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Exploring My Culture

Maryann Hoyos

8411647

HSF 1210

Dabashis Dutta

February 7, 2018
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For as long as time has begun, people have been privileged. Whether it has

been through the color of one’s skin, one’s social status, or one’s looks, there has

always been others that have an advantage over other people because of those

privileges. I will be discussing the twelve dimensions of culture on how they apply to me.

Afterward, I will pick five different areas on the diversity wheel that give me privilege

over others and will explain how I have privilege in these areas. Finally, I will discuss the

impact of my privilege while in the human services field. This means I will analyze how

sensitive I should be with clients and how to be better aware of working with clients who

have less privilege than I do.

Twelve Dimensions of Culture

In the circle of the dimensions of culture there are twelve in which one can have

more privilege that others. The first one on the circle is social status. Social status

indicates that a person’s standing or importance in relation to other people within

society. Within the society, my family and I are considered to be in the lower-middle

class of society. That is because my family immigrated to Canada from the United

States, so we have not gotten our citizenship for Canada yet. Due to the fact that my

parents were and are still not Canadian citizens, they were unable to obtain jobs in their

professional fields resulting in them having to resort to low paying, entry level jobs. On

account of my mother’s ongoing pain in her hip due to arthritis, she became a stay at

home mom while my father became a custodian and a mechanic. Since my parents had

to result to low paying jobs because they were not citizens, this has made it so that our

family has struggled with money for a long time.

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The second circle in the dimensions of culture is language and communication.

My family and I are lucky because my parents grew up in Medellin, Colombia and

learned Spanish as their first language. When they immigrated to the United States and

had my brother and I, they were able to teach us Spanish as well. We also learned

English as the same time because we went to school in New Jersey and learned from

the children and teachers around us. I am privileged to know and speak two languages.

This is beneficial for me because when I go to visit extended family in Colombia, then I

am able to understand them and be able to speak to them, even if it is a little bit choppy.

The next circle in the dimensions of culture is art and expression. I interpret this

dimension as “how does one express themselves?”. In this circle, I tend to express

myself through painting and creative outlets such as knitting or sketching. Although I do

have some skill in this field, there are many others that have become very well known

because of their expression. Others like Vincent Van Gogh and one of his most famous

paintings called “Starry Night”. I usually tend to express myself through a creative outlet

when I feel as though I cannot express it any other way. An example of a time I used

creativity as an outlet was when I had gone through a lot of heartache. I used my pain to

create one of my most favourite paintings. The painting has a patchy background of

yellow, orange and some red. Then, after that dried, I made use of my hands and made

red handprints around the outside borders of the canvas. I also splattered some blue

paint across the whole canvas. Finally, I saved the middle of the canvas to paint the

heart muscle. Since I had splattered the blue paint across the canvas and let it dry

before I painted the heart, the splatters made it so that when I painted the heart over
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them, it created a texture that added a lot of originality and I like how it turned out very

much.

The forth circle is family life process. Since my parents grew up in a different

country, I grew up with certain rules that other children did not have to abide to. For

example, I was never allowed to stay overnight at a friend’s house because my parents

did not know my friend’s parents. During my childhood, my parents where always overly

cautious with letting me go any place where they were not going to be. I think that

stemmed from them growing up in a dangerous place. As I have grown, I began to rebel

and not understand why my parents always kept such a tight hold on me. I felt

suffocated and wanted to be able to go out with my friends or see a movie or go out to

lunch without being bombarded by questions before I left. That rebellion happened all

throughout my high school career. I know understand that they only did that to protect

me from the dangers that are in the world and I believe they understand where I was

coming from too. Now my parents and I have come to a compromise and instead of

asking me so many interrogating questions before I leave to go anywhere, I have

shared my location with them on my cell phone so that if they would like to know where I

am, they can check on their phones.

The next thing on the dimensions of culture is the topic of clothing. Society has

made us believe that the more modest the clothing the better. Anyone who has parents

that did not grow un in Western culture will look at one’s clothing as a judgement of

character. For example, my parents always would always tell me to dress appropriately

when guests came over to the house, even if I was just staying in my room. They also

question what I wear in the summer before I go out. If I was wearing shorts that were
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not long enough or if I was wearing a top that showed too much of my stomach. I

believe those clothes are normal to wear in the summer because of the trends I would

see on social media. On the other hand, my parents grew up in a different generation,

so they believed that covering up one’s body said good things about one’s character.

These days some people see women who wear little clothing and assume that they

sleep around with others and do not care about their bodies but that is just a

misconception that others should not believe. Women should be able to wear what they

would like without being judged.

The sixth circle in the dimensions of culture is diet and food. Since I am

Colombian, I have grown up eating very cultural foods. These foods include arepas, pan

de bono, arepas de chocolo and empanadas. These cultural foods are rich in spices

and flavour. When visiting my extended family in Colombia, the food is one of the things

I look forward to the most. It is the most authentic and flavourful there. My family and I

only make this type of food for special occasions like Christmas, Easter or birthdays.

The food does take a bit of work to make but it is all worth it because of the nostalgia

and happiness one feels while eating it.

After diet and food, the next circle in the dimensions of culture is small groups.

These small groups include my friends and my family. I act very differently around my

friends than I do with my family. This is because I have always felt as though my family

judges me because of the way I chose to do things; this would include the things I wear

and the way I go about things. When I am with my friends, I am more comfortable. I

have a very small group of friends. This small group only includes three people. One is

my childhood best friend, Mariana, I have known her since I was seven when I lived in
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Florida. She recently visited me for the holidays after not seeing her in person for about

five years and I really enjoyed our time together. The second one in my small group is

Taylor. I met Taylor my second year of high school. She is very understanding and

supportive in everything that I do, and I really appreciate having her around. The third

person in my small group is Alanna. I met her the same year I met Taylor. We had both

gone through something and bonded over that fact. She is also very supportive, and I

can talk to her about my feelings about certain situations and she will be there for me.

Around my family I am very reserved in what I speak to them about. They can be

judgemental in the things that I chose to do while am out and criticize me for things that

I do not want to be criticized about.

The eighth circle in the dimensions of culture is healing. I interpret this as how I

would deal with my healing. When I am healing, I tend to immerse myself in work or

hobbies to take my mind off the pain I felt. Some things that I have previously done to

keep my mind off things is painting, knitting, watching Netflix, and listening to music that

makes me want to dance. I also try to practice self care when I am feeling

overwhelmed. Some ways that I practice self care is skin care, going to bed early, or

cleaning my room to as a way to declutter my space and my mind. These things help

me heal because I am doing things that clear my mind.

The next circle in the dimensions of culture is recreation. Recreation is the act of

doing something that brings enjoyment in one’s own free time. I am fortunate enough to

have a part-time job that pays decently to be able to use the money I make to do some

fun things in my free time. I enjoy spending time with my friends. The usual plans are to

go out to eat or watch a movie. In the summer, the plans are to go swimming or to go a
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cottage and spend time outside to enjoy the sun. While in school, I do not see my

friends as often, so I go to the movie theatre myself. I also like to be creative in my free

time. I do things like paint and knit. These things help me keep my free time busy, so I

am not always on electronics. I do still like to have noise in the background. I will play

music softly or keep Netflix playing. These things help me relax.

The ninth circle is religion. This circle is a little bit complicated for me. My family

has been religious my whole life, but I was always forced to go, even if I did not want to.

For my parents, church was a place that they associated with safety and comfortability. I

never found any interest in the scripture of the Lord. When I grew to be older, I made to

decision to stop going to church with my family. My parents did not approve. They

believe that going to church meant one would go to heaven. I do not believe that is true.

I do not think it is necessary to go to church or believe in god, but I do not disrespect

anyone who believes that.

After religion, the next circle in the dimensions of culture is values. Inn the last

semester of HSF, in one of the classes we discussed what our most important values

were. I decided that my top three, most important values were support, relationships,

and achievement. These were my top three values because I think a support system is

an important thing to have whether one is client or worker. It is important because the

work in human services is draining and can cause burnout if one does not have the

proper people to speak to. Relationships are also important because if the relationships

in one’s life are not doing well then, one suffers. Since relationships in one’s regular life

are important, that means the relationship between oneself and the client are also
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important. The last value is achievement. Achievement is important for me because I

would like to feel as though I am making a difference in the world, even if it is small.

The last circle in the dimensions of culture is history. I was born in the United

States, New Jersey. My parents immigrated from Medellin, Colombia to New Jersey and

lived there for several years before having me in 1999. Five years later, my parents had

my brother in 2004. After several years of living in New Jersey, my parents decided to

move to Jacksonville, Florida. My family and I live there for another two years, spend

time with some extended family and newly made friends. From there, my family decided

to move to Canada because they were illegal immigrants in United States. My family

and I have now lived in Canada for ten years and have gained the status of “permanent

residents”, this means my family and I are not full Canadian citizens, but the Canadian

government is allowing us to stay and live here.

Areas that Give Me Privilege

An area where I am privileged is that I am able-bodied. This means I have no

physical limitations. The ones who do not have this privilege are ones who have

suffered through a life of difficultly with trying to understand and live while physically

disabled. This privilege was not given to me but taken from others, I am able to run,

jump or catch a ball without any difficulty. Since this privilege was taken from others,

they would have either been in a traumatic incident which caused them to become

physically disabled, or they were born that way. This is an unfair for them because they

did not choose to be disabled but the able-bodied did not choose to be able-bodied

either, because one did not choose if they were able-bodied or disabled, one has to

take advantage of the fact that one has an able body and not take it for granted.
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I do have a privilege in the fact that I have more opportunities because of the

location in which I am living. In Canada, I have free healthcare, which is an advantage

to the United States because they have to pay for their healthcare, and it is very

expensive. I also have more opportunities to get a post-secondary education. In

Colombia, families have to pay for elementary school, high school, and secondary

school. This is also very expensive, and it is hard for families in that situation to put all

their children through a decent education. Since I live in Canada, it also has a higher

minimum wage for jobs which is fourteen dollars per hour. This is an advantage as well

because it gives the employees more money to spend on basic things like shelter, food

and clothing. The fact that I live in Canada is important because of all the advantages

people have by living here. For example, gay marriage was made legal in Canada in

2005 but in the United States it became legal in 2016, eleven years later, and people a

part of the LGBTQ+ community are still harassed for who they love.

My appearance is a part of my privilege. This is part of my privilege because

people have judged other on how they look. Since I look white, that means I have white

privilege. White privilege means having inherent advantages characterized by racial

inequality and injustice in society. I have a lot of advantages over others because I look

less Lanita and look whiter than my family. Since I look whiter than my family, I am able

to walk into a store alone and be trusted by its employees that I will not cause any

trouble for them. My voice is also a part of my appearance because when I speak, I do

not have a Spanish accent like my parents do when they speak to others therefore other

assume that I am not of any other ethnicity. My appearance also helps me gain more

opportunities that some in my ethnicity would not be offered because of how I look.
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Whiteness is associated with “safety” but most of the tragedies that have happened in

the Unites States have been at the hands of white men.

Through age I am also privileged. Since I am young and able-bodied, I am able

to learn quicker in work environments. I am young and energetic which means I am able

to find new solutions to situations that may have not been previously thought of, giving

others a new point of view. This could be something that others take advantage of and

rely on me to find new innovative solutions for problems in the workplace. In this

generation, because of my age, I am more open to new experiences and more

accepting of the variety of personalities I will encounter while in the workplace. I am

privileged in this area because in most workplace environments, employers would

rather hire young employees and keep them longer than hiring someone older.

With religion and spirituality, it is quite a bit different. This is because I do not

really believe religion is for me. That being said, I did grow up going to Christian and

Catholic churches most of my life, so I do understand the ways of those two churches. I

believe I am privileged in this topic because I did grow up in an environment where it

was necessary to go to church every week, sometimes multiples times. That means I

will be able to speak to others about the Christian and Catholic teachings and help

understand why it is important to them.

The Impact of Understanding

Through exploring the ways of my culture, it has come to my attention that I do

have more privilege than I previously believed I did. When working with others it is

important to be sensitive to the ones who have less privilege than I do. In the work
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environment, I should know when to be sensitive to others with less privilege than me.

While working with clients of colour or that come from different countries, I have to be

aware that I have more privilege than they do so they may not relate to me in that way,

but it is my mission to understand why they feel the why they do. My understanding and

sensitivity to the way they are feeling will help them trust me as I work with them longer.

The five area in which I feel like I have the most privilege are physical ability, age,

appearance, educational background and religion and spirituality. In the workplace I

would work with clients of many different shapes, sizes, and personalities. This means

each and every one of them could have a mixture or privileges or lack of privileges that

others do not have. For clients who are not physically abled, I would speak to them as I

would any other client and help them find the root of their situation. I would also help

them find organizations that help those with disabilities, if they would like me to. For

those of a different age than me, I would be sensitive to the fact that they are coming to

me for help in a situation even though asking for help can be extremely difficult,

especially if the client if asking for help from someone who is younger than them. This

would be difficult for anyone to do. For those who have disadvantages because of their

appearance, I would be sensitive to the fact that I have more privilege than they do

because I look white and others associate that with safety. Even if they do not have the

same privilege that I do because of appearance I would treat them the same as any

client. As for clients with a lack of educational background, if they would like to have

more education, we could search for programs that cost little to no money, to help them

become more educated and hopefully, find something that they would like to pursue. I

would not hang my education of post secondary over the client’s head because it I not
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their fault that they were not exposed or given the opportunities for a greater education.

The last one I feel like a have some privilege is religion and spirituality. That is because

I grew up in a family that believed church and praising God was one of the most

important things for them. Since I have grown around both Christian and Catholic

religion, I understand others who still praise that religion even if I do not anymore. I will

look out and be sensitive to clients and others every day while I am in a work

environment, but I will also remind myself to be sensitive to others with less privilege

than me outside of a work environment too.

Conclusion

To conclude, many people have privileges that others do not. Since one has this

privilege, that does not mean to take advantage of it but to try and be sensitive to those

around us who do not have the same privileges as one does. I will continue to explore

what my culture is because it is different for everyone. Finally, when I do finally work

with clients in a work environment, I will be sure to be cautious and sensitive to the ones

that do not share the same privileges that I have.

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References

Anzovino, T., Oresar, J., & Boutilier, D. (2018). Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice

and Equality in Canadian Society (2nd Ed.). Toronto, ON. Nelson Education.