Identity – Part 2

Cultural Identity

I am a second generation Canadian, born in Ontario. My father was born in Quebec, while my mother was born in Nova Scotia. My grandparents from my father’s side are from Scotland and Wales, while my great grandparents from my mother’s side are from France. We all have our lineage, and it is often through that lineage that we develop a sense of cultural identity or a sense of belonging.

I cannot stress enough how important the community is for humanity. The survival of our species has depended and relied on the community throughout history for support in all aspects of life. “No man is an island” and no person carries existence alone (at least not in our lifetime or in any earlier time in human history).

We come into this world struggling to find our place, and we often seek refuge with those who find themselves in a similar position…misery, and happiness for this matter, enjoys company. But what happens when your cultural identity is not as clearly defined as others? We’ve all heard the term ‘melting pot.’ We inhabitants of North American have been countlessly reminded of our prosperous lands that entice so many from a far.

I see evidence of converging worlds everyday in the city of Vancouver where I now live. People who were once considered visual minorities, now form a great majority of society. And there are two outcomes from cultural identity that I’ve noticed stem from this growth of diversity. Firstly, there is the obvious adaptation of the first generation Canadians. These individuals find themselves stuck in between, or linking the gap between the traditions and customs of their parents and their new society. Secondly, in a diverse society, there is a greater prospect for biracial couples. And the children of a biracial couple (like the first generation children) will also find themselves searching for cultural identity in a world that is not so black and white.

The complex issue for first generation Canadians (or any other first generation nationality), is that traditions and customs are relative to specific cultures. So these individuals will most likely find themselves constantly dancing between their home life and their social life. Ideas of ‘the norm’ can get lost in this battle between the two, because neither is right or wrong, just different. For some, the struggle may be more difficult then others; it just depends on how well adapted the parents are to the new society. In this case, the battle for these individuals to define their cultural identity is more psychological, and can result in a hybrid perspective between two mentalities; but may also cause great challenges from feelings of separation from others in society, or from thoughts of not fitting in. The burden can be even greater when language barriers are built, and the parents depend on their children to become personal translators, having them learn and speak the native tongue, while they remain limited to the language they immigrated with.

As for a biracial child, the struggle between worlds can be both psychological and physical. Like the first generation child, the biracial child may deal with a collision of traditions and customs (having two racially different parents), but will also have to deal with having a physical appearance which may not be clearly defined. The race they tend to associate with, will mostly likely relate to the influence of their parents.

Though the biracial child may tend to side with one race over the other, they can also be tied between the two. When tied between the two, the feeling of partial acceptance may arise, and lead to thoughts of being an outsider. When you cannot visually associate yourself completely to either race, then a new racial identity is formed, and it is possible that an identity crisis, or definition, or both, will follow. The greatest difficulty for a biracial child will be overcoming this feeling of not being accepted, or fully a part of either related race. And again, the obstacles become both physical and psychological.

Visual association is a key component to our psyche and to our survival. Accurately or inaccurately, we perceive, categorize and pass judgement on everyone we meet. If you did not have the ability to differentiate between potentially dangerous people and harmless people, then you’d have a lower chance of survival. It’s also the case, in most occasions, that we naturally or instinctively trust those with whom we associate to people in our memory. If you’ve had little contact with a visually different person or race, then you’ll most likely be unsure of what to expect, or even worse, presume or expect a cultural stereotype which cannot be universally accurate.

For an example of visual association, think of a Chinese immigrant who is shopping in a Canadian store and needs some assistance. He/she will most likely feel more comfortable speaking to another person of Chinese decent for help. He/she prefers someone of the same race, because those are the type of people he/she is used to being in contact with.

Our melting pot society has changed visual association for the children now growing up in a culturally diverse society. Children who are exposed to many different people and races will have a vast number of visually different people to associate memories towards. However, it is often the case that immigrating parents don’t always give themselves the chance to integrate into their new society. People and families tend to move into areas with others of the same culture, and surround themselves with comfortable similarities, where they don’t often have much contact with racially different people, and may not even learn the native language. This makes things easier for immigrants in the short term, but over a long period of time, they are only distancing themselves further from the society they inhabit, and potentially distancing themselves from their own children who have integrated into in the new society.

Cultural identity will always be present, but will most likely get more complex. Soon the great majority of children will have a web of connecting nations to explain their cultural history. The challenges are most difficult on the first generation and biracial children, but through overcoming barriers, these children are defining a new world. By integrating change into their life, they become creators of hybrid social norms and practices. They show us what the world looks like when we move past skin deep assumptions and reach new levels of beauty.

The community will live on, and will only widen to accept the converging nations that inhabit this lovely little world. Your cultural identity is unique, so love it, learn from it, and share it.