Development of Identity in Terms of Culture

How might the development of a child’s identity be different depending on the culture in which they are raised? References please.
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Hi,

Interesting questions!

1. A description of how the development of a child’s identity might be different depending on the culture in which they are raised.

A child’s identity is impacted by the culture she or he lives in: it has a huge impact on a child’s identity. For example, raised in Popular American culture,” girls are influenced to judge their bodies and begin dieting in 4th grade – already striving for the air-brushed perfection offered in glossy magazines and TV programs. This becomes part of the young girl’s identity; (Ruben, 2008). On the other hand, boys are getting lost behind masks of neutrality, hiding their feelings and telling everyone that they are okay, even though they may be sad or hurt. As they grow older, boys enter into the “boy code” where they need to be, as one boy puts it, “tall, cool, and tough.” In other words, the development of a child’s identity is difficult in this culture. For example, according to the “boy code,” it is more acceptable for boys to express themselves with anger, rather than tears. They are concerned about the consequences of tears shed in the faces of adults and peers. They are vulnerable to teasing if they show the tears. One child/family therapist expresses it this way: “I have heard so many parents of boys asking me to help them, help their boys to “express their thoughts and feelings.” The request feels gendered. I hear it less when they speak of their daughters” (Ruben, 2008).

Rubin (2008) gives another example of the impact of culture on a young girl’s body image and how the number of eating ..