Internalization Of Culture

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Internalization is the process through which a person takes in part of the culture or societal norms and makes it a part of his or her identity. It may involve taking in positive or negative aspects of one’s culture and could sometimes involve identifying with the oppressing power. Ho (1995) stated that it is only through understanding of client’s internalized culture that a social worker can begin to understand diversity issues for a client. According to him, the concept of internalized culture, refers to what client believes and identifies with that may be taken from a number of cultural systems such as ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, class. However, it is also crucial not to make assumptions that individuals are representations of their cultures. Though families may make them familiar to various aspects of culture, individuals may identify with some dimensions of their ethnicity while rejecting others (Bogo, 2006). To explain the concept of internalization, I will use an example from my personal life. When I look back upon time, I can say with utmost surety that family has played a significant role in shaping my belief system. I have taken significant aspects of my culture and made it a part of my identity. My upbringing paid utmost importance to initiate, cultivate, maintain, and prioritize family relationships; an aspect I internalized and I wish to carry forward with me. Another crucial concept related to internalization is internalized racism, which is the development of ideas, beliefs, actions, and behaviors that support racism against oneself. It is the support of the supremacy and dominance of the dominant group through participation in the set of attitudes, behaviors, social structures, and ideologies that undergirds the dominating group’s power and privilege and limits the oppressed group’s own advantages (Potapchuk et al, 2005; Tatum, 1997). Being
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