Cultural/ethnic identity and psychology

[GZA]

1) How does your cultural and ethnic identity influence who you are, especially in cultures such as Canada or the United States, ect where there is a huge veriety of cultures and ethnicities living together?

2) How does living surrounded by different cultures and identities influence you?

I think that your identity in terms of what culture you are from or what ethnicity can influence you to some degree, or at least give you some sense of who you are. For example, the vast majority of my family going back many many generations has been of British ancestry. My family moved from Britain to Canada over a hundred years ago... probably before Canada became a country, so we tend to think of ourselves as simply Canadian rather than the children or grandchildren of immigrants. For me, this has influenced my appreciate for Canadian history a lot, and my own sort of identity as a Canadian and my commitment to Canada (by that I mean that I'd pretty much refuse to live anywhere else unless soemthing drastic happened). This, in turn, has enveloped into other parts of my life and thinking, including things related to my second question. I'm not exactly sure how my ethnicity has made any difference in itself... but perhaps being a sort of quintessential white-guy-with-blue-eyes has made some small difference that I'm unable to identify. I havn't really asked, untill now, what it means to other people to be of the heritage they are, and I've always wondered.

Being surrounded by other cultures is something else in itself. Having grown up with a lot of kids of different cultures and ethnicities, its just sort of normal, almost like being colour blind so to speak. So, that in itself I think means that being around different ethnicities has no effect because it is just normal. However, we do point out and discuss ethnicity, so it is something we are aware of, which for some doesn't make a difference, for others it may lead to racism, and for some others it may do soemthing entirely different... I'm not really sure. One difference being around all these people of different colutres is that you can really learn a lot and be more "global" in your thinking. Just by talking to my circle of friends and aquantances, I could probably learn a lot about various parts of the world from first hand experience without leaving a single room, which is like fodder for Ne


What are your thoughts on psychology and ethnicity/cultural identity?

 

[GZA]

One more question I forgot... how does the difference between being a majority culture/ethnicity verse a minority group influence you? I'm especially curious about the minorities.

One thing I've noticed about us majority (white people) is that when in a discussion about racism a lot of white people tend to almost overcompensate for the past racism white people have had in north america (and often forget that racism has occured everywhere and everyone has been both the victim and the oppressor). We also seem to often overemphasize that we personally are not racist, rather than assuming it, which I find interesting because our culture as a whole is unassumedly not racist. Why do people feel they sometimes have to specify they arn't racist when its next to impossible to be racist here without serious indoctrination, and everyone knows that? This is a somewhat controversial observation, I'm sure, and I don't think it is universal or anything, but I know I've seen it many times and only in the ethnic majority.

I also forgot about subcultures, rather than the cultures people bring from the control they moved from (i.e. India, Africa, ect... there was a really cool assembly at school recently celebrating different cultures and it had some really cool African music and Indian dancing). Some examples of subculture could be punk, hip-hop, environmentalism, arts, ect... things that people assemble over and are collectively passionate about. I suppose how these influence people depends on the culture itself.

The rich verse poor cultural differences are probably interesting, too.

 

[SillySapienne]

I am ethnically half Ashkenazi Jew, and half Korean.

My mother is Korean and I love her but she is an entirely different breed of human being than I, she came a really effed up time and place, imo. Generally speaking, I don't at all identify with Korean culture but I sure do love me some Korean B.B.Q.

My father was an atheist Jew who was a hardcore intellectual, skeptic and analyst. He was a pain in the ass but I think my debate/discourse "skills" were highly influenced by him. Also, I went to a Jewish elementary school, and my high school was 60% Jewish.

So long story short, I do find myself identifying with Jewish culture a bit.

I really have a shit ton to say regarding this topic but I would for sure get massacred for my thoughts, so, yay for being scerred!!!

 

[GZA]

P.M. me with your thoughts, CC, I'd really love to hear them. If you're uncomfortable with that though, its ok.


I know a lot of jewish kids who really like being jewish and the jewish culture, even if they are really atheist or agnostic. They love the parties and get-togethers and everything, and a good friend of mine says he does define himself by jewish culture to some extent and he loves talking about it. I've met others who hated the jewish culture and the other jewish kids, too, but I can't remember why...

Which raises another interesting thing, how does it effect people to be born into a culture they will grow to strongly dislike, such was the case with the two jewish girls I mentioned earlier who said they couldn't stand the jewish culture.

I can somewhat relate to this, but only a little bit. My dad is golf obessive to the point of it being almost cultural, especially since he's a lawyer so most of his collegues are big golfers, too, and my whole life I've bassically just rejected golf... but I don't think that counts because it isn't very substantial.

 

[Haphazard]

The vast majority of my ancestry is Askenazi Jew -- I'd say at least a good 80% of it, probably more. Most of my family came to the States around 1900 from places like Russia, Poland, Lithuania, etc.

I'm not too into Jewish culture but I can stand it when I'm forced into it. Most significant, though, at least where I live, is not that I have a Jewish identity but that I lack a Christian identity. Where I live, this can lead to all sorts of uncomfortable situations. There are a lot of places where it's much worse than where I live, though.

 

[GZA]

Interesting about how it feels to not be soemthing (in your case christian). A lot of Canadian cultural identity is in not being American.

Which still raises more questions I wonder if there have been any real studies on this specifically...

 

[Haphazard]

Interesting about how it feels to not be soemthing (in your case christian). A lot of Canadian cultural identity is in not being American.

Which still raises more questions I wonder if there have been any real studies on this specifically...

Well, at least if you're Canadian, people aren't continually trying to convert you into being American because they think you're a nice person and wouldn't want you to end up going to Hell...

 

[ByMySword]

I really have a shit ton to say regarding this topic but I would for sure get massacred for my thoughts, so, yay for being scerred!!!

Yeah, same.

I'm 100% Texan, but before that my family was Anglo-Welsh on my Dad's side and Anglo/French-German on my Mom's. Also have some Hispanic and Native American (Cherokee and Aztec) somewhere along the line. Been planning to trace my ancestry back for some time now. Going to get around to it one day when I get some free time.

I identify most with the Celtic heritage I have. Of course, its a warrior culture, so it figures.

Other cultures don't really influence me much. I'm very interested in them and am very open-minded to them, but I'm satisfied with my own enough to not be influenced. Whatever that means, anyway.

Edit: Ok, sorry, I keep forgetting to answer all the questions. I'd like to point out that I think that everyone is racist at some point in time. Its simply making judgement on a person based on race. Hell, it could even be a good judgement, i.e. Jews are good with money.

What I don't like is how in America, you say racist and everyone pictures a fat redneck with overalls and a John Deere cap. And of course he's white. That's why I feel white people are so fearful of being labled racists in this country. But everyone needs to let the past stay in the past and realize that racism comes from everyone and everywhere. Its human nature.

 

[Athenian200]

I've never really thought much about ethnicity, but then I'm a brown-haired Caucasian... about as normal as you can get. So I never really had to worry about ethnicity. I do tend to be a little anxious that other ethnicities blame me for past repression and want revenge, so I'm always looking over my shoulder for that.

I guess the way my ethnicity has affected me is to help make me somewhat guarded and distrustful of change. Perhaps it's also given me a natural affinity for the Western philosophy of analysis rather than the Eastern one of interconnectedness.

 

[TK*]

1) How does your cultural and ethnic identity influence who you are, especially in cultures such as Canada or the United States, ect where there is a huge veriety of cultures and ethnicities living together?

Um...I'm black and I live in the US of A and I don't think my ethnicity "influences" me, as you put it. This is me...I can't "influence" myself, I am "influenced" by other people and events. I guess I can only answer your second question.

2) How does living surrounded by different cultures and identities influence you?

I think it's all about how we are perceived...I can only base my way of acting/thinking based on how others perceive me. How am I percieved by different cultures/identities? I can only guess. But as far as "influencing" me goes, I could give a rat's ass what people think about me. I've dealt with some real assholes in my life, in my family, from strangers, whatever and I'm bound to deal with more as I go on, but hey, life sucks and that's how it goes sometimes.

Yeah, I can probably write a long ass response about "racism" on both white, black, blue, green, orange, yellow, whatever that I've dealt with...but why do it? It's not worth the time or the energy. It doesn't change who I am as a person. All I know is, I'm happy being me. I'm happy my friends/boyfriend/family are happy with me being me, and that's all I need who can and will ever "influence" me, good or bad.

Probably not the answer you were looking for...but whatever, it's my answer.

Peace.

 

[redacted]

Which raises another interesting thing, how does it effect people to be born into a culture they will grow to strongly dislike, such was the case with the two jewish girls I mentioned earlier who said they couldn't stand the jewish culture.

i'm 100% ashkenazi jew. unfortunately, my parents forced the culture upon me -- i've always been a huge skeptic; i remember in preschool (jewish) wondering when my teachers were going to come out and say that God isn't real just like the tooth fairy.

the prayers and readings started really weirding me out at around age 8 or 9. it just seemed so cultish and scary that so many people would blindly chant things without even knowing what they're saying. and these feelings have only gotten worse with time. these days, i'm soooooo uncomfortable when i'm in a position where people are praying or even talking about religion in any sort of serious way.

and although i was in hebrewschool until i was 18, i literally haven't said ONE prayer since my bar mitzvah (which was forced upon me). and it sucks, because i know a lot of my family members get offended at passover seder when i refuse to participate. but i'm just not going to compromise myself.

so basically i'm a complete outsider when it comes to jewish culture. i have jewish friends, but none of them talk about it much.

the worst part about it is that i'm an FJ. speaking my mind in hebrewschool was not a possibility for me. i didn't hold back entirely, but i could never really state my full opinions -- i could never be myself.

ugh. i'm certainly not going to force something like that on my kids...

sorry for the poor grammar, i'm all fucked up right now

 

[substitute]

For me, being European is something that I've grown into. From being indifferent to it as a kid, it's become a major part of who I am and how I see myself and the world. It was, ironically, spending some years as a Muslim that put me in touch with my Europeanness and acted as the catalyst that caused me to fully embrace it, and to take a truly fuller interest in the um, anthropology, heritage, culture etc of what I now felt to be 'my people'.

Being around other cultures is always highly stimulating for me. Nothing's better or more enjoyable for me, than being in the midst of people who see things and think very differently to me. I go into hyper-observation and interaction mode, and often absorb much of what I learn into myself, and incorporate it into my worldview. It's horizon-broadening par excellance, and I'm very happy that there are so many Asians and Africans in my hometown, because their homelands are too far away for me to be likely to be able to go there anytime soon to see for myself their ways of doing things. It's fantastic from my POV that I can have the 'next best thing' through these immigrants.

I'm all for flinging open the borders. I remember driving across the border between France and Belgium and seeing a little booth in the road for checking passports. There was nobody there. It's only manned two days a week! I laughed and laughed, the positive energy and joy that gave me, well it still keeps me going now when I think about it. One day, even the booth might be gone

 

[GZA]

Awesome replies in this thread. Awesome.

 

[sriv]

1) How does your cultural and ethnic identity influence who you are, especially in cultures such as Canada or the United States, ect where there is a huge veriety of cultures and ethnicities living together?

I live in the United States and am ethnically Hindu. As I was raised, my parents imposed the Hindu culture upon me and I thought the mythology was cool for the most part, but when it actually came to spending time doing rituals, I was very whiny. Slowly, I developed my own identity and seperated from the Hindu identity and I dropped Hinduism (the religion) for skepticism. My parents are striving to get me to know Telugu, one of the official Indian languages, but I cannot speak it, only understand it. Fluency at the language is necessary for communicating with the parental side of my family in India. My lack of fluency at Telugu remains a growing pain because the older I get the less likely I will be able to pick up a language.

My parents have asked me what I think about arranged marriage and I said that I'll take it on my own interviewing terms only if I can't find one myself.

My grandmom is still convinced of the caste system and will scream with anguish if I marry a black person. She is adorable.

2) How does living surrounded by different cultures and identities influence you?

Parental and their social group's influence-
It successfully influenced enough S into me that I am IxTJ.
The elitist stance with some compassion and guilt trips they used on me developed me into a perfectionist, which I am slowly moving away from. That is probably not the best idea.
Gave me a different perspective on things.

Society-
Very little in comparison.
Procrastination.
Lost fluency in Telugu at age 5 and gained fluency in English.
There are not many cultures openly practiced in the WASPy suburbs I live in.

 

[Sniffles]

Wonderful topic, one that is very close to my heart.

I'm an American of Polish ancestry. My ethnic heritage means a lot to me, and I feel it's generally a good idea to know where you came from; it's a vital way of building an authentic self-identity and individuality.

I don't feel my heritage was ever imposed upon me as a child. If anything, I've actually helped my elders embrace our heritage more openly.

One problem that constantly plagued me when I was younger, and still does today, is the question of whether I'm more American or Polish. The problem is you face opposition from both ends of the spectrum: one for not being "American" enough, and the other for not being "Polish" enough.

The only honest answer I can give is that I'm Polish-American, that is my heritage is a hybrid of Polish and American elements.

I'll have to add more later. Seriously, I can go on forever on this topic.

 

[GZA]

Peguy, your post is particularly interesting to me because we talk about that a lot in Canada (the use of "______-Canadian" to descirbe heritage). John Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada from 1957-1963, said he wanted to eliminate the cultural disparity in Canada and eliminate the "hyphenated Canadian" to create a nation that finds unity in the massive differences in culture and background. My grade 10 history class last year had a lengthy discussion about it. Everyone was asked what they considered themselves. This wasn't a factual "what is your ethnicity" or "where did your family come to Canada from?", it was just simply "what do you call your heritage/cultural identity?". About half of the class answered "______-Canadian", and the others were either "Canadian" or whatever nationality they were from birth that they still identified as. I said "Canadian". Most of the people who were "Hyphenated Canadians" were the children or grandchildren of immigrants, and thus had their older family wanting to pass on their traditions just as their parents had.

Are you the child or grandchild of an immigrant?

 

[pure_mercury]

I am one-quarter Italian (Abruzzese, to be exact; I got the goofy Italian last name), one-half Irish, and one-quarter American mongrel (my grandmother is originally from Southern Virginia; most likely lowland Scottish or Scots-Irish immigrants who have been in North America for a fairly long time, and supposedly, a Cherokee ancestor somewhere back).

At this stage, both sides of my family have been in the United States since at least my great-great-grandparents (and, with my maternal grandmother's family, much further back than that). I don't feel as if I have the traditional blue-collar Philadelphia Catholic mentality; I feel more like a fairly cosmopolitan East Coast unhyphenated American. However, I do identify with both the Irish-American and Italian-American aspects of my background. I've read extensively on modern and ancient Irish history, and my visit there was one of the best trips I've ever taken. Also, I'm closer to my mother's side of the family (the Irish side) and my grandparents were proudly Irish-American. Irish music was commonplace on holidays and at parties (and, being Irish, there parties pretty much all the time). I really identify with that feature; the gatherings, the storytelling, the seeming paradox of being both fierce, tough people and tender, sentimental poets and artists. Also, my mother is a very smart and determined woman, whilst being super family-oriented. The Italian side of my background is less pronounced, but I feel it, as well. I'm known for my love of wine, women, and song. I enjoy both the finer things in life (like fashion, and travel, and museums), and simple pleasures like spaghetti and meatballs or a day at the beach. Italians are also (as a generalization) an outgoing, sometimes fiery people, and I share that aspect with my father. Instantaneous bonhomie with all different kinds of people, but a temper that can flare mightily.

 

[Sniffles]

Peguy, your post is particularly interesting to me because we talk about that a lot in Canada (the use of "______-Canadian" to descirbe heritage). John Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada from 1957-1963, said he wanted to eliminate the cultural disparity in Canada and eliminate the "hyphenated Canadian" to create a nation that finds unity in the massive differences in culture and background.

Well on some levels the fears of being a "hyphentated American/Canadian/etc" are certainly founded if it means having divided loyalty between your ancestral land and your homeland.

Other than that, it's nonsense and based upon a rather abstract concept of a nation. A nation is a community of communities at its hearts, there'll always be differences within its population. This is especially true with a country like America.

My sense of ethnic pride largely extends to my American ethnic community. I certainly have love and concern for the old country, but I have to look out for the Polish people closest to me - not farthest away.

There's plenty of BS being spread around about concepts of ethnic identity and so on, and I do my best to correct them.

Again, this is something I'll have to go into details later.

Are you the child or grandchild of an immigrant?

Im 3rd generation.

 

[Domino]

Being Southern has absolutely shaped me. NC bears it's own unique stamp, too. I doubt I could adequately describe it, but it hangs on my mind and memory like Spanish moss. My family has been in the same general location (TN,NC,SC,VA) for 400 years, so our roots go deep. Being Scottish and Southern-band Cherokee has shaped my thinking (as well as my face and dark eyes - inherited from my Cherokee great-grandmother).

The South never leaves you. Our dead don't die. Our souls don't depart. The ground gives them all up, and the air suspends them. Burying my grandfather one torrid summer in the swamps of the coastal plain where my "people" came from really typifies the experience.

 

[placebo]

1) How does your cultural and ethnic identity influence who you are, especially in cultures such as Canada or the United States, ect where there is a huge veriety of cultures and ethnicities living together?

Well I'm a visible minority in Canada so it's quite interesting actually, the cultural dynamics of it. Canada claims to be a very multicultural country, though it's all very determined by area. Cultures tend to cluster in certain areas.

I was born in Canada, after my parents immigrated here. There's a different kind of culture at home than there is outside of home and that's the main thing for us who aren't completely integrated in Western culture. We are sort of separate from it and yet a part of it.

It's very much influenced me. Having parents who stick more to the Eastern culture while living in the Western culture can be mindboggling and just a little confusing. Which culture's traditions and values do you live by? Where do you find the balance? Where can you share cultural aspects and what things do you keep separate? It's a bit confusing this way. Most of the time I'm not actually aware of these questions, but it definitely factors in when you make big decisions in your life.


2) How does living surrounded by different cultures and identities influence you?

I'm kind of tempted to be sucked into Western culture because of the freedom it seems to offer in terms of identity and everything. Seeing all these different cultures and different ways people live is mostly interesting though and I think it's a great thing... I'm kind of still trying to find some kind of balance.

Culture is the main thing about humans that separates people and creates differences and problems. It's a completely human construct isn't it?