Your culture = your identity?

Does it really? I don’t think it does. They’re closely related; your identity and personal interests will clearly influence the forms of culture you engage with and likewise, the cultures you exist within will play a part in shaping your identity. Culture is something we share with other people whereas individual identity is unique to every one of us. But maybe we have more than one identity (stick with me here!)

I believe I’m part of several cultures, and I guess a lot of you feel the same. On a wider scale, I’m part of British culture; I championed Brit-pop when I was a youngster, I love a nice cuppa tea, fish ‘n’ chips, Sunday dinners, country pubs, reading the papers, trawling the high-street and embracing all other stereotypical British connotations. I’m part of student culture (well, I try); socialising, drinking, trying to get discount on everything, being permanently in debt, moaning about being in debt – you get the idea! Music culture - a huge ‘circle’ of its own – is another I dip in and out of. I wouldn’t say it’s my most cherished, but I do engage in irregular bouts when a new band pop up or a song on the radio catches my attention.

I’d say a big part of me is attached to equestrian culture. Something with which I engage because it’s part of my individual identity. But interestingly, there are some aspects of this ‘culture’ which I don’t feel part of. Stereotypically, equestrianism is seen as an ‘elite’ sport, polo for example is traditionally the sport of the wealthy (Charlie, Wills and Harry all do it!) Horses, upkeep, training, competing – all cost money. But I wouldn’t consider my family to be wealthy and so I don’t see myself as fitting in with this ‘elite’ circle. My experience of this culture is different.

So, I think it’s safe to say that there are thousands of ‘cultures’, ‘circles’, ‘groups’ or whatever you want to call them out there and everyone is part of one or a number of them. The extent to which you engage in any particular culture differs, largely due to your own interests and curiosities. Some cultures we know instantly that we ‘fit in’ and many we don’t and probably never will. My closing thoughts then; we’re made up of several ‘faces’ of identity which fit the different cultures we’re part of. Some are personal to us as individuals and some we share within a cultural group – either way, culture and identity fall hand-in-hand, each influencing and shaping the other.