Cultural Identity-Meaning Details

Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics.

Various modern cultural studies and social theories have investigated cultural identity. In recent decades, a new form of identification has emerged which breaks down the understanding of the individual as a coherent whole subject into a collection of various cultural identifiers. These cultural identifiers may be the result of various conditions including: location, gender, race, history,

nationality, language, sexuality, religious beliefs, ethnicity and aesthetics. The divisions between cultures can be very fine in some parts of the world, especially places such as Canada or the United States, where the population is ethnically diverse and social unity is based primarily on common social values and beliefs.

As a "historical reservoir", culture is an important factor in shaping identity. Some critics of cultural identity argue that the preservation of cultural identity, being based upon difference, is a divisive force in society, and that cosmopolitanism gives individuals a greater sense of shared citizenship. When considering practical association in international society, states may share an inherent part of their 'make up' that gives common ground, and alternate means of identifying with each other.Also of interest is the interplay between cultural identity and new media.

In the current era, cultural identity does not necessarily mean an individual's interaction within a certain group but a social network of people imitating and following the social norms presented by the media.Instead of learning behaviour and knowledge from cultural/religious groups, individuals from the present era are learning these social norms from the media to build on their cultural identity.

See also this Identity

Social Identity

A social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group.As originally formulated by Henri Tajfel and John Turner in the 1970s and 80s, social identity theory introduced the concept of a social identity as a way in which to explain intergroup behaviour.

Social identity theory is best described as primarily a theory that predicts certain intergroup behaviours on the basis of the perceived status, legitimacy and permeability of the intergroup environment. This contrasts with occasions where the term social identity theory is used to refer to general theorizing about human social selves. Moreover, and although some researchers have treated it as such, social identity theory was never intended to be a general theory of social categorization. It was awareness of the limited scope of social identity theory that led John Turner and colleagues to develop a cousin theory in the form of self-categorization theory, which built on the insights of social identity theory to produce a more general account of self and group processes. To avoid confusion the term social identity approach, or social identity perspective, is suggested for describing the joint contributions of both social identity theory and self-categorization theory.

Collective Identity

The term collective identity may refer to a variety of concepts. In general however, these concepts generally pertain to phenomena where an individuals' perceived membership in a social group impacts upon their own identity in some way. The idea of a collective identity has received attention in a wide variety of academic fields. In psychology, and in particular social psychology, this has led to a vast research literature and concerted scientific study. Most archetypal perhaps being Henri Tajfel’s and John Turner's work in developing social identity theory.

Identity (social science)

Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations (such as national identity and cultural identity). The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology. The term is also used with respect to place identity."Identity" may be defined as the distinctive character belonging to any given individual, or shared by all members of a particular social category or group. “Identity” may be distinguished from “identification;” the former is a label whereas the latter refers to the classifying act itself. Identity is thus best construed as being both relational and contextual, while the act of identification is best viewed as inherently processual.

Social identity complexity-Who is "We"?

Given the recognition that individuals belong to multiple social groups, with multiple corresponding social identities, an important question to be addressed is how individuals combine these group identities when they define their subjective in-group. More specifically, do multiple group memberships lead to more inclusive or less inclusive in-groups, when compared to single group identities?

The concept of Social Identity Complexity (Roccas & Brewer, 2002) is a theoretical construct that refers to an individual's subjective representation of the interrelationships among his or her multiple group identities. Social identity complexity reflects the degree of overlap perceived to exist between groups of which a person is simultaneously a member.

Roccas & Brewer also report that membership in many different groups (multiple social identities) can lead to greater social identity complexity, which can foster the development of superordinate social identities and global identity, making international identity more likely in individualist cultures (see Tajfel & Turner (1986) for a review of social identity theory. Poetics like coolitude or creolization have used the coral or the rhizome to refer to multiple identities.

Social identity complexity is also related to higher importance of openness to change and universalism values, lower importance of conservatism and power values, and higher tolerance for diversity.

Social identity complexity may be a crucial factor to consider in applying social psychological models of bias reduction.

Gender identity

A gender identity is one's private sense of being a man or a woman, and consists primarily of the acceptance of membership in a particular group of people: male or female. Basic gender identity is

usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to change after that. All societies have a set of gender categories that can serve as the basis of the formation of a social identity in relation to other members of society. In most societies, there is a basic division between gender attributes assigned to males and females. In all societies, however, some individuals do not identify with the gender that is assigned to their biological sex. Some societies have so-called third gender categories that can be used as a basis for a gender identity by people who are uncomfortable with the gender that is usually associated with their sex. Other cultures employ processes of surgical or hormonal sex reassignment to bring people's biological characteristics in line with their gender identity. In other societies, membership of either of the gender categories is open to people regardless of biological sex. It is an open question why the gender identities of some people conform or do not conform to the majority pattern, while others may not identify with any of the given gender categories. Whether these differences are a product of nature or nurture has been a contentious topic in the social and biological sciences. It is still an open question to what extent genetic versus social factors play a role in determining the gender identities of individuals.