A person's culture is made up of their beliefs, traditions, customs, values, language, religion, social groups, and other factors that influence how they view themselves and interact with others. These components shape an individual's identity, including their sexual identity and behaviors. Migration can disrupt these elements, leading to conflicts between old and new cultural influences.
When immigrants from cultures where same-sex relationships are forbidden settle in countries where such relationships are legalized, it may lead to tension within communities and families.
Migrants who practice polygamy may face difficulty adapting to monogamous societies, which could cause conflicts between the migrant and host community members. Migration also affects religious norms regarding contraception, marriage, fertility, gender roles, and more. It leads to adjustments in intimate decision-making processes, causing changes in marital statuses or divorce rates. This paper explores these impacts in detail.
Religious Sexual Norms
Religion plays a significant role in shaping people's sexual norms, which refers to what is considered acceptable or desirable sexual behavior in a specific society. Immigrants bring different religious backgrounds into new societies, creating challenges in enforcing local norms. Some religions discourage premarital sex, adultery, and homosexuality. When immigrants arrive in areas where such practices are commonplace, they may feel conflicted about them, especially if their faith condemns them as sinful. They might struggle to integrate with neighbors while maintaining their beliefs.
In some Muslim countries, extramarital affairs are taboo, but in Western nations, it's often considered normal, posing a conflict for those whose religion prohibits it. Similarly, many Christians view homosexuality as unnatural, yet some liberal states allow gay marriage. These differences can lead to misunderstandings between locals and migrants, leading to conflicts that affect everyone involved.
Impact on Sexual Identity Development
Cultural norms influence how individuals develop their sexual identities. People from certain cultures may see themselves as bisexual or transgender but not have words to describe those feelings before arriving in other places. As a result, some migrants may be forced to adopt terms they don't fully understand to explain who they are, causing confusion and isolation.
When migrants enter societies where same-sex relationships are accepted, they may experience a culture clash regarding gender roles and sexual orientation.
An individual raised in a patriarchal community may find it challenging to embrace feminism or queer culture. Likewise, people from non-heteronormative backgrounds may encounter difficulties adjusting to the dominant culture's gender binary. These discrepancies can cause tension within communities and create barriers to forming meaningful connections.
Intimate Decision-Making
Intimacy involves decisions about sex, love, dating, and other related matters. Migration into new environments can alter intimate decision-making processes, impacting partner selection, contraception use, and family planning. Some migrant families might struggle with birth control access due to cultural beliefs against it. Others may need time to adjust to the idea of using condoms or pills instead of natural methods.
Immigrants from polygamous backgrounds face difficulty adapting to monogamy, potentially resulting in extramarital affairs or marriages that aren't legally recognized.
Immigrants may need support navigating local laws on divorce, custody, and inheritance to protect their interests as they rebuild their lives in new countries.
Migration has significant effects on cultural norms surrounding sex, sexuality, and intimacy. It can disrupt religious practices, cause identity conflicts, and affect intimate decision-making processes. As such, both hosts and guests must work together to address these issues for everyone's benefit. Cultural sensitivity and understanding are crucial in fostering harmony among different groups.
How does migration into culturally distinct societies impact the enforcement of religious sexual norms, sexual identity development, and intimate decision-making?
Migration may lead individuals to confront new sets of beliefs about what is expected of them sexually, which can impact their religious practices and intimacy decisions. These new expectations may clash with their previous socialization, leading to confusion and anxiety over how they should present themselves or who they are allowed to be attracted to.