Identity is at the forefront of our cancel culture era. It defines who we are. Not long ago, I attended an online Writers Festival in Australia and noticed that almost all presenters chose to identify their personal pronouns. I was in sessions with writers who presented themselves online as She/Her (female), He/Him (male), and He/She (transgender female), as well as, He/They and We/Us (gender neutral) from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. In the Western world, gender/gender fluidity has become prominent to define identity in recent times. However, in some Asian or Muslim cultures, gender is strictly just male or female but what is more emphasised is religious and/or ethnic identity. Hence, depending on the place and time we live in, cultures vary to shape our identity as individuals.

What do I mean by culture? There are various definitions but I loosely consider culture as meaning or information that is developed when a group of people gather together, they create their own cultures, which may manifest as collective beliefs, behaviours, customs, rituals, etc. In fact, we are all embedded into multiple cultures, such as our own distinct family cultures; work or school cultures; community cultures around our interests such as faith communities/churches, sports, arts; online cultures; and our national/ethnic cultures. At any one point, one of these cultures may be more salient throughout our identity development.

Culture and identity are inseparable. We derive our identities from our cultures. Social science researchers have continually highlighted that our identity is formed from the cultures we are embedded in. There are cultural scripts that stipulate who we should be and how we should act. 

Robyn Fivush, an expert in social psychology explained how the stories of our everyday experiences from our families, communities, and nations enable us to construct an autobiographical self, a narrative identity. Along with Fivush, contemporary psychologists like Dan McAdams, Kate McLean, Qi Wang, and others have argued that our self and identity are socially and culturally constructed. 

We get to choose who we want to be and which cultures we identify most with to form our identities. Some of the writers I met at the festival identified with the LGBTQIA+ community. Some of my friends choose to identify with their ethnic communities, such as being English, Chinese or Italian. For people of faith, they can follow Christ, the biblical script, and immerse in faith communities that shape Christian identity, or read the Koran and worship with fellow believers in mosques to strengthen Muslim identity.

Therefore, we need to continually ask ourselves and reflect on the question, ‘What cultures are defining me? Who do I choose to identify with? Is that who I want to become?’ 

Identity formation is a lifelong complex process of working out one’s meaning, purpose, and belonging. Just as culture can change over time, so does identity. Each person with their unique identity also dynamically impacts their cultures, so that, we are all in a continual dance of ‘Culture and Self’ co-construction. 

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About the Author

Lidia Lae, Ph.D., is a writer, psychologist, and speaker, committed to empowering individuals and organisations to build healthier cultures for meaningful contribution.