This image was taken from Denizen Magazine, an online magazine for Third Culture Kids (TCKs) written by Third Culture Kids (Abrahamian, 2013). It visually helps me answer the question, “Where are you from?” which is difficult to explain succinctly in words. A TCK is someone who has spent their developmental years outside of their parents’ culture(s) and these people are mostly the children of diplomats and military personnel. My Dutch mother has the job of a diplomat which requires a relocating of postings every three to five years while my Thai father is a migration physician which involves dealing with the health of immigrants of natural disasters and political unrest. As a result of my mother’s nomadic career, I have lived in the following countries: Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, France, and the Netherlands.
This image illustrates the feeling of “floating” because I do not have any roots in any particular culture or even a specific country. Of course, I am a Dutch national and have Thai nationality as well if I choose to claim it, but I do not feel as if I fully belong in either of those cultures. Identity exploration has always been tense for me since my mother has a liberal background that encourages me to go out and explore while my father has a strict, Muslim background with strong beliefs and contrasting societal structures. The dichotomy of my cultures in combination with my international nomadic lifestyle acted as challenges in forming my identities and sense of self.
Phinney (1990) mentions the issues resulting in the participation of two cultures in relation to social identity theory, as identification with two different groups could cause issues in overall identity formation and development. These problems can manifest as a result of conflicting attitudes, beliefs, practices, behaviors, values, and other social constructs. So it is up to the individual to decide on whether to choose between the different identities or to establish their own bicultural identity. To relate it to my own life, I felt the need to choose between my Thai and Dutch identities when I was in school and it created an incredible sense of unease because I felt that I was not being fully myself. For example, when I decided that I was Dutch and tried to fully participate in that culture by talking to all the Dutch students and presenting myself in such a way that I would give off the impression that I am Dutch, I received rejection because I do not look traditionally Dutch and do not behave that way either (Goffman, 1959). I actually found that having such an ambiguous cultural background was seen as a stigmatized identity by others because it made people’s inherent need to categorize almost impossible, thus creating discomfort. This kind of tension occurred in schools with students who also had nomadic lifestyles, but had parents of the same culture. There was still quite a high level of understanding.
It was only once I began attending university that I became much more comfortable having a multifaceted cultural identity, but I still had the fear of disclosure of my story to my classmates especially since many of my classmates have a strong sense of where they are “from”. I had a scripted answer for that dreaded question: “Where are you from?” but felt miserable for hiding the whole story. Fortunately, I had a positive first disclosure experience the Director of Intercultural Affairs when I was seeking social support (Chaudoir & Quinn, 2010, p. 572). Because of this supportive and encouraging experience, I became involved in spreading awareness of this unique experience and it has become a part of my identity.
More fun links:
- Denizen Magazine
- Buzzfeed: "31 Signs You're a Third Culture Kid"
- "So Where is Home? A Film About Third Culture Kid Identity" (~ 9 min long)
References:
Abrahamian, A. (2013, July 25). Drifting Between Nations. Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://www.denizenmag.com/2011/05/drifting-between-nations/
Chaudoir, S.R., Quinn, D.M. (2010). Revealing concealable stigmatized identities: the impact of disclosure motivations and positive first-disclosure experiences on fear of disclosure and well-being. Journal of Social Issues, 570 - 582.
Goffman, E. (1959). Introduction. The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life, 13 - 27.
Phinney, J.S. (1990). Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: review of research. American Psychological Association Psychological Bulletin, 499-511.
No comments:
Post a Comment