HAIRITAGE CAST
A — AISHA SANYANG MEEK
A — JENNY BUI
A — ADE BELLO
A — ASHA JOHNSON GRINHAM
A — LOIS BRYANT
makes out culture distinctive and unique, what we can called ours and is not shared by other culture. Family values. This may be shared by other culture, but its a fundamental value that it built to make the culture cohesive.
Food. This is not shared by other cultures in which make it very exclusive. It is also a good representation for our culture through it flavouring.
HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR NATIVE CULTURE AND ENTER INTO A NEW ENVIRONMENT?
I feel part of two cultures that are often entwined, however when leaving my close community of white
family who have awareness around systematic racism, cultural appropriation, micro-aggressions etc I can feel threatened when entering an all white environment, where there is potentially a lack of awareness regarding these issues. It could be anywhere I.e work, a new course, even a poetry group! Where I could be, 1) potentially the only black person 2) In a position where I’m on the defence against micro-aggressions, racist jokes and the constantly reoccurring greeting of “Hey Girllllllllllllllllllllllll” the very popular embodiment of the ‘sassy’ black woman stereotype. Ultimately the act of leaving my native culture is filled with discomfort and curious anticipation as to what I will be greeted with when arriving in my new environment.
It different for me, as i am brought into a household practising my cultural background's beliefs but I was born in England so i am very use to the western values, in fact I have internalised some of its values.
If my understanding of what you mean by native culture is correct then I’m constantly in a new environment (98% of the time). I’d like to believe I bring nuance (in relation to my culture) to that environment and its
people. People tend to think in single faceted caricatures until they are confronted with the real thing.
Excited, intrigued, curious... when I go somewhere with a culture I'm not usually exposed to I just find that I want to learn more about it. maybe this is because I wasn't exposed to many cultures whilst growing up.
WOULD YOU PREFER TO LIVE IN A MONOCULTURAL OR MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY?
Living in a multicultural society that is at BALANCE and in equal respect for all cultures is a preferred society to live in yes, but our society is nowhere near that yet. Living in a society that is filled with equal respect for all cultures involved seems almost unattainable due to the fact that the history that traces a considerable amount of our modern social norms, rests on a system of mass exploitation, it seems how can we heal from this so much as to achieve the ultimate cultural understanding and not appropriation?
Multicultural. It is inspirational to learn and experience other culture. It also promote people to be more open minded and respect alternative perspectives.
I think multiculturalism can be a very good thing when done right. The UK is doing well in some places as a multicultural society and as new generations become more comfortable with sharing space with people from different backgrounds things will get better. London could be a good example but there are places in London that remain segregated. I believe teaching about Britain’s colonial past would help a lot of native British who feel their country is being taken from them.
I think there are pros and cons to both. I’ve always lived in a multicultural society which has taught me to be accepting of people who have different cultural norms. However, I think I’d like to give living in a monocultural society a try. Being surrounded by people the same as you could definitely take away feelings of alienation and being unaccepted away. It would just be an interesting experience.
Probably multicultural, I think if you are exposed to lots of different cultures from a young age you would learn more about other cultures and it wouldn't be as alien when you meet people from other cultures. to an extent we already are living in a multicultural society but I think for it to be truly multicultural, discrimination against minority cultures would have to disappear...!?
HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED CULTURE SHOCK?
Yes, when I first moved here I realised the little amount of fear students had for their teachers. It was very surprising to see but I don’t know if it is necessarily a bad thing.
WHAT MISCONCEPTIONS ARE THERE OF YOUR CULTURAL OR ETHNIC BACKGROUND?
That we are introverts, good at maths, won't defend ourself, boring and traditional.
Moving to London, most black people around me were Nigerian. I was surprised at the stereotypes some of the older generation held about Jamaicans. One of my friend’s mum thinks Jamaican women "carry knives in their boots" ...maybe some do but no one I know does that hahaha
HAVE YOU EVER FELT CONFUSED ABOUT THE ACTIONS OF SOMEONE FROM ANOTHER CULTURE?
When hear about people perform rituals such as FGM, personally I think it wrong but i am confuse how people may think such activities are right.
There are some aspects of other cultures I find slightly odd, I read an article recently about a culture who preserve their dead loved ones and dress them up every year and take them for a walk around the town. I did find this pretty confusing, but I think one thing that is uniform in nearly every culture is the respect we have for the dead (dressing them up at a funeral, taking flowers to the grave.. walking them around the village)..
WHAT IS YOUR CONCEPT OF PERSONAL SPACE? WHAT IS CONSIDERED APPROPRIATE TOUCH?
My concept is personal space is trying to be aware of how I feel engaging with the person I’m talking to and how I interpret them to be feeling through their body language and eye contact. If I’m with friends what’s appropriate to touch changes to when you’re with strangers or people you're meeting for the first time. However, no matter who it is I think it’s important to speak when you’re feeling uncomfortable, when you feel your personal space is being disrespected. It’s your body and everyone has a right to protect themselves against any unwanted touch.
When it comes to stranger, 10 inches is close enough. People am familiar with, a hug is fine.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THOSE MIGRATING TO THE UK FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES?
Keep an open mind and do not be judgemental. Definitely to not cause conflict through contrasting values and beliefs and don't force your beliefs onto another.
Know your history! It pretty much shapes everything you see now in some way
"IT'S VERY EASY TO GET SWALLOWED UP BY YOUR ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE NO ONE IS ASKING THE SAME QUESTIONS AS YOU"