Learning to navigate your cultural identity

3rd August, 2021    |    By  Reach Out    |     707

You don’t have to choose between your ethnic and Australian identities. Hear how these young people learnt to be proud of their cultural identity.


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Self esteem

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Learning to navigate your cultural identity

Early in my life, I felt ashamed of my cultural identity. In primary school, I just didn’t understand why I was being treated differently. What I love about my culture the most is the sense of community. If it was just my family and everybody was isolated, it would have been really hard to settle and feel comfortable in my skin. But having that sense of community within my culture is something that has really helped. Now that I’m 21, my cultural identity means a lot to me. It’s something that I’m still discovering.

When I was younger and moved here, I sort of lost that. It was something that I wanted to hide away because, you know, it was not something that I was proud of. I got bullied for it. I think my cultural identity, for me, is one of the constants in my life. You know, I can’t wake up one day and decide not to be Asian. It’s something that I think shapes all my experiences. But now that I’m learning more about life, learning more about myself, and learning that, you know, it’s okay to accept yourself, it means so much to me.

My cultural identity definitely comes into conflict with other aspects of my identity. It’s almost like: which one do I pick at what time? Growing up, I didn’t have—I guess in traditional media, there wasn’t anyone that looked like me. So, I started finding role models who speak about these things, who are in movies, who are in music. I started looking up to them and realizing, you know what? It doesn’t really matter. Some of these insecurities are just within me.

And so, I think, with time, I just built my confidence and was able to get out of that shell. If I could broadcast one message to young people who are struggling with their cultural identity, it would be to realize you’re not alone. The internet is a wonderful place, and you can find community groups and cultural groups who celebrate the same things you do. You may share recipes that you love. I think when you reach out and ask for help, you will overcome it. Also, know that you’re not alone—a lot of us have gone through this.

For me, my cultural identity is something that I hold personally very dear to myself. It also forms a really cool aspect of who I am, what I am, and how I interact with this world. Being able to say that I’m an Australian woman and I’m also an African woman—there’s a lot in that. One thing I love about living in Australia is that it’s a very diverse, multicultural society, and we have the opportunity to embrace who we are. There’s a big Indian community out there, and now I just get out there, get engaged with them, talk with my family, and not be ashamed of posting on Instagram, for example, a photo of me in my cultural clothing or a photo of the Indian music I’m listening to. I’m not afraid of that.

Video by ReachOut