Murcia1

MiriamMurcia
ProfessorDitch
English113B
19February2015
MyCulturalIdentity
Tomyunderstandingyourculturalidentitydealswiththeexperiencesanypersonhaslived
throughouttheirlifetime,everyonehasatypeofcommunication,religionornot,sexpreference,music
etc.InCultureandCommunication,AnastaciaKuryloexplainsthereasonwhycultureisnotjusta
referencetoournationalitybutamoreprecisewayofhowwedefineoneanotherbecauseofour
obviousdifferencessuchasonesrace,gender,sexualpreference,ageetc.,butweonlynoticetheones
thataremorevisiblewithindiversecommunities.Withoutalwaysbeingawareofit,youactivelyand
seamlesslymanageyouridentitiessalientinagivenmoment.(Kurylo4)Meaningwenoticeour
culturalidentitieswhentheyseemsmostrelevantorimportant.IforoneampointingoutthatIidentify
myselfthroughmygendernonconformity,myexperiencesperformingthroughoutlifeinamasculine
roleandhowitimpactsmylifeexperiencesincollege,athome,withdifferentpeopleorinmy
community.

Cultureismostcommonlydefinedasthewayanindividualchoosestolive.Mostcommonly
everydaysituationsthatoccurtoanyindividualhaveaneffectinhowtheyperformtheircultural
identity.Culturalidentitydoesn'tspecificallyhavetodealwithaperson'sfamilybackgroundor
selfethnicity.Itmayalsoincludetheexperiencestheyhavelivedthroughouttheirdailylives,their
genderpreferenceorsexuality,race,andmostcommonlyanythingandeverythingthatanindividual
wouldmostpreferablyidentifythemselveswith.Inthearticle"CultureandCommunication"by

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AnastaciaKurylosheexplainsculturebyemphasizingwhatwayoflifemeans.Myknowledge
behindmyculturalpreferencewouldbetostatethatIidentifymyselfasaLatinabecausemyparents
comefromIndigenousrootseventhoughIwasbornandraisedinthecityofLosAngeles,California.I
amafemale,butmygenderwouldpreferablybeamoremasculineperformance.ThisistosayIview
myselfasanonconformist,Idon'tfollowthesocialnormthatwomenareseenasadependentofa
man,asitismostcommonlyinLatincultures.
ThewayIportraymyselfthroughoutlifeisuniqueinmanyways.Myculturalidentityisevery
aspectofmylifeasitprogresses.ThusfarIhaveidentifiedmyselfasaLatina,andasafemalebutmy
preferredrolewouldbeseenasmoremasculine.Igrewupseeinganindependentmotherwiththree
kids,mybrother,sisterandI.ThisiswhyIknowthatconformingtomysociallyconstructedrole,I
wouldntwanttoendupaloneandrelyingonamantotakecareofme.ThewayIsawmymothers
lifeoutcomewithmyfatherwaslikethis,onemomentshehadhim,andthenextheleft.Heknew
havingkidswouldmeanagreaterresponsibility.Thatiswhenmymotherunderstoodthathercultural
backgroundnormshadaffectedherlife,buteventhenshestillmanagedthrough.Shebecamea
strongerindependentmother.Inmyeyes,whenshespoketomeIknewthatnomatterwhat,Ishould
comefirstinmylife.IamimportantandbecauseofthisIhavebecomeamorefreelyandindependent
person.ThechoicesIhavemadeinmylifeplacemewhereIamtoday.
Thusfar,IdliketopointoutthatIamafirstgenerationcollegestudentinmyfamilythisisto
saymysocioeconomicstatuswouldbeaminority.IsaythatbecauseIbelievethatincollegeit's
tough,butsometimesit'stougherforotherslikemebecausemyfamilyhasn'thadthechancetoexplore
acollegeeducation,Ilackthisbackground.ButIdon'tfretbecausesinceIaminCSUNtheyhavethis
programthatIgotinvolvedwithenteringmyfirstsemestercalledtheEducationalOpportunity
Program(orEOPforshort),theyhelppeoplelikeme,peoplethatneedthatextrapushbecause

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sometimestheirownlifebecomesahugebarrierbetweentheirschoollifeandtheirsociallife.For
exampleinthearticle,MyHips,MyCaderasbyAlisaValdesRodriguezshespeaksaboutliving
betweentwoworldsinwhichshehassomedifficultyadaptingto.Shepointsoutthatinhercultural
background,livingasaLatinaisnteasybecauseshetriestobalancehereducationalbackgroundand
herculturaldifference.SowhenIwanttobelovedformybody,IamaLatina.ButmostLatinomen
willnotlovemymindastheydomybody,becauseIamanAmericanizedprofessional.
(ValdesRodriguez75)Bythissheisassertinghereducationalachievementbutalsorecognizesthatin
mostLatinoculturesmenwouldprobablyfeelthreatenedbyherintellect.ValdesRodriguezpointsout
thateventhoughhercaderasareadmiredbyLatinomen,inherprofessionalsocialspheresheismost
commonlycommunicatingwithliberalintellectualsthatdonotcareforherhips,butstillbothertogive
theiropiniononherpublicappearance.InmanywaysValdesRodriguezfacesanongoingcultural
statusquobecause,herhipsarenotsomethingthatarepraisedinAmericanculture,theyareportrayed
mostoftentobeoverweight.IamcurrentlyinsuchapositionrelevanttotheauthorbecauseasI
mentionedbefore,Ijuststartedmyfirstyearincollegeandbetweenmysocialidentityandeducational
experienceIhavecometonoticethebarriersthatlifesituatesmeinandtheexpectationofsocially
constructednorms.
Inaddition,IhaverecentlycomeacrosssomeinformationthatIbelievemostLatinobornor
notintheU.Schildrenwouldntknoworbothertounderstand.Meaninginwesternsocietypeople
commonlyprefertousethetermHispanicastonotoffendanyAmericanizedLatino.Butthetruthis
thetermHispanicasmentionedinRodolfoF.AcunastextOccupiedAmerica:AHistoryofChicanos
Module1IDENTITYwasbroughtforthasapoliticalanswertodefineLatinoImmigrantscoming
fromtheircountry.IforoneneverthoughtofawordbeingsooffensiveuntilIlearnedthattheterm
HispanicwasawaytoremoveLatinoorindigenousrootsandfavorEuropeanculturalincursion.Inthe
text,AcunaassertsCheechMarinsoutlookofthemeaningandpowerbehindwordsthatcategorize

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differentculturalidentities.CheechMaringiveshisperspectiveondifferenttermsthatLatinos
preferablywouldassociatethemselveswithsincetherearesubculturalgroupswithintheLatinobased
community.Furthermore,IhaverealizedthesignificanceofSelfIdentificationasaLatina/o.Some
askwhycantyoupeoplejustallbeHispanic?Samereasonthatallwhitepeoplecantjustbecalled
English.(AcunaI)Cheechisexplainingitinadifferentculturesperspectivetounderstandhis
terminologyonthetermHispanic.Thisissignificantbecause,inmypastIwouldprefertheterm
hispanicalotmorethanbeingcalledLatina,butIhavecometorealizetheimportanceandsignificance
ofmyparentindigenousroots.ParticularlymymotherbecausewomenfromLatincountriesaremore
commonlysuppressedtoamasculinedominance.Iforonecanrelatetothisbecausemostcommonly
womenareseentobeincapableandbecomedependabletoaman.BecauseofthisIbelieveIputmore
effortandfocusinmyperformancetoseemmoremasculine.
Moreover,thewayIperformhavebeeninfluencedmainlybymyexperiencesinagender
constructedmannerandmyfamiliesheritage.Thereformyexperiencesleadingtomycollegelifehave
mademebelievethatIhavethepotentialtogrowasalearnerandasaperson.Mygenderpreference
hasformedmylifetowhatIbelieveIcanachieve.InthearticleTheinfluenceofculturalfactorson
MexicanAmericanwomeninleadershiprolesinElPasoCounty,TexasbyMonicaLizaGalante
explaintheculturalaswellasfemininefactorsthatentieahigherleadershipachievementinwomenin
theU.S..EspeciallysincethiscountryhasbecomesodiverseIbelieveGalantesopiniononthefactors
ofcultureandgenderaffecttheoutcomeofawoman'spotential.Personally,becauseofthisIama
nonconformisttomyideologicalviewofwomenandtheirroleinsocietyIhavehadobstacles
throughoutmylifethathavebuiltmycourageandpotentialtowhereIamandhowmuchfurtherIcan
achieve.Ineverrealizedhowmyculturesbackgroundembeddedinmehaveplayedahugeportionof
myperformanceandthereasonsbehindthatperformancetowardsothers.Inturn,culturalfactors,on
bothaconsciousandsubconsciouslevel,affectawomansbehaviorthatconsistsof,butisnotlimited

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to,herperception,judgment,attitude,communication,relationships,andethics,aspectsofculturethat
arealsoreflectedinorganizations(Hofstede,2001).(Galante4)MonicaL.Galanteispointingoutthe
relationshipbetweenaMexicanAmericanwomenandthedifferentcharacteristicsthatentiewiththe
knowledgeofawomansperformance.Thisisimportantbecauseaswomanitisdifficulttobreakthose
genderbarriersinahighereducationandworkforce.Thereforeitismostcommonlymoredifficultto
womanofcolorbecauseoftheirculturalbackground.ThisissignificantduetothefactthatIamin
collegeandImtryinghardtobecomeamoreknowledgeableandunderstandingwomen.Thatalso
includesunderstandingotherstobettermyself.
Peoplecouldarguethatmycultureandmyperformancehaventhadahugeeffectinmylife
butIarguethatithasbeenastruggleofequalitytobeacceptedandacknowledgedasawomenin
processofahighereducationalexperience.Myfamilyaswellasmyindividualityhavemademeview
mylifeoutcome.IfIwastoconformtomysociallyconstructedgenderroleIdontbelieveIwouldbe
happy,IprogressthroughlifeasIchallengetheoutcomesofconformingtobeliefsthatIdonotagree
with.Weareallhuman,weshouldacknowledgethatfirstbeforeweevennoticeourbiological
differences.Butitisdifficulttoseewithoutjudgingapersonbytheirbiologicalsex.Iforoneama
femalebutperforminamasculinemannertoassertmypotentialwithinmyculturalcommunity.
Inconclusion,IamaLatinathatwillnotconformtomysociallyconstructedgenderrole.My
culturehasshapedamajorityofmyaccomplishmentsaswellasmystruggles.Withthis,Iknowbetter
whoIamasapersonandseethediversitythathassurroundedmeandimpactedmysocialviewsin
othersaswellasmyown.Iknowmyselfidentity,MynameisMiriambutthepersonwithinme,the
charactersIportraythroughoutmylifeiswhathasmademenotconformtoagenderconstructof
womansuppression.IwillmakeitveryfaraslongasIunderstandmyculturebackgroundandmyself
identification.

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WorkCited
ValdesRodriguez,AlisaMyHips,MyCaderasMSN
Underwire
April2000
Kurylo,AnastaciaCultureandCommunication
SagePublications
,Inc2013
Acua,RodolfoF.electronicGUIDETOOccupiedAmerica:AHistoryofChicanas/os
ModuleIIDENTITY 2012
http://www.csun.edu/cespa/Acuna%20Manual%20Binder.pdf
Galante,MonicaLiza.TheInfluenceofCulturalFactorsonMexicanAmericanWomenin
LeadershipRolesinElPasoCounty,Texas.OrderNo.3407437UniversityofPhoenix,
2010AnnArborProQuest.19Feb.2015.