Many people operate under the misconception that various aspects of cultural identity are essentialized or fixed in time and place; however, even those aspects of identity that people often take for granted may be more complex than they realize. Choose a nationality or ethnicity that you have less affiliation or openness towards than others. Be honest with yourself about the perceptions and assumptions you hold of this population. One of the goals of this course is to support the uncovering of assumptions and biases that we all hold as human beings. Then watch the YouTube video below as individuals from various ethnic backgrounds share their perceptions of others and then are faced with an unexpected outcome.

• What are your reactions to this video, and how does it offer you a different way of viewing those who are culturally different from you?
• What are the implications for challenging the myth of essentialized/fixed identities in other areas, such as gender, class, sexual orientation, ability?
• How might you carry the moral of this story forward into your work with your clients?

[Permanent link: https://on-linelearning.ca/crsjcounselling/chapter/cc2/#pureidentities]

One of the ways in which dominant discourses are preserved and protected in society is through the use of language that infers there is only one way to view lived experience. In the case of gender, you don’t need to look far to see examples that reinforce these false assumptions or myths: for example, signage that proclaims washrooms as being for either men or women reinforces the false assumption that there are only two genders. Review the Definition of Terms provided by the University of California Berkeley, Gender Equity Resource Center. Then, consider the definitions provided in Appendix A of the America Counseling Association ALGBTIC Competencies for Counseling LGBQIQA. Go through these lists of definitions and review the terms with which you are less familiar. It is now widely accepted that gender identity and sexual orientation are nonbinary categories of human experience. In other words, they are best understood as continua of experience/identity rather than distinct and exclusive categories. Pay particular attention to defining the terms sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

To position yourself on this landscape of diversity, take a moment to reflect on the Gender Unicorn presented by the Trans Student Education Resources. They often assume heterosexual and cisgender normativity; they view sexuality in binary (either/or) terms; and/or they are unaware of the breadth of diversity on these spectra. Take note of what it is like for you—emotionally, cognitively, behaviourally—to consider your personal cultural identity relative to this spectrum of lived experiences. Consider the implications for your use of language related to gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation in casual conversation and in your professional roles, particularly in your interactions with clients.

[Permanent link: https://on-linelearning.ca/crsjcounselling/chapter/cc2/#expandinglanguage]

Canadian historical contexts have influenced the lived experience of members of various nondominant populations in different time periods. The Canadian Human Rights Commission (n.d.) has created a database to illustrate how human rights have changed over the last century or so in Canada: Human Rights in Canada: A Historical Perspective. Exploring this site gives you an opportunity to evaluate critically how historical context shapes cultural identities.

1. Select a Time Portal website. Get a sense from the time colour-coded flags on the map where gains and losses in human rights have occurred across the country. Explore some of these gains and losses (by clicking on the flags on the map or on the numbers in the chronological list below).
   • Who was affected, positively or negatively, by these events?
   • What was the historical, sociocultural, political context of the time, and how did that influence these changes? (Note: Use the Get Briefed On… tab for contextual information for different dates.)
   • Imagine what it might have been like to have, or not have, basic human rights at these times. Picture yourself in these situations, either gaining or losing ground.
   • Attend to what aspects of cultural identity were validated or invalidated in different periods of time.
2. Next, use the Browse by Subject tab to select a particular nondominant cultural group and review the evolution of human rights for this group over time.
   • Choose one year in middle of the list of human rights events and create an image in your mind of life for a particular person with this specific cultural identity during this time period.
   • What challenges did this person face? What basic human rights did they possess or lack? How might this have impacted their lives on a day-to-day basis?
   • How might this context have shaped how they viewed themselves, how they might have foregrounded or backgrounded certain aspects of their cultural identity, and how they might have related to the dominant cultural groups?
   • Review the events prior to this year and after this year. Imagine yourself in their shoes experiencing past gains and still fighting for future rights. What effects might these battles have on your sense of personal or collective cultural identity? How might your sense of self and expression of cultural identity to those around you change over time?
3. Reflect critically on our current sociocultural/political context in Canada. In what ways does this context continue to influence the lived experience and expression of dominant and nondominant cultural identities and human rights?

[Permanent link: https://on-linelearning.ca/crsjcounselling/chapter/cc2/#historicalcontext]