The Politics of Belonging: Cultural Identity Formation among Second Generation Canadians

Transnationalism complicates how we view citizenship, diasporas, nationality and engage in identity discourse. This study explores the fluidity of cultural identity through the narratives of six second generation Canadians of South Asian descent. The research examines how factors such as boundary events, monolithic views, liminal space, physical space and the intersection of gender, sexuality and "race" play a role in the formation of cultural identity among second generation Canadians. Their construction of liminal space defies the notion of culture as being static. Moreover, the illogical practice of applying specific traits, behaviours, subjectivities and signifiers to race are explored. This paper demonstrates the need to move towards a discourse that acknowledges and reflects the fluidity in cultural identities, thus moving away from essentialism.