Canada is one of the highly diverse countries in several aspects ranging from religion, ethnicity to cultural background. For far too long, this diversity has been used as bad and causes division among communities. However, the truth of the matter is that there are benefits related to living in a culturally mixed society, especially when it is within a family. Most people do not know that growing up in a multicultural family has many benefits. People are more likely to become open-minded; moreover, they will better understand different cultures and be more prepared to fit in a diverse society. As a result, this paper will provide elaborate ways through which being brought up in a mixed culture family is advantageous.
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The most evident advantage of being in a culturally mixed family is that individuals are bound to open-minded in accepting new experiences, ideas, and even acknowledge the difference in a positive way. By being brought up or living in a culturally mixed family, people are exposed to different cultural ideas and world views, which can see the better side and even learn to cope with it over time. Sometimes they end up incorporating their cultural background to that of the other family member in addressing other issues and incorporating them in the process of the socially based decision-making process. Also, it incentivizes individuals to move out of their comfort zone and try new things they are not accustomed to. For instance, if an individual belongs to a culturally mixed family of Canadians and Asians, their food cultures are bound to expose individuals to different cuisines. This element will make an individual visit different festivity where different cuisines are prepared, making them more open-minded to other communities' cuisines. It can also be explained that being in a culturally mixed family enables individuals to learn new values and cultures, which end up eliminating the sense of superiority and discrimination that is caused by close-mindedness and indifference. As Bannerji (2009) described, the teacher did not acknowledge the ethnicity of the little girl and see its beauty. Multiculturalism also gets rid of the fear of the unknown, just like the little girl's mother was afraid of her daughter losing her identity (Bannerji, 2009). She would accept it as a way of growth in the setting of a culturally diverse community.
Secondly, people who grow up in a multicultural family will have a better understanding of different cultures. One of the descriptive elements of a culturally mixed family is the integration of different cultures, which provides family members with the opportunity to be exposed to and comprehensively learn about different cultures during their upbringing. As they travel from one country to another to visit their paternal and maternal relatives, they cultivate their multiculturalism as they end up meeting people with different cultural backgrounds along the way. For example, being in such a family setting exposes an individual to a different type of cuisines, and since food is an integral part of a culture as it is an expression of the cultural identity, being in a culturally mixed family will expose an individual to different food experiences and even drive them to cultural adventure (Visser, 1999). Such adventures enable individual to have a better understanding of different cultures that surrounds them.
Thirdly, people can be exposed to opportunities that they would have never been able to be part of had there been no diversity around them: diversity acts as a means of socialization. By being brought up in a multicultural setting, individuals can learn to and acknowledge different skills that they can incorporate into their daily life and the skill they pose. It ends up making them more successful (Oxenreider, 2008). This aspect is advantageous because when such individuals happen to find themselves in a social situation where they are culturally conflicted individuals, they can navigate the barrier and find a neutral ground as they already know that no culture is superior to others. For instance, according to Reynolds (2018), regarding the importance of cultural diversity on the company's productivity, managers and leaders who belong in a culturally mixed family can establish an effective workplace where people from different cultures are accommodated. Their ideas are valued and considered in the decision-making process of the company. Also, workers from different cultural backgrounds have a diverse skill set that turns out to be instrumental in promoting the business and engaging with a variety of customers. Also, such companies end up benefiting from higher quality and diversely targeted marketing, a wider range of creativity, and a greater pool of talent to choose from (Reynolds, 2018). People who are a part of a culturally diverse environment have many opportunities to interact with different people and are exposed to a wide set of skills to use to their advantage.
References
Bannerji, H. (2009). The Other Family. In S. Lipszhutz, J. Scarry & S. Scarry (Eds.), Canadian Writer’s Workplace (8th ed., pp. 403). Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd.
Oxenreider, T. (2008, October 10). The benefits of raising kids cross-culturally. The Art of Simple. https://theartofsimple.net/raising-kids-cross-culturally/
Reynolds, K. (2018).13 Benefits and Challenges of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. HULT https://www.hult.edu/blog/benefits-challenges-cultural-diversity-workplace/
VISSER, M. (1999). Food and Culture: Interconnections. Social Research, 66(1), 117. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A54668870/EAIM?u=ko_acd_cec&sid=EAIM&xid=caefacd6
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