Why Cultural Communities Can't Be Neatly Divided"?

[rameen_ali]

Thinking of cultural communities as “neatly distinguishable” doesn’t capture how people live and identify. Thobani talks about how this kind of thinking simplifies things by reducing people to just one culture, which doesn’t reflect the complexity of their lives (Thobani, p. 45). Cultures mix, change, and overlap all the time, so trying to box them into separate groups just doesn’t work.
It also leads to stereotypes. When we assume someone belongs to one "culture," we ignore the fact that even within a single community, there’s a lot of diversity. For instance, South Asians in Canada come from different countries and have different traditions and languages (Thobani, p. 52). It’s not a one-size-fits-all situation.
Plus, this idea of “difference” often ignores bigger issues like race, class, and history. Thobani points out how multiculturalism policies in Canada focus on cultural differences, but they ignore how power dynamics play out, especially between white Canadians and immigrants (Thobani, p. 54). By separating cultures, we miss the bigger picture and end up reinforcing divisions instead of promoting understanding.
In short, trying to separate cultures like this leaves out the messy, real experiences that makeup people’s identities. Culture isn’t something you can neatly package, and putting it into boxes only limits how we understand each other.