Running head: CULTURAL BIOGRAPHY

Cultural Biography
Kimberly Wynn
Communication and Cultural Diversity SW 3000
Dr. Watkins
November 22, 2016

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Abstract

Overall, cultural diversity is something all social workers study and strive to achieve. The first
step in becoming culturally aware of other people is realizing your own characteristics. It should
be easy to do this, but the more you begin to do so the harder it becomes. How are you supposed
to help clients of a different culture when you do not understand your own? It is known that
social workers want to uphold human rights and understand the clients perspective. A selfassessment will identify ethnicity, race, culture, and other things such as class position. Before
stepping out into the field to help clients, it is important to understand who you are as a person.
This essay will explore different ways to become more culturally aware through a self-analyze
test and reflection.

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Cultural Biography

Social work is always something I have felt drawn to do. I have always had a passion to
help people even before I pursued this career, but I never realized how self-involved it would be.
It is our job to help clients and it makes sense now to get a better look at your own life first.
More people should take the time to do this because of the individual exposure and growth that
comes from it. Before social workers can help their clients, they must first consider their own
lives. Essentially the job of a social worker is to be open-minded and able to picture themselves
in their clients shoes. To analyze yourself it takes a lot of evaluating and reflecting. To begin this
process, a self-assessment must be made. Positionality within multiple identities, dilemmas of
Americanization, family culture, cultural awareness, and intersectionality are a part of becoming
culturally aware.
Positionality/ Multiple Identities
The connection of positionality and multiple identities suggest that it is not possible to
have one identity. However, a bunch of group identities whether they be external or internal can
be interrelated, interconnected, and intersecting. More specifically in the words of Ridley, a
minority client..is a member of a variety of groups, with group identities overlapping to create a
blend that is unique and special to that individual (p.88.) For myself, I identify with many
different identities such as female, student, daughter, sorority member, and friend. The list of
identities could go on and on. The beauty of discovering these characters is uncovering the
connections between them. For example, being a female and student interconnect. Since we do
not identify with just one identity it makes our characters more diverse.
Dilemmas of Americanization
Descending from a white ethnic background I have never learned much about culture or
where I came from. Americanization is a major problem because of the American ways. The
focus is on how peoples character and adaptation of U.S. speeches lead to excluding out ones
culture. This is a shock because everything I knew about European American groups now only
resembles what is known as Americanization. Being born and raised in America it seems that
European American descents have been reduced. The roots of our culture which were known
hundreds of years ago have now been overtaken by Americanization. Not only is this an issue for
the United States, it has spread throughout the country. For example, the prevalence of American
fast food restaurants all around the country. I am accustomed to American ideals and because of
this my cultural awareness has been compromised.
Family Culture
Family is a big self-determinant of who you grow up to be, since your family is generally
the people who raise you. Being born in the United States, along with many generations in my
family it is hard to identify my culture. I want to trace my family ancestry and find out more in
hopes on becoming more culturally aware. Although, one thing I am certain about is our religion.
My parents raised me to be a Southern Baptist Christian. Ever since I was a little girl I would

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always go to church on Sundays and celebrate religious holidays. My favorite is Thanksgiving

and Christmas. It is a hard pick one because both involve caring and sharing. Therefore, I like the
season of being thankful and giving back to your community. I have a diverse group of friends
and I am looking to increase my cultural awareness through multicultural events. Whenever I
meet someone different than myself it is an opportunity to learn more about a culture, race, or
religion. I believe that my friends will be able to help me dive deeper into other cultures. I want
to put myself out there to learn. Stepping outside of my comfort zone might be nerve-racking at
first, but there are so many areas of history worth learning about.
Cultural Awareness of Other Inventory
In my adolescent years, I lived in Snellville, where I still live just in a different house. I
lived in a neighborhood with mostly African Americans and European Americans as well as in
my school. Other than African Americans, I somewhat frequently had contact with Mexican and
Chinese Americans. As a child, I was a chatter box and made friends of different ethnic groups.
However, my opinion seemed to change around my teenage years when the neighborhood I lived
in did not seem safe anymore. Living around violence such as armed robberies makes you
question peoples intentions. Then moving to Atlanta only raises that risk of uncertainty. The sad
part is that the men in my neighborhood committing these crimes were European American, but
who do you think everyone pointed their finger at? The world we live in today is filled with
people who make poor decisions. Whether they are African American or European American,
people will always make the stereotypical assumption of it being the African American.
Stereotypes also affect me; people will judge me and assume that I live in the upper class or
think because I have blonde hair that I am stupid. The inventory assessment seemed to jog
memories of the cultures I was exposed to as an adolescent. Then growing older to see if any of
that changed. Cultural awareness truly beings as a child from our unconscious decisions we
make about different ethnic groups.
Intersectionality (Internal and External)
Most people make judgements based on what can be seen and not what can be discovered
about a person. External intersectionality is the assumption we can make about a person without
any verbal contact. Being a white female, speaking the common language of English in the
middle class is not what defines me. Although, I do get judged harshly and people assume they
know all about me. I am in a sorority therefore people tell me I am basic, but clearly they have
never been to the Georgia State campus full of diverse women. People have stereotypes about me
because of my appearance. When people get to know me they see that I am more than my looks.
My internal intersectionality is the most complex part of me. However, to begin with I am a
twenty-year-old, heterosexual Christian. I live with my parents and three sisters in Snellville. I
am working and going to school. While also staying involved on campus through multiple
organizations. Furthermore, I have the position of Academic Chair for Alpha Xi Delta.
Everything I have going on can make being in a relationship difficult at times, but all my
identities and social groups interconnect seemingly.
Conclusion

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In efforts to become more culturally competent it is crucial to recognize the different

aspects of peoples context like positionality, dilemmas of Americanization, family culture,
cultural awareness, and intersectionality. Through this I have learned more about myself and will
continue to discover myself in a cultural context. Atlanta is the best setting to engage with
cultures because of the diversity that can be found all throughout the city. I never realized how
little I truly know about where I came from. Most importantly, this will help me grow as a social
work student and improve my connections with future clients.

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References

Lum, D. (Ed.). (2010). Culturally Competent Practice: A framework for understanding diverse
groups and justice issues - 4th edition (4th ed.). Boston, MA, United States: Cengage
Learning.