CULTURAL SELF-ASSESSMENT 1

Cultural self-assessment

Name

Institutional Affiliation

Author Note
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Part I

Personal Identity

I am a Filipino by nationality and Filipino-American by ethnicity. However, I identify myself

with my nationality because it makes me feel comfortable by removing divisive elements such as

race and religion. In addition, I identify myself as a Filipino to help cultivate the concept of

nationalism because I share a range of common characteristics such as language, ancestry,

practices, and beliefs with other Filipinos. In terms of gender, I am a male and I identify myself

with the respective group. While I possess various abilities such as analytical skills, excellent

communication, leadership skills which are result-oriented. Holistically, I identify myself as a

disciplined, hardworking, and resourceful person. Ultimately, I am a 31-year old make and I

belong to a group of adults.

Ethnic Identity 

According to Whitfield et al. (2021) ethnic identity refers to a person’s sense of belonging to an

ethnic group and part of a person’s thinking, perceptions, feelings, and behaviors that is due to

ethnic group membership. Ethnicity means a lot to me; for instance, it helps bring about a sense

of belonging and togetherness especially for the minority groups. In addition, ethnic identity

equals effective guidance, proper growth, and ideal development (Whitfield et al., 2021). As

such, it provide me with a constant source of positive motivation and greater achievement – I

have learned various experiences, values, and traditions by identifying myself with my identity,

this implies that uniting forces does not necessarily have to be laws, organizations, or

constitutions but people and their willingness to unify through ethnicity. Growing up as a child, I

did not know anything concerning my ethnic group until I turned 10 years when I first heard of it
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while at school. It was during this period that I became aware of other ethnic groups such as

black, white, Latino, and Black-American

Gender

My gender identity helps me to express my inner feelings which are key to improving my

emotional and mental health. Being able to identify my gender helps me to express myself in

public without the fear of being stigmatized or stereotyped by gender stereotypes (Hoffman,

Kurtz-Costes & Shaheed, 2021). Yes, my biological sex and gender identities are consistent

implying that I execute my roles accordingly – they are all aligned with society’s set of

expectations, standards, and characteristics about how males and females should behave. One of

the aspects I like about my gender identity is that helps me determine how social norms and

power structures influence the lives and opportunities available to various gender groups. For

instance, my gender identity helps me identify my expected attributes such as power, strength,

and competitiveness as well as less openly displaying emotions and affection, especially toward

other men. However, I do not like gender stereotyping whereby our societies believe that some

roles and purely meant for females even though their male counterparts have the potential of

accomplishing them.

 Sexual Orientation 

Sexual orientation refers to the gender to which am sexually attracted. Yes, I am clear of my

sexual orientation because I am a man and am sexually attracted to women. Being supported and

knowing my sexual orientation is good for my mental health as it reduces stress, anxiety, and

depression (Schnabel, 2018). It also helps me to understand other people’s perceptions and

viewpoints about sexual orientation, especially those who are sexually attracted to their gender. I

first realized that there was a sexual orientation other than heterosexual when I was 10 years – I
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realized this through TV as the proponents of the other sexual orientation demonstrated over

victimization, discrimination, and stigmatization by those who belied that homosexuality is evil.

Ability 

Disability refers to a condition that makes it difficult for a person to effectively carry out certain

activities or even communicate effectively – this may be attributed to long-term physical, mental,

intellectual, or sensory impairments that hinder a person’s full participation in various roles and

responsibilities (Hoffman et al., 2021). I first became aware of people with disabilities when I

started schooling. During this time, I came across a student who was walking with the help of

crutches as he could not walk with them. In addition, it was during this time I came across some

students wearing spectacles due to sight problems. Although during this time I was only aware of

vision impairment and physical disability, I later came to know other disabilities such as autism

spectrum disorder, hearing disorders, and mental health disorders. Regardless of people’s

disorders, I perceive them as my friends and we are all equal in the sense that they should not be

treated unfairly because of their condition. I usually have a positive attitude and impression

toward people living with disabilities and try my best to help them meet their goals.

Socio-economic Class

The first memories I created when I came across someone I thought was richer than I was is that

the person was a powerful leader who could help others to improve their socioeconomic status.

The foundation of this belief is that my parents usually advised me to work hard in school so that

in the later stages of life I will get a job, become rich and help the needy because we came from a

middle-class family and therefore I had a clear understanding of the effects of missing the

necessities such as food and shelter. Based on the teachings and experiences of my early

childhood, I first thought that someone who is poorer than me sometimes slept hungry and
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lacked clothes. The foundation of this belief was the stories that my friends could tell me while

we were at school and I grew up knowing that poor people hardly get food to eat. What I

remember learning from the rich people was that we need to help and uplift those who are

struggling to meet their essential needs, especially education. I learned this through my sponsor

who offered to pay my school fees. Also, while at school I learned about the virtue and

importance of giving a helping hand to less fortunate members. On the other hand, I learned the

virtue of honesty and being thankful to poor people. Some of the poor people I interacted with

were so kind and honest with their situation and always appreciated any form of help.

Age 

My first memory of someone who was considered elderly was that the person was over 70 years

old and often depended on other people to meet their daily objectives. I had a good relationship

with them because I was always taught to be respectful and helpful to the elderly. As such, the

elderly taught me various lessons such as the importance of hard work and obedience. What I

can remember learning about the elderly is that they are very caring; for instance, they could not

eat before the juniors have eaten. I learned this information through first-hand experience as my

grandparent used to stay at our home. Although am an adult now, the image, impressions, and

feelings toward the elderly are almost the same – they need assistance such as someone to cook

for them and help them take their medication. 

Religious Beliefs 

My childhood experiences with religion included honesty and forgiveness. The source of my

experience was at school where our teacher taught us the importance of forgiving but he did not

comprehensively define how we came into existence. However, our teacher taught we can

achieve our objectives if we remain true to our deeds and be ready to be held accountable for
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whatever happens under our watch. Since I identify myself as an agnostic, my encounter with

people of similar beliefs had no impact on me because our perspectives were similar. 

Power Questions

I define power as the ability of a person to control the activities of other people; that is, the

ability to achieve certain goals with the help of others (Rogers, 2018). My earliest memory about

power is when we divided into groups to carry group discussions at school. During this period, I

was appointed as the group leader and I was required to ensure that our group meet the required

goals. To date, I have learned to ensure that I complete my tasks with the given timeframe and

available resources (Pinderhughes, Jackson, & Romney, 2017, p.262). On the other hand, my

earliest memory about powerlessness was when I was required to lead a group of fellow students

who were older than me in terms of age – it was difficult to control them because I feared that

they will bully me. The message I received from my family about power is that I must always do

my best to meet the goals set before me

Present Life 

Since I come from a multicultural and ethnic society, I have friends from other racial and ethnic

groups and I feel that we are all the same in spite of our ethnic differences. Yes, I have friends

who identify themselves with a different sexual orientation than mine and I do not have any fear

when am with them. I like being with them to understand why they chose such sexual

orientation. Throughout my life, since I started schooling, I have had friends who had various

disabilities and I feel comfortable being with them because of their kindness and life-inspiring

stories. Ultimately, I have friends from different social classes and it makes me feel comfortable

with them as it helps me to learn new things that I cannot learn within my social class.
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Beliefs and Attitudes

I think the efforts tailored toward recruitment and or hiring of a more diverse workforce should

be enhanced to help people learn and appreciate each other’s culture and beliefs. This will help

improve the unity among an organization’s workforce. I think affirmative action is policies that

aim to increase workplace or educational opportunities for underrepresented parts and members

of society (Pinderhughes et al., 2017). Integration is the act of bringing separate people or things

together (Ergashev & Farxodjonova, 2020). For instance, in the context of this study, integration

means bringing together people of different ethnicities, religions, ages, and gender for the

common good. I think the issue of racism, white supremacy, misogyny, religious oppression, and

other forms of oppression have not changed even after President Trump took office. This is

evidence by various incidences of police brutality targeting people of color which has, in turn,

led to movements such as Black Lives Matter. In addition, the minorities are often

underrepresented in various offices and are not provided with equal opportunities as the white at

various workplaces.  

Hays page 54 Questions

How cultural influences have shaped who I am, how I see yourself, and how clients see me

           Cultural influences such as religious practices and dietary preferences have shaped how

and what I believe and eat which in turn have influenced how I enter into and maintain

relationships. My food culture is founded on a long tradition that involves a range of food

products, environment, lifestyle religion, and related events which were practiced by my

forefathers. To date, I practice agnosticism as it was being practiced in the past. My culture

shapes the way I work and play and makes a difference in terms of how I perceive myself and

others. As such, it affects what I consider to be right and wrong. Culture has taught me traits like
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being humble, exercising humility, politeness, self-esteem, and assertiveness which in turn has

provided me with a different dimension of how to perceive hardship and how I feel about

depending on others.

           Through my cultural beliefs, I see myself as a responsible team leader and effective

communicator who can lead others to adhere to the teachings of our culture but most importantly

do the right thing. I believe that with the help of the teachings that I have gained from my

culture, they will be sufficient to drive others into achieving individual and organizational goals.

Besides seeing myself as an effective and competent person, clients see me as a good team leader

who focuses on developing others, encourages strategic thinking, creativity, and innovation, and

above all an ethical and civic-minded person who can be trusted to drive people into achieving

their objectives.

How these influences affect my comfort level in certain groups and feelings about

particular clients

           The aforementioned cultural influences affect my level of comfort and feelings about

various events in different dimensions. For instance, I feel uncomfortable when I am unable to

solve a person’s cultural-related problem or when an individual has been racially abused. Such

issues often lead to psychological disorders such as depression which may further lead to poor

productivity. Since my cultural identity is Filipino, I feel uncomfortable being with gender

stereotypes and racists because I feel like I will be the next victim. As a result, I like staying

away from people who see themselves to be superior to other people. However, some of the

influences have helped me to be an all-around person who easily adapts to dynamic

environments. I have learned the importance of corporation, especially when attempting to

achieve shared outcomes. For instance, when I exhibit minority influence over a wider group, I
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can persuade the respective group to work collectively. In addition, the cultural influences have

changed my perception toward certain clients especially those living with disabilities because

such clients need human assistance to walk through the organization. In this regard, I find it

necessary to educate all organizational stakeholders on the importance of being kind to those

who are physically or mentally challenged because they also need to feel valued. 

The relationship between my visible identity and self-identification and how this

relationship is influenced by my cultural context

           My visible identity refers to how people perceive me while self-identification refers to

how I perceive myself – my sense of who I am and what I am. In the social context, people see

me as a visionary leader who not only takes into account the organization’s present and future

needs but also gives them a chance to express their concerns and how to develop one another. On

the other hand, I identify myself as an interpersonal, flexible, and accountable person who is

result-oriented. Therefore, I strive to ensure that fairness across the workplace and even in our

societies – this helps provide a neutral and conducive platform for a person’s growth. The aim of

having a common platform is to alleviate racism and gender stereotyping which are driven by

unacceptable cultural practices corporal punishment.

Part II

Personal work goal 1: I will learn more about the history of Filipinos and their culture

because it forms my nationality. I will do this by reading history books as well as watching

documentaries to help me understand our evolving behaviors in matters of life, mutuality, love,

diplomacy, and peace. I will do this by discussing it with my parents to shed more life on the

aspects learned because they have vast experience in matters related to our evolving history. By

watching documentaries related to my nationality and further discussing it with my friends, it

will provide me with the opportunity to learn from others’ past mistakes such as how they

handled people from ethnic minorities, how they helped people with disabilities cope with their

situation, and how society perceived people who were not heterosexual. Together, these teaching

will help me to determine the most appropriate way of uniting people regardless of their race,

gender, age, or sexual orientation.

Personal work goal 2:  I will learn about the causes, effects, and misconceptions of

racial discrimination and white supremacy by reviewing books, films, and podcasts such as

“Why are all black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race” by

Beverley Tatum, LA 92, and Floodlines from the Atlantic respectively. All these sources are free

and open sources implying that I will freely access them from the internet. I will do this by

inviting my friends whose ethnic background is different from that mine so that we can reinforce

our friendship and unity upon which present and future generations can use as a stepping stone to

ending such vices. In addition, we will involve the elderly to give us their experiences based on

race such as if their race has ever played a factor in them losing or securing a job.

 Interpersonal work goal 1: I have limited knowledge about transgendered people

because they hardly share their experiences as they fear being discriminated against and

stigmatized. As such, I do not know the type of experiences in terms of younger vs. older,

transmen vs. transwomen, and trans people of color. To find out their experiences I plan to:

a) Identify and watch podcasts and read 3 blog posts that have been played and written by

transgendered people. This will help me determine their feelings, how society perceives

them, and more importantly how critical institutions such as schools and healthcare

centers address their issues.

b) Attend meetings, symposiums, and other events to learn more about transgendered people

and critical institutions.

Interpersonal work goal 2: I will learn about systematic discrimination. I would like to know

why systems and organizations deliberately implement policies that seek to disadvantage people

of color. This will help address some of the challenges faced by minorities at workplaces and

even in some government institutions. To achieve this goal, I plan to: 

a) Visit various multicultural and ethnic organizations to find out the plight of people of

color what they think should be done to address their issues. By visiting, people who

have been subject to this vice will provide insights that I may not be able to identify and

this will help provide the basis for fighting such vices.

b) I will watch this video [Link] I found

on TED Talks. The video addresses challenges faced by minorities at workplaces and

how their issue can be mitigated. This will help me identify the most suitable and

appropriate way of combating systematic discrimination.

References

Ergashev, I., & Farxodjonova, N. (2020). Integration of national culture in the process of

globalization. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(2), 477.

Hoffman, A. J., Kurtz-Costes, B., & Shaheed, J. (2021). Ethnic-racial identity, gender identity,

and well-being in Cherokee early adolescents. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority

Psychology, 27(1), 60.

Pinderhughes, E., Jackson, V., & Romney, P. A. (Eds.). (2017). Understanding power: An

imperative for human services in the 21st century. NASW Press. p. 262.

Rogers, L. O. (2018). Who am I, who are we? Erikson and a transactional approach to identity

research. Identity, 18(4), 284-294.

Schnabel, L. (2018). Sexual orientation and social attitudes. Socius, 4, 2378023118769550.

Whitfield, D. L., Coulter, R. W., Langenderfer-Magruder, L., & Jacobson, D. (2021).

Experiences of intimate partner violence among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender

college students: The intersection of gender, race, and sexual orientation. Journal of

interpersonal violence, 36(11-12), NP6040-NP6064.