In school it was always a question of ‘where you’re really from?’ – over where you felt like you culturally belonged. I’m someone who’s experienced this first hand. When people ask me where I’m from, they always expect to hear the answer: “Oh yeah, I’m Eastern European.” And that’s the thing – Wojciechowski, my surname, implies much. But what it doesn’t mention is anything about how I factor my own ‘belonging’. For me, my family in Poland bear no distinction on how I identify with my heritage. A name is just a name; but an identity is a hybrid of multiple different cultural identifications.
Cultural identification is a sub-class of identity that’s riddled with problems. For me, a white, British-born, South-London raised, middle class teenager, the issue of identification isn’t so extreme. When it comes to bureaucratic tick boxes I’m your standard ‘White Caucasian male’, but beneath the surface – I find it hard to identify with that as a category. For me, tick boxes do little to sympathise with the often difficult cultural backgrounds and histories, that go with identification. I say the issue isn’t extreme because the effect of ticking that checkbox isn’t especially dramatic – but for others it can be.
In 2001 – for the first time – the UK and US censuses asked questions about people’s religious beliefs. For many this was too intrusive a move by the Government. In backlash, almost 400,000 respondents stated their religion as ‘Jedi’, undermining the Government.
“Identity is something that’s wrapped up within a whole number of different factors.”
The problem with the collection of Government data about beliefs and cultural characteristics is it has multiple different uses. The danger is that identifying with a certain cultural background can lead to it gaining political weighting. Not only can this weighting be used to inform direct changes to policy, but it also allows for this information to manipulated and misappropriated by politicians and the general public. Minority communities have always had a difficult relationship when it comes to ideas of difference. And if data is gathered to support their position as minority communities – then the implication is that they play a subordinate role in society.
For sociologist, Stuart Hall, the issue of identity isn’t one with a simple explanation: “When I ask people where they’re from, I expect to be told an extremely long story.”
Identity is something that’s wrapped up within a whole number of different factors – from migration to background, religious beliefs or dress code – identifying as culturally belonging to a certain category is highly problematic.
Next time you ask someone, “Where are you really from?” – think about what you’re saying. Whilst someone might have very visible traits connected with a certain culture – it doesn’t necessarily mean that it embodies any part of their personality. The simple thing is – just because someone has ‘belonging’ to a certain place, it isn’t the same as identifying with it.
Feature Image by @OGARROx
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