The Importance Of Expressing Cultural Identity

The rise of multiculturalism in nearly all societies across the globe has brought with it countless questions that are still unanswered. The problem of whether people from different cultures should have the right to express their cultural identity in a mixed society has been highly discussed for the last 10 years. There are two main trains of thought. On the one hand, those who believe that expressing cultural identity is a part of freedom of speech, and hence should never be taken away. On the other hand, there are those who argue that people must comply with the cultural norm of the country they are living in. In this essay, the positive and negative aspects of both points of view will be explored in detail.

First of all, what is possibly one of the undeniable positive aspects of being allowed to express cultural identity is the fact that you are able to be true to yourself. As long as it is what you want, being able to express your cultural identity is a form of freedom. In this expression of culture, you have the

By being forced to comply with the cultural norm of the country you are being denied of the opportunity to explore your own culture. Not being allowed such a vital part of your identity might lead to a lack of self-understanding. It is extremely important to be able to explore one’s culture, to know what you subscribe to and what you do not. That way you figure out whether you identify with the culture or not, thus creating your own sense of cultural identity. Identity development is highly important, and being stripped of it creates an abundant number of problems. Depression being one of the largely common ones. This is also associated once more with discrimination and stereotypes. In a study conducted by the department of Psychology of the New York University on how culture affects immigrant population, it could be seen how identifying with one's own ethnic group relates to the state of their mental