I recently heard the term “transculturate” – like “acculturate” it relates to the uptake of cultural features when one moves into a new culture, but it also implies more of a balanced bi-directional relationship between the new arrival and his/her environment.
In my years-long process of searching for ways to resolve my cultural identity conundrum I’ve wrestled with the idea of acculturating. The process of cultural identity formation was especially confusing for me as it coincided with adolescent identity issues. There were moments when I tried to forget my past entirely (i.e. acculturate/assimilate into Canadian culture) in an effort to gain social acceptance. But there were also times in which I went to the other extreme and wished I could separate myself entirely (i.e. marginalize/hermitize) from Canadian culture. I finally realized that acculturating, to me, meant becoming like my Canadian peers both inside and out, which would make me feel as if I were letting go of my childhood overseas – not my preferred choice.
So this ‘transculturate’ idea makes sense to me and feels more balanced. In fact it positions me (the hidden immigrant) not as a vulnerable subject labouring to swim upstream against the powerful influence of my passport culture, but rather as a subject with a firm footing in the midst of my surrounding culture and the autonomy to be selective about the features of my past and present cultures that contribute to my cultural identity. It also reminds me to be more intentional about appreciating and directing this process in every-day life.
