Topic > Ethnic Identity: An Exploration of Ethnic Culture...

An individual displays his or her identity through the use of language, gestures, and clothing. How the identity is enacted may depend on the situation/occasion. One dimension of cultural identity performance is the scope of identity performance, that is, the aspects of one's behavior expressed through one's cultural identity. For example, when Keith visits China, sometimes for months at a time, he chooses to eat some ethnic foods, but rejects traditional ethnic clothing. The second dimension is the intensity of the identity performance which outlines how powerfully one enacts one's identity. For example, one might consider it important to proclaim one's national origin, Clarke (2008) points out. Keith returns from China each time, reiterating the point that he was treated like royalty; he still finds it somewhat unbelievable given his humble working-class origins. A further aspect is the importance of identity performance: how evident the cultural elements of identity are in the daily routine. When Keith visits China he still reads the Economist, a British publication, and watches BBC television, which he prefers to CNN, an American television channel. Keith's reliance solely on ethnic mass media are all ways in which he asserts himself