Hybridity

Hybridity is often seen as the result of colonialism, imperialism, and globalization. This entry defines hybridity in the context of globalization; therefore, it discusses cultural hybridity and constantly changing and forming postcolonial identities. Hybridity most typically occurs in postcolonial societies as a result of conscious moments of cultural suppression, as when the colonial power invades to dominate and control political and economic conditions, and when colonizers (often Western nations) force indigenous people to assimilate to the new social style that is brought by the colonizers. Hybridity also occurs when patterns and lifestyles of immigrants and diasporic communities in metropolitan locations, such as London, New York, and Paris, influence host cultures and produce change for the colonizers as well as others in the postcolonial world.

Postcolonial studies scholars have been occupied with theorizing the issues of hybridity, creolization, mestizaje, in-betweenness, diasporas, and liminality, as well as with the mobility, the crossovers of ideas, and the constantly shifting and changing identities generated by hybridity. Therefore, hybridity can be seen as the result of colonialism, imperialism, and globalization. Because colonial and imperial powers influence and change norms, values, rules, and cultural practices of colonized cultures, they often transform these cultures into constantly changing and shifting social and political entities. For example, in colonized cultures, individuals often experience constant in-betweenness and crossovers because they continuously experience the clashes and intersections between their original culture and the colonizer's culture. While they are adjusting to new rules and regulations and assimilating to the new ways of performing self, individuals from colonies try to keep their customs and cultural practices alive. Usually, this tension results in hybrid, constantly shape-shifting, in-between crossovers of identities. Individuals who experience in-betweenness create hybrid identities.

Some argue that all cultures are hybrid. One way or another, cultures are influenced by other cultures; there is no way to escape from the influence of others, especially in today's world. There is no pure culture to be corrupted because throughout history, people from different cultures have communicated and interacted with each other and this has resulted in a cultural muddle.

It is impossible to discuss the notion of hybridity without connecting it to the notions of power and domination. Traditionally, colonized and imperial powers controlled and changed the practices of individuals in the colonized nations and areas. It is also important to remember that today these nations still use their power under the rubric of globalization to control and dominate cultures around the world. By using their power to gain control, these power sources (historically Western European countries and the United States) interject their cultural practices, values, and lifestyles into other cultures. As a result, colonized nations were expected to adopt these values and beliefs and practice the lifestyle of the colonizer. Thus, these dynamics often created change and cultural confusion for the colonized nations. Hybridity is the result of cultural suppression. Because of cultural suppression and political and economic control, individuals experience constant in-betweenness: They are stuck between two cultures. Hybridity can be understood as a constant negotiation and interaction that is dictated by power dynamics such as the colonizer's political, economical, and cultural influence on colonized cultures.

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