Patricia Williams Cultural Identity

One source once stated, “Cultural identity a broader term: people from multiple ethnic backgrounds may identify as belonging to the same culture” (Trumbull and Pacheco 9). In order for people to understand how their culture affects their identity and perceptions, they must first learn about their own culture. Cultural identity is based off of one’s aspect on life to help better understand their relationship with the people around them and their individual self. Various aspects of a person’s life that may determine his or her cultural identity are beliefs, food, music, and clothes. After analyzing several texts, the reader recognizes that four important elements of a person’s cultural identity include beliefs, food, music, and clothes.

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Throughout the development of an individual’s cultural identity, one must take into account the factor of location. Depending on where someone lives, will determine the types of food they eat. One writer, Patricia J. Williams, wrote a personal essay, “Ethnic Hash, which develops the importance of food in culture. She comments, “Having grown up and learned that you are what you eat, I have worked to broaden my horizons and cultivate my tastes” (Williams 14). It is interesting that the author uses figurative language to show that the foods you eat make up who you are. Furthermore, food helps provide a sense of uniqueness in distinguishing one culture from another, while still creating an individual’s sense of self. Another author, Santha Rama Rau, writes “By Any Other Name”, which also helps discern a person’s distinctive cultural identity. Food helps provide a sense of uniqueness in distinguishing one culture from another while still creating an individual’s sense of self. Also, in “Everyday Use” the author, Alice Walker, mentions, “We sat down to eat and right away he said he didn’t eat collards and pork was unclean. Wangero, though went on through the chitlins and cornbread, the greens and everything else” (Walker 24). To respect the beliefs within a culture, food choice should be taken into account. For example, many faiths such as Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism exclude certain foods from their diets, due to their religious beliefs. Overall, the food that appeals to an individual, coincides with where they are from, as well as their