What are your cultures?

I am a white, female, 20 years of age. I am South African according to my passport but I am not black. My grandparents comprise of English, Dutch, Portuguese, and Irish decent. I speak English and dress in Western clothing. I use Google, Facebook, Skype, and a mobile phone. But what is my culture? An outsider would describe me as a Western girl but I am not American nor are my origins in the West. Born and bred in South Africa amongst rich and diverse cultures from Xhosa and Zulu to the rugged Afrikaans Voortrekker, I speak basic Afrikaans, I know a few Zulu and just as many Portuguese words. I eat pap en vleis and on Saturday afternoons I socialize around the braai. I am a hyphenated self brought about by colonisation and exploration and now I find myself in New Zealand – I am a product of globalisation. Just one person amongst billions who don’t realize that they are affected by this metamorphosis of the Earth into one global village.

Most of us can identify with more than one culture – whether it is due to genetics, birthplace, where you live or where you were brought up - in fact I can’t think of one single country that holds only one entire culture. The world moves too fast for that. Yes, the identity of the country may bring to mind an idea of a single culture but that would not be an accurate representation of the composition of its nation. And this is due to many historical events the Diaspora, colonisation, mixed marriages, immigration, and now globalisation.



Globalisation is a fast paced phenomenon that is changing the world as we speak; it refers to the interactions between people and effects of such exchanges. The process has been underway for some many years now and has been aided technological advancements like air travel, social networking, Skype, media, mass communication, music, and films. This is all being absorbed by people worldwide, at the same time, and as a result we adopt fragments of other cultures from words and catchphrases to food and fashion. So on an economical, business and political level this all makes perfect sense as it increases growth rates and profits but what about on a cultural level? This brings about the notion of cultural globalisation which specifically refers to “the growth in the exchange of cultural practices between nations and peoples” (Lent, Fabian Global Forum, posted May 2002).

I have now been in New Zealand for four months. And I am becoming a part of the globalised culture – an even further hyphenated self. And I am belonging in a place I have no ties to. Culture will take on many forms over time and location as well as from outside influences; they are merging and adapting and are ever-changing. Cultural diversity can be found in one individual. An example – and I hope she won’t mind me using her – is a friend I have here. She is Indian by ethnicity, South African born and Kiwi in living and all of these are evident in the person she is today. Globalisation may lack traditional canon of one’s origins but it definitely carries a far more mixed and rich blend and it’s in this diversity that we find uniqueness in the multi-faceted identities of one individual. However, with the fast-paced effects of globalisation people need a sense of ‘social cohesion’ where they feel assured about the interaction between people of different cultures. And so brings on the question: is cultural globalisation unifying or segregating communities?

As a result of shifting economies, political turbulence, war and poverty, significant migration of peoples has taken place – in search of a new ‘home’ away from home where they may find belonging, acceptance – and many people find this change and the effects of immigration hard on their emotional existence. The process of all these changes presents an array of impacts from family disintegration, marriage dissolution and even mental stresses and illness. People come across lack of 'belonging'; a wish to be accepted into a community. And that’s where globalisation fails. Unless you identify purely with your hyphenated-self and the adoption of fragments of others’ cultures you never seem to truly belong. I live in a building that houses mainly international students and some local. The Germans and the Swedes all flock together, the Americans all sound the same and hang out, the locals all know each other, and I am the South African. No, I’m not saying that everyone is unfriendly and have formed cliques but I am highlighting that it is natural for people to be attracted to what they know.

In many generations the influence of cultural globalisation can be seen and there is a formation of a hyphenated self. And as a part of human nature, one will crave a certain identity, a culture, and a ‘place in the world’; a sense of belonging and ultimately associate oneself with what one knows and with people of the same/similar cultural identities. However, as a result of multi-cultural backgrounds, many people may find difficulty fitting themselves into one particular ‘label’ as they identify with more than one part of themselves – I found a very interesting blog which describes a personal account of Japanese/Western assimilation and I am sure many others can identify with his experience.

So what about the future? Are the future generations doomed to be subjected to mind numbing MTV, McDonalds, conversations online and ultimately for one person to be a cultural carbon copy of the next? As eye-opening as human cultural adaption is, does the world want to be made up of hyphenated-humans.Is cultural globalisation making us more the same or different?Yes the majority of Western Culture has grabbed the attention of the youth at large across the world but as one gets older one tends to hold onto what they feel is important to them as part of their heritage and at the same time assimilates with parts of other cultures which have become relevant to their lifestyle.

An individual goes beyond cultural identity; you are who you are and the culture is intertwined with this. I believe your culture cannot define you – it is impossible. You may have a label of Indian and even more specific South African Indian – there is a large population of this demographic – but you grew up in Australia and have spent the last four years in Croatia(I am sure there is a limited population of such a cultural demographic in Croatia). You become multicultural and therefore your culture does not define you. Definition deems something to be static but your culture is a living part of you that absorbs and assimilates as you do.

And so, I am still undecided as to what my culture is – I am choosing to be undefined.


References:

‘Hyphenated’ definition. (2010). Retrieved August 25, 2010 from http://www.yourdictionary.com/hyphenated

What is Globalisation? (2005). Retrieved August 25, 2010 from http://www.globalfocus.org.nz/gec_media/files/factsheets/Globalisation2.pdf

Lent, A. (May, 2002). Global Knowledge: Globalisation. Retrieved September 25, 2010 from http://www.editiondesign.com/fgf/knowledge/article007.html

Adams, D., & Goldbard, A. (January, 2002). Community, Culture and Globalisation. Retrieved September 19, 2010 from http://www.communityarts.net/readingroom/archivefiles/2002/01/community_cultu_1.php

Gould, H. (2005). What is a Sense of Belonging? Retrieved August 25, 2010 from http://cultureartsrefugees.creativexchange.org/car/asenseof

Suematsu, D. (April 21, 2002). White Paper: Sense of Belonging. Retrieved August 25, 2010 from http://dyske.com/paper/661