What is culture? It
feels like this would be an easy word to explain but when I actually sit down
and try to put a definition to it, suddenly I struggle to find the right way to
explain it. Even the Merrian-Webster dictionary can’t put its finger on it, providing
up to ten ways to try and define the noun “culture”. The trouble is that
culture doesn’t really have a singular definition. It is a whole mixed bag of
things like beliefs, language, social traits, race, attitudes, values,
clothing, and the list goes on. No matter what the descriptor we use, the
important piece of any definition of culture is that it is anything that
express a collective experience. For example, a group of people wearing kilts would
be in culturally appropriate dress for being from Scotland or having Scottish
background. Or a group of Trekkies would consider themselves geeks and center
their culture around Star Trek.
Ultimately,
culture is linked to identity. Both culture and identity are social constructs,
ways of grouping people together in relation to others, “constructed in
community, not autonomously, and that a person’s unique sense of individuality
is derivative of his or her existence in a given society.”[1] When we consider that cultural
identity is formed in relation to others, that is where cultural differences emerge.
And where there is difference, there is often conflict.
Canada, as a
nation, likes to claim an identity of multiculturalism, often being called a
cultural mosaic. In theory, multiculturalism is a good thing because it should
be a means to welcoming different people, faster inclusion, social cohesion,
and a recognition of diversity. Canada’s supposed tolerance of others is a
central pillar of its national identity.[2]
However, many
people will attest that, overall, Canada is working against such claims by trying
to become a more homogenous country, leaning heavily to an identity of the “ordinary
Canadian” – white, English-speaking, heterosexual, middle-classed male. In contrast,
everyone else is “special” is some way or another.
Many Canadians, wanting
to show their joint ethnicity, may identify as hyphenated peoples such as French-Canadian,
German-Canadian, Ukrainian-Canadian, and so on. Others, perhaps not wanting to highlight
their “otherness” or perhaps because they have the privilege to do so, will
drop the descriptor and simply say they are “Canadian”. A person who is conflicted
between being proud of who they are but acknowledging the struggles that come
with being anything other than the “ordinary Canadian” ends up in this liminal
space of being both accepted and not accepted depending in which space they are
in relation to others. Sometimes this liminal space even occurs within their own
cultural group with some accepting the person’s choice of identification and
others making them feel guilty for not being more obviously proud of their
heritage.
This liminal space
is often found within the transgender community as well. There is an inherent “otherness”
that comes with being transgender. If we are to consider that the “ordinary
Canadian” is all the above but also cisgender, then anyone who’s gender identity
is anything else would be considered “special” and outside of the Canadian societal
norm. Just as with ethnic identities, some transgender folks wear their non-conforming
gender identity on their sleeves. While others, whether for safety or any other
personal reason, choose to live stealth, not publicly revealing the fact that
they are transgender to anyone.
The liminal space
occurs because transgender people are both accepted and not accepted in the
2SLGBTQIA+ community as well as the wider world. There is a neither here nor
there type of relationship with those around us. For example, I am a white man
and can enjoy all the privilege that comes with that identity. However, I am
also part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community because I am transgender. So, while I can
enjoy white privilege, I am also at risk of experiencing discrimination for
being queer. However, I could choose to hide that part of my identity, thus
returning me to a position of privilege but outwardly appearing no longer part
of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. I am neither one nor the other but also both.
I similarly experience
this liminal space as a transgender priest. I am part of a religious community
where I experience both acceptance and rejection for being transgender, and I experience
both acceptance and rejection in the transgender community for being a priest.
In reflecting on
cultural differences and the inherent “otherness” of being transgender, I
believe that there are similarities in the societal concerns that exist with regards
to exclusion and oppression in a country that claims to be built on
multiculturalism, diversity, and the inclusion of all people. As a country, there
have been great strides in bringing forth acceptance and inclusion, but there
is still a long way to go for the liminal space to disappear entirely.
[1]
Driedger Hesslein, Kayko, “But You Can’t Be Both! – Multiple Loyalties in
Theories of Multiculturalism.” In Kayko Driegder Hesslein, Dual Citizenship:
Two- Natures Christologies and the Jewish Jesus. Bloomsbury Academic, 2015,
p. 33.
[2] Mackey, Eve. “Unsettling Differences: Origins, Methods, Frameworks.” In Eve Mackey, The House of Difference: Cultural Politics and National Identity in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002, p. 16.
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