Before proceeding, it is essential to know what culture is. Culture is a set of beliefs, norms, and values that a group or a community considers acceptable. Identity means being true to yourself and accepting the inherent qualities. Thereby, you can summarize cultural identity as your reaction or actions towards another culture in totality. You must have noticed that different people have different views and understanding of other cultures. This is a result of the said understanding.
Your understanding of specific cultures can change and evolve. It can be your age, situation, or overall needs that color your experience. It is an essential parameter of how people look at things. You should note in this context that just the location cannot be a connotation of culture. It is much more than that. Your workplace may have a particular culture, your family may have one, and your community may have a third one.
Learn about the primary cultural identities and their importance.
Race anda Ethnicity
You will often find these two terms being used interchangeably. The race is a complex term that most people avoid. This is because it can have a significant impact on society. It can unearth two kinds of possibilities, one that is biological and another that is political. A pure measure or conception of race generally points towards your eye color, skin color, hair color, or body structure. Moreover, ethnicity is more about cultural heritage.
It reflects in the traditions and beliefs that color your thinking. Therefore, it is essential for you or just about anyone to identify a race or ethnicity and understand the same. If you do not respect other races and nationalities, you could be considered a racist. Therefore, this brings us to the juncture why it is essential. You have to be broad-minded to understand different races and ethnicity and their bearing upon our existence.
Geography
It is also another important parameter that helps to shape the lives and nature of people. Most people develop their cultural identity based on where they come from. A person’s views on life, values, and expectations often resonate with the culture of the place. You can expand your knowledge of others’ existence through travel. That is why they say that only one kind of expense makes a man richer.
If you travel a lot, you will develop more knowledge about culture and respect it. With more understanding, your curiosity might also increase. If you ever relocate, you find yourself surrounded by a new set of cultural rules and norms. At first, your inherent beliefs will ask you to disregard the surroundings. However, with time, you will start imbibing the place’s culture, where you have moved to. It has been seen that many people often become very protective of their identities and culture.
Therefore, society needs more educated and open-minded counselors to mitigate cultural incongruities. A BA psychology course can make any incumbent more open-minded towards other cultures and beliefs. If you want, you can also go for such an online course.
It is always better to gain knowledge of the same to understand the self and society. Moreover, such courses give transferable skills aplenty. It covers many of the mental tendencies in various cultural settings. You can use them in whichever field you feel like.
Language
You will agree that language is a determinant of what a culture is like. It is an expression that conveys innermost feelings and has been handed down from one generation to another. Through language alone, people can transmit their cultural values and beliefs. Today diverse groups of people live together due to migration and historical events.
It is the language alone that can help you differentiate one person from the other. With multi-lingual societies, it is necessary to maintain the language to represent the individual’s background. If one loses his speech, it is believed that he loses his cultural identity.
Importance
In this context, you can say that the above factors are intertwined with cultural identity in more ways than one. If you love to travel, travel slow and steady. While doing so, you can unearth the several cultures that come your way. In this context, it is essential to say that the well-traveled have multi-cultural tolerance. So, such people are always respectful of others.
Knowledge of cultural identities makes work life better as well. Most MNCs employ people from various cultures. If you know the true meaning of culture and can identify with it, you can reside in harmony with people from other cultures. A cultural identity crisis can lead to discomfort and stress in all spheres of life, be it work or in community settings. You should gather and research more, to set things straight.