Thursday, August 8, 2013
COM 325 / Week #7 Discussion: Identity shopping
Cultural identity is one's sense of belonging to and affiliating with a particular cultural or ethnic group. We sometimes passionately defend our cultural identity the same way we defend our political ideology or our religious beliefs. The problem is that cultural identity has never been a clear-cut iron plate. Instead, it is constantly evolving, like our cyber-identities (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). You can never take an individual's cultural identity for granted. Actually, people can recreate their cultural identity just like they can update furniture for their house. So, is it good to be culturally creative?
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I don’t think it is good to be culturally creative. Your culture is something that you live your life by on a day to day basis. This includes your ethics and what you believe in. Why would you want to change that up on a regular basis to be culturally creative? My ethics and what I believe in normally don’t change on a day to day or even year by year basis. Those people who change up what they believe in just hang onto fads and trends. Your cultural beliefs should not be a fad or trend, if they are they are not a real.
ReplyDeleteI have never really identified with only one culture. I have said before, grew up in a place where the norm was being Alaskan Indian or Eskimo so I grew up with most of their cultural trait. I love hiking to find the best berry patch, go fishing, clam digging I eat seal meat and dried fish. I also learned to make my own clothing, dream catchers, learned to care for one another no matter what. I also experienced the racism that come along with being the white girl and since I was the white girl my white class mates thought it was ok to express their views about the people that I called my family. As I have grown I have come to understand that you can evolve to both accept and emulate others cultures, but that mean that you must understand it first and not degrade that culture by using it in a way that insults the culture. There also has to be an understanding that not everyone is going to understand and that you must tread lightly as to not offend others of that culture. I believe that your identity is ever changing as we grow and learn more of both ourselves and the world that surrounds us. However, I think that it shouldn’t be as easy as changing your facebook page or the décor in your home there needs to be real thought and learning so that you actually understand what you are doing and/or saying.
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