Split , but not actually
GLOBAL SELF + LOCAL SELF = IDENTITY
Split, but not actually - Globalization is upon us, and it doesn’t show any hint of stopping anytime soon. For most of us, the rapid, sudden and somehow unchallenged influx of different cultures around the world, each with their own “international branding”. This affects us, our identities, as we now have this vast array of additional “upgrades” to our selves, in the form of products, information, ideas and worldviews.
Photo by Harry Edmonds
So, now our identities are SPLIT - into local version and a global one, a local one, for our interactions within our own home community, and a global one for our interactions with people outside it. BUT NOT ACTUALLY as this combination actually makes up the entirety of our identities, albeit giving us a Hybrid one.
ME = LOCAL ME + GLOBAL ME
Which aspects of myself are global? Which are local?
Having a hybrid identity means having different aspects of yourself be patterned or programmed to exemplify a local or global function. The aspects of self that exemplify one’s hybrid identity would be in the way of speech, the kind of personality, the habits possessed regarding everyday activities, the choice of vocabulary, decisions, and judgements. Essentially all of these aspects are both global and local, but they differ in version, depending on the situation and context one finds themselves in.
It is not necessarily so that global identity automatically only entails one’s self in an international context. It can also be applicable in just a national level, within your own country, just as long as it is outside your local or your home community.
In my context, I am a pure Filipino born and raised in the Philippines. More specifically, I am from Iloilo, who has roots from Kalibo, Aklan, both provinces in the Visayas. I am currently living in Quezon City, Metro Manila, which is situated in Luzon. The thoughts, expressions and feelings I have, as well as the experiences differ from my “local” identity in Iloilo, than my “global” identity in Manila.
An example would be that in Iloilo, my local identity thinks on impulse, as I feel more secure and comfortable, as they have been shaped by experiences of being at home with family and friends. Whereas in Manila, my global identity kicks in. I behave in a way that I did when I had trips abroad. My global identity thinks carefully, as I feel much more at an unease as everything feels unfamiliar and mysterious, as my experiences are still not enough to remove the sense of being alien to the place and to the lifestyle of the area.
What can we take I away from this? What did I take away from this?
One significant insight we all could take away from this would be, our hybridity is not defined by just our traits, personalities, speech, language, lifestyles, choices, like and dislikes, interests, and goals specifically. We could be a KPOP fan in our local identity but not in our global one. We could be embrace Filipino ideology and identity in our social media posts, but embrace American lifestyles in our day-to-day routines.
We could say that our hybrid identities are not dictated by how much local and, or foreign culture we take into ourselves, but in how we put those cultures into use in the different situations we find ourselves in.
“Superman also had a local and global identity.”
Our identities are defined by how we choose and decide to present ourselves in the different contexts life puts us in.