Role Of Cultural Identity Essay

My cultural ancestry comes from a Cuban and Mexican decent. I have chosen to write about my Cuban side because I can relate to them more than I could with my Mexican side. I was raised around my Cuban family and would occasionally see my Mexican side due to them living so far away. I have spent a lot more time associating with Cubans and have adapted to more of their habits.

Historical events distinguish the change in the behavior and identity of a society. The United States is no exemption from this idea, as the events throughout American history has shaped the behavior and values of the American identity. Since the formal independence from Britain in 1783, to the compromise that ended Reconstruction in 1877, American identity has changed drastically through shifts in the American understanding of politics, ideology, economics, culture, and society.

This document is a critique on the Paul Bloom persuasive speech on topic “Can prejudice ever be a good thing?” Paul Bloom has presented this talk at official Ted conference and it was featured at January 2014. Paul Bloom is a professor of psychology and cognitive science at Yale University. Paul Bloom has a different opinion about prejudice. He said prejudice is often natural and rational thing. He discussed several stories and examples along with pictures in this Ted talk. In this document the author will critically review few points mentioned by Paul Bloom. The first point he mentioned that stereotyping can be good for the people. The second point is how the skin colors of people increase prejudice or biases. Finally the author

This matters because his culture raises him a lot differently. Robert Lake also says “This kind of learning goes beyond the basics of distinguishing the difference between rough and smooth square and round, hard and soft, black and white, similarities and extremes.” What this shows is how his child was raised and how he was taught how to learn and learned more about the world around than schools. This matters because it shows how Wind-Wolf was raised and how he isn’t a slow learner, but actually “disadvantaged.” This is why the father of Wind-Wolf was upset because he was just taught differently than most. This situation made the father think differently about American schools and how they teach new kids who are trying to assimilate.

In the first paragraph, I wrote about how the immigrants see America compared to their homeland. Personally, I believe it is the same with parents and their children. I think somebody’s parents are only able to sometimes influence the way they see the people around them and the world around them because they can have different views than their parents. In the letter, “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Robert Lake, Wind-Wolf’s father tries to explain that his child is different because of his different cultures and traditions. The reason he wants to explain this is because he learns that his child is suffering racism in his kindergarten class. When his son went to his friend’s house, his mother made a racial comment. “It is ok if you play with him at school, but we don’t allow those kind of people in our house,” she stated (p98). This made Wind-Wolf question whether or not he wants to go to school or even follow his own religion. People in his class even made fun of him because of his hair, but in his situation, long hair is a sign of strength and masculinity. That quote proves that his child is suffering from racism for being different. I have personally never suffered from racism, but my god-brother has told me he has suffered from it before. In conclusion, Somebody’s parents can only sometimes influence your ways of seeing the world around you.

In growing up in the position of the ‘other’ in society, Smith provides an empowered stance of identity exclusively through the demonstration of cultural hybridity, as evidenced by Millat and his gangster crew, the Raggastani’s. As Millat becomes increasingly connected to a swaggering identity highlighted by Western popular culture, his sense of belonging becomes established with the multicultural mix of South Asian and Caribbean teens he hangs out with: “It was a new breed, just recently joining the ranks of the other street crews. Becks, B-boys, Nation Brothers, Raggas, and Pakis; manifesting itself as a kind of cultural mongrel of the last three categories. Their ethos, their manifesto, if it could be called that, was equally a hybrid thing” (193). Here, Smith uses the Raggastani’s as a symbol representing the emerging identity of a multicultural London transformed by the migration of formerly colonized populations from South Asia and the Caribbean. Their mission, to put the “invincible back in Indian, the Bad-aaaass back in Bengali, the P-Funk back in Pakistani” (193), is about taking their identities which have been devalued in Western society and linking them together through a collective sense of approval. As a productive example of cultural hybridity taking place, they are a direct contrast with the forms of difference and racial purity that the Chalfen`s represent, and the resistance of letting go of traditions that their parents uphold. The group tries on a series

My culture identity, as I know it as is African American. My culture can be seen in food, literature, religion, language, the community, family structure, the individual, music, dance, art, and could be summed up as the symbolic level. Symbolic, because faith plays a major role in our daily lives through song, prayer, praise and worship. When I’m happy I rely on my faith, same as when I’m sad, for I know things will get better as they have before.

Culture, the way we learn, think, live, eat and how we present our selves to the world. On daily bases we are representing who we are and how we positively or negatively view others in the world. Your location can determine whether your views are accepted negatively or positively. The motivational quote found in my English classroom, “What is popular is not always right. What is right is not always popular.

A cultural identity is the sense of belonging to a particular group and the influence said group has over an individual. In clinical therapy, it is important to be aware of a client’s cultural identity, as well as the cultural identity of the therapist. Both a client and the therapist can experience biases from their cultural identities so it is crucial for the therapist, in particular, to be conscious of that to not inadvertently invalidate or offend the client. It is also important for rapport to not make assumptions about cultural identities a therapist doesn’t belong to or fully understand. Ways of breaking down cultural identities are using visible and invisible identities, similarities to family and the “Big Nine”

My cultural identity is shaped by what I’ve come to learn as essential values, cuisine, and simply, music. Values are a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgement of what’s important in life. The values that have been embedded in me play a big role in my progressive development as a person. Cuisine is a style or method of cooking, especially as characteristic of a particular country, region, or establishment. My taste in food is being shaped around a more familiar type of cuisine. Next, music is such an important part of my cultural identity that I like to believe my life revolves around music. It has done so much in my personality development. Values, cuisine, and music have their contributions and are also connected to each other in many ways.

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.

The following paper will discuss two of the major dimensions of my cultural identity, and analyze the way in which my identity holds privileges, or has exposed me to oppression. Being that I am white, I have lived a life of privilege simply because of the color of my skin. I have been afforded opportunities, and lived a life free from persecution due to my skin color. I have also lived a life that has been impacted by oppression because of my female identity. This unique position between privilege and oppression is where I live my life.

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.

“Our views and behavior depend to some degree on our social location in society—our gender, race, social class, religion, and so forth.”(Barkan, 2013). As I have grown up and my perspective of the world has broadened I have realized how narrow my views were. I grew up in Germany, Italy, and Hungary before moving to the USA, but because I was so sheltered I really didn’t know what was really happening in society. As I grew older I have come to realize the socialization process did help me develop my values, beliefs, morals, my religious outlook, my political affiliations and what not.

While childhood seemed like a breeze, my adolescent years were anything but that. Adolescence, the transition between childhood and adulthood beginning with puberty, is a time full of physical and psychological changes both positive and negative. During this time individuals are in search of their identity, a task that can yield a lot of confusion. The question of who am I lingers in the back of adolescent minds and the answer anything but simple. This struggle for an identity and one’s place in society can lead to stress. Through exploration and soul searching, however, one might find their identity. For me, this question seemed impossible to answer, however, I always had a strong desire to fit in and be liked by others. Reading through the different developmental theories in the text, I started to compare them to events in my own life and noticed many significant similarities.