychological self-concept that expresses an individual or group’s worldview and perceived cultural affiliations. The first step in finding a societal fit is to establish a cultural identity; this can be on an individual level and group level. Who am I? And where do I belong? These questions start to form in the human mind from an early age; it drives humans to explore their worldviews and how and where they fit in the world. Rosenfeld (1971) argued it is a deep-seated primal process that has ensured our continual survival. By finding others that think and act similarly we are offered some protection (Erickson, as cited in Carducci 2015). Erickson (as cited in Carducci, 2015) and Maslow (as cited in Mcleod 2007) argued that the need to belong is a basic building block of human development. Whatever the reason, the consensus is that humans have an intrinsic need to find a like-minded cultural group to belong to; this chosen affiliation is their cultural identity. A person may identify with more than one cultural