Identity
Spotlight is a new weekly feature that will be posted every Thursday on Racial
Profiling Weekly.
One's
cultural identity is becoming harder and harder to define for everyone inside –
and even outside – of America these days: acculturation, assimilation,
marginalization, cultural identity crisis are all words that could describe
many situations that we can observe in this country regarding cultural
identity.
Each
week, we will ask someone to tell us about their cultural identity.
African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American... After all, couldn't we simply
call ourselves American? Is it important to keep
parts of our original culture as well as being an integrant part of our new
one?
These
are all questions that we will ask our fellow Americans to see how one's
definition and importance of their own cultural identity can differ from others'.
Feel free to share your thoughts on cultural identity in the comment box below.
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SPOTLIGHT ON...
Nahal
Hosseini, 20 Y.O.
CSUSB
Student
Q.
What is your cultural identity?
A.
The first thing I would probably answer to someone asking me “where I’m from”
would be that I am Iranian. However, I am also American, since my family moved
to America when I was still a child.
Q.
Would you say that you are equally Iranian and American?
A.
I consider myself both, but wouldn’t know whether I am more American or more
Iranian. I speak English like any other American (I have the Southern accent
because I lived in Kentucky most of my life), I celebrate the typical American
holidays, I listen to pop, R&B, rap and country music, but I also speak
Farsi and have Iranian family traditions that I would never want to get rid of
and that I will probably pass along to my children.
Q.
The term biculturalism means being able to cope comfortably in both home and
new culture. Do you consider yourself bicultural?
A.
Yes. I think that I have managed to integrate well in the American culture –
which I didn’t mind at all because I love this culture – while keeping some of
my original Iranian cultural values and traditions.
Q.
Did you ever experience a cultural identity crisis?
A.
I don’t think I did. It came naturally to me, but I know it can be really hard
for many immigrants to identify themselves to a new culture in addition to
their original one(s) and cope with the differences. I think I chose the best
of both cultures to make my own, which made it very easy.
Q.
What is your point of view on labeling Americans regarding their culture? Do
you think we should all be Americans or should we keep using the words Latino,
African-American, and so on?
A.
I think that one of the greatest things about being American is the fact that
we can be so much more! Americans all have different cultural backgrounds and
this is what makes our country beautiful. As far as I’m concerned, the labels
never bother me when they are used in the correct way, not in a negative or
discriminating manner. Americans should be proud of all the cultures they
identify themselves with, and this is how I feel: I am proud of who I am.