South Africa has been famously called the rainbow nation because it is made up of so many diverse cultures and religions. Contained within South Africa’s borders are Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Tswana, Ndebele, Khoisan, Hindu, Muslim, and Afrikaner people to name but a few. All of these people call South Africa home. Therefore, their lives all contribute to the country’s heritage, identity and culture. Understanding that South Africa is composed of all these various influences is essential for helping South Africans understand and respect each other. It is also essential to learn from each other’s cultural practices. This is part of the healing democracy has brought after culture divided South Africans in the past.
Identity is made up of character, family and social roots. Identity, like culture, changes constantly. For example a person can be a teacher, parent, spouse and driver for their children. In addition, they can be a famous politician fighting for justice or a farmer growing crops for food. To this person it is possible to be all of these and more. At the same time being a person of a particular race or class also influences one’s identity. When people speak of ‘intersectionality,’ they refer to the way that a single person can be at the intersection of multiple different social identities. The experiences of a White, heterosexual, urban, and middle-class mother, for instance, will be vastly different from that of a Black, homosexual, rural, and working class single woman. Identity, in short, is made up of a multitude of factors. An individual is both subject to their circumstances and an agent able to influence which parts of themselves they present to the world.