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Reflections on diversity
The significance of cultural identity
The significance of cultural identity
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Recommended: Reflections on diversity
Describe how you learned about your heritage, family ritual, what growing up was like, relevant demographics, family held worldviews, and familial experiences with privilege/oppression.
Who I am; my beliefs, values, moral and views on diversity are shaped based upon my upbringing, the values within society, and the norms adopted by my culture. However, I cannot only thank some sources for whom I am; my own personal experience and feelings have had a huge impact on my cultural views. My biases, I am aware of them, but they exist, and to some seem bad. I want to take you on a journey inside my path to cultural identity. It was difficult growing up; but it did help to have my two favorite friends Yolanda and Rosie get me thru some of the tough times. I went to preschool at St. Simon
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As I stated, growing up, I did see several racist acts take place and still see them today. My cultural and family biases shaped who I am today. It has open my eyes to the idea that family and cultural biases. Some of the cultural biases were handed down generation to generation, and some may not even be aware of it. My own cultural identity and biases can consist of some of my personal experiences. I believe that every culture has their own beliefs and ways of thinking. They are have an opportunity to be open mind to others perspectives. They can see the world through other people views and may see things differently. I believe keeping an open minded to other is very important if you want to be able to understand and empathize with culturally diverse situations. There are vast amounts of opportunities from which someone can gain cultural diversity understanding and determine any biases. I think it is important that people become aware of their feeling toward diversity, as well as acknowledge the positive and negative. I am not going to say that I do not have any biases at all. I am aware of them and understand where
Identity is defined as being oneself and not acting or being something else. The identity that one forms throughout their life time is a slow and tedious process, each and every event in one’s life whether it’s larger or small scale has an effect on developing ones overall identity. In the play Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth by Drew Hayden Taylor, Janice it caught between two identities and struggles to find a happy medium. Being adopted into a white family at a young age, Janice has become accustom to many of the white traditions and ways. Janice’s native family has recently gotten in touch with her and has put a great deal of pressure on her to regain some of the native culture she was born into. With pressure building Janice begins to question her identity and begins to show signs that she wants nothing to do with her native roots. Drew Hayden Taylor does an excellent job in this play showing how stereotypes and pre-conceived notions affect ones identity and their relationships within society. Each character within the play shows how their identity has been shaped through the relationships they have acquired throughout their lives; Tonto’s identity is heavily influenced by his father and best friend Rodney, Barb is influenced by the customs and traditional ways of her mother, and Janice after being adopted at a young age has formed an identity revolving around that of her adopted parents but she faces a great deal of pressure from her native birth family.
...I feel it is my duty to encourage my students to see the beauty in such differences as opportunities for possibilities. I feel it is important to recognize one’s own heritage and race and values, but I also feel at times it is equally important to detach one’s self from such in order to allow for one to be exposed to new perspectives and alternative ways of life.
I believe that my cultural identity is something I must preserve. I realize now that my culture is what sets me apart from others. The struggle of learning to preserve my identity as a second generation Nepalese- American will be one that I will have forever. However, this does not prevent me from finding a balance between the two worlds that I am apart
My years of growing up and though my age now, I have experienced many areas of diversity. This implement of diversity I use in the text of variations of cultures. During my past years I lived in the combinations of six different cities. That is a lot compared to most students who I have talked to at Oakland University, where I tend now. Every city was different; Canton is where my prime baby years were so I have to admit I do not have and culture scene here. Taylor, Dearborn Hts, and Dearborn where the highlights of my culture knowledge came from. These three cities are on the out skirts of Detroit. Dearborn Hts. and Taylor is where I spent most of my years and was always surrounded by diverse cultures from Whiteness, Jews, African American, Caledeans Muslim and so forth. I went to a private school in Taylor until the fifth grade. St. Alfred, the private school I went to, there were only "white" people and yes who all followed the same religion and beliefs. So wi...
When we think about our identity we often think about the way we look. Such features as hair color, eye color, skin tone, height and weight come to mind. Whilst these features are part of our identity, there are many more complex factors that make us who we are. Whilst psychological issues are paramount to the formation of our identity, I will be addressing the nature of our identity in relation to socio-cultural factors (Austin, 2002, p.9). During the course of this essay I will be discussing the term of Identity and some of the axes of identity, including Race, Class and Gender. It is important to understand some of the significant issues of identity so that we have more of an understanding of who and what we are, which in turn may help us to begin to better understand others.
In the relevant course, CRD 2, I was made aware of a few different theories of social identity development, particularly pertaining to race. As I began to examine these theories, I sought out similarities, something that would catch my eye and make me think, “That applies to me.” Beverly Tatum’s ideas caught with me most easily, and I will elaborate on them shortly, but for the most part, I had to struggle to find one that seemed synonymous with who I am and how I see myself. The closest likenesses I could find were for the most part milder versions of the theory’s anecdotes, and I found it unnecessary to make myself conform to a theory exactly. While the theories are excellent material for reflection, and possibly even enlightenment, I assert that, considering the individuality of each person, it’s illogical to assume that every person can be categorized into a theory.
As a living human being we are in a constant state of flux, life events constantly change us. From the smallest thing like a flat tire on the way to work on a raining Monday morning or a compliment a kind person gave you last year that still rings in your ear, all these events change you and shape you. Catherine Latterell points to assumptions about identity and how it is created in her book titled “Remix”, assumptions about identity and how it is created. The three assumptions being: identity is something we are born with, identity is shaped by culture and identity is shaped by personal choices. The assumption that environment has a role in who we are and who we become, as well as what we are born with or without – including our culture, all play a part in bringing together the mosaic of a whole person. Yet it is never fully complete, for it is always reshaping and growing. Mrigaa Sethi discusses these issues in
One’s cultural identity consists of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, religion, and so on. Being aware of your own cultural identity is just as important as being aware of other’s. People’s cultural identity defines who they are, the privilege (or lack of privilege) they receive, and how society views them. It is important to understand that White individuals have more privileges than individuals of color. White individuals do not experience detriment and difficulties due specifically to their skin color and instead receive advantages. White privilege is defined as benefits that white individuals have that people of color do not (Kendall, 2012). The following walks through my personal cultural background, how it was shaped, defined, and developed, and limitations to my personal competencies.
My personal cultural identity is a lot different compared to the society I am surrounded by. I am considered an outsider in my society. I am an outsider living in a constantly changing environment where there are many different kinds of people and many different cultural identities. In my culture we know how to respect people and their belongings, know how to work hard, use what we have while being thankful for it at the same time, and last we know how to stay true to ourselves in this very fast pace world of ours. I am a cowboy.
Who am I; my beliefs, values, morals, and views on society have assisted in molding me into the person that I am considered to be today. I was raced with specifics values, traditions, and norms. Being raised in a small town made being socially aware very easy. I was raised under the southern Baptist Christian religion. Church was always the same and it had a majority of women in attendance although the men and elderly people ran the church overall. It was always the same, repetitive habits and events that occurred in my town but after a while I became accustomed to always being near or known by others.
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.
No human being is culture free. We are a product of the many different cultures which surround us. Our values, worldview and experiences are structured by the society and culture that exert influences on our lives each day.
I grew up in a large extended family with my brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, and uncles being a significant part of my life. My parents taught me that family, related or not related, would always be there to support you. They instilled in me that family does not just consist of my blood relatives but the people I invited into my life. They also taught me what it means to be loyal and no matter what your family will always stand beside you. These are the kind of values that I want to instill in my children to become productive members of society. Growing up in a military environment helped shape my moral philosophy of respect for everyone’s culture while still understanding that there are some common principles that should be understood across cultures. My father would always say “Wrong is wrong is wrong no matter how you want to flip that bird.” I never understood that saying until I was older and realize that some things are just inherently wrong. Dealing with racism, challenged me to keep true to my values by allowing me to accept that some people believed that the races should not mix but also recognizing that that particular belief is misguided. Facing people with those types of beliefs was extremely difficult because I was fearful of how they would treat my daughter or my family. With so
In this reflective paper, I discuss several aspects of my race, ethnicity, and culture that has made me who I am, and impacted my overall individual identity.
Living in a diverse world should be something a person should be proud of. Getting to know a person’s culture and their beliefs should be a wonderful ability. Respecting one another is important, even though a lot of people still disregard that, which should discontinue. We should all start to learn how to make this world a better place,