Culturally Fluid Definitions

n the 21st century, assessing someone’s background from outward appearance isn’t enough as hidden, rather than visual, diversity means people increasingly bring more to the table than meets the eye.

Cross-Cultural Kid (CCK)

Whether through nationality, travel, race or ethnicity, many straddle culture in myriad ways.

From Cultural Fluidity, to Third Culture Kid, Expat, Third Culture Adult, Cross-Cultural Kid and more, the language to describe our in-between community is of

A term coined by author Ruth Van Reken in 2002, is a person who is living, has lived, or meaningfully interacted with two or more cultural environments for a significant period of time during the first 18 years of life. This includes minority individuals living within majority culture.

Adult Cross-Cultural Kid (ACCK)

An adult who grew up as a Cross-Cultural Kid.

Cultural Fluidity/Cultural Mobility

A term coined by Culturs founder Donnyale Ambrosine to characterize hidden diversity created by people who don’t or didn’t grow up in a homogenous cultural environment. Culturally Fluid individuals may straddle nationalities, ethnicities, race or culture. The fluidity created allows understanding between or among their foundational areas of meaningful experience. It also may hinder sense of belonging to any one area.

Missionary Kids

Children of missionaries who travel to missions domestically or abroad.

utmost importance. Knowing the vocabulary creates understanding and deepens our sense of belonging and connections to others with similar experiences. Here’s a quick overview so you can follow along any of our articles with ease:

Third Culture Kids (TCKs)

Coined by Sociologist Ruth Useem in the 1950s as a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The first culture is considered an individual’s passport culture, while the second culture consists of the culture(s) in which the individual has lived. The third culture is a result of the person’s life experience; this is the culture to which they most belong. The third culture often is where individuals feel community with others of similar experience.

Domestic TCK

Children who moved to various regions within the same country while growing up, often having to re-learn ways of being, especially as regional differences in dress, speech and action are heightened in formative years when it is important to be accepted.

Adult Third Culture Kid (ATCK)

An adult who grew up as a TCK.

Third Culture Adult (TCA)

Coined in 2002 by Psychotherapist Paulette Bethel to signify individuals who travel extensively and are immersed in, or live in global locations after the age of 18 (after identity has been solidified).

Refugees

Internationally nomadic group not characterized by a parent’s occupation. Displaced from their homeland forcibly or by choice, often having fled for varied reasons — violence, politics, religion, environment, etc. Refugees typically do not return to their origin country.

Immigrants

People who, for varied reasons, immigrate to a country different than their homeland to stay permanently. Many return to their home countries to visit, though some do not.

Expatriate (Expat)

As defined by Merriam Webster — to leave one’s native country to live elsewhere; which also sometimes means to renounce allegiance to one’s native country.

Military B.R.A.T.

Children of military who move with parents to different places within or outside of their home country. They often experience other cultures within the confines of a military installation or compound that possesses traits of the home country.

Non-Military Foreign Service

Children traveling with their parents to various countries in non-military government roles, diplomatic corps, civil service, foreign service, etc.

Diplomat Kids

Children whose parents are members of the home country’s political framework while living on foreign soil.

Traveler

Those who travel expecting differences among intra-international or international culture, however, not immersed in these cultures for extended periods of time, or long enough to integrate local cultural norms as their own.

International Business Kids

Children whose parents work with multinational corporations that take them to faraway lands, often in professional fields surrounding oil, construction and pharmaceuticals.

Borderlanders

Described by author Ruth Van Reken in the book “Third Culture Kids,” a borderlander is a citizen of one country that lives close to another. Often the norms, customs and traits of each country’s culture seeps into the other, creating a cultural experience separate from either original culture, while allowing inhabitants keen knowledge and insight into their own culture as well as the other.

Multiracial

People whose family consists of two or more races to which the individual identifies. With race often come cultural norms, slang language and attitudes that can greatly differ. Many multiracial children, though not all, have the unique opportunity to learn norms of all the cultures they comprise.

Multiethnic; Multicultural

People whose family consists of two or more cultures to which the individual identifies. Even when belonging to the same race, differences in culture may exist between ethnicities, tribes and other cultural contexts.

Brazillian TCA

DOMÊNICA ALVES was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. Alves is an English teacher specializing in oral communication. She has helped many people improve their English skills through private and group classes in schools and companies. Alves is also passionate about traveling within her country and abroad. She loves meeting new people, learning about their cultures, trying new food and just being somewhere for the first time.

Turkish TCA

OĞUZHAN ATES is a freelance photographer from Istanbul, Turkey. His typical work includes portraits, but in his free time he loves to photograph Istanbul with its streets, Bosphorus Strait and animals, especially cats and seagulls. He has taken landscape photos and videos in many countries, including Ukraine, Montenegro, Bosnia, Serbia, Albania, Macedonia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Adult CCK, TCA and TCK Parent

PAULETTE BETHEL, PHD is a career U.S. Air Force officer, trauma recovery coach, global transition expert and a mother to Third Culture Kids. Culturally and racially blended, Dr. Bethel is our expert on the importance of transition and its effect on relationships. She is CEO and Founder of Discoveries Coaching & Consulting.

Brazilian TCK

KARINA BRUM is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Despite being born in Brazil, she often traveled to the United States to visit her maternal family in Colorado. Growing up for Brum was very bicultural as she switched from Portuguese to English and vice-versa to communicate with family. She found herself in two vastly different cultural contexts, and she needed to learn to navigate. Brum currently works at Colorado State University in university housing. Within her role, she provides residential support to a diverse community of residents, most of whom are international students.

Filipina TCK

Third Culture Kid Expert MYRA DUMAPIAS is the Chief Executive Officer of TCKidNOW, which has been featured on the BBC, ABC News, The Telegraph, the U.S. Department of Defense and Education Week and helped thousands discover their TCK identity and find a sense of belonging long before mention of the term on social media. TCKidNow provides trauma-informed educational outreach about the lifetime impact of a transnational upbringing. While acknowledging the role healing plays in helping TCKs recognize and develop their skills, TCKidNOW fosters connections that help TCKs find a sense of belonging and give back to the world they grew up in. Dumapias holds a Bachelor’s in English and World Literature and a Master’s in Social Work.

U.K., Trinidad & Tobago TCK

HAYDEN GREENE is a pop culture columnist and director of multicultural affairs and student development at Manhattan College in New York City, U.S.A. Known as Brooklyn’s favorite polymath, he is a prize-winning fine art photographer, voice over talent and Trinidadian from the U.K.

Peruvian TCA

Hola! My name is CHOJI ITOSU and I am a former professional chef specializing in Peruvian Cuisine and its influences. I ´ve worked and travelled throughout several countries such as Australia, Japan and South America. Nowadays, I am based in Lima, Peru and I work as a “Travel Advisor” by connecting people from all over the world into Peruvian culture. I host local experiences in Lima, such as personalized cultural tours, history and cooking classes, called “500 years of Peruvian Flavours: History, Origins and Modern recipes,” “Culinary food tour – Tastes of Lima,” and “Sports tours.” Every single tour I promote is focused on the cultural relevance and its impact in the daily life of Peruvians and its history and origins.

U.S. Military B.R.A.T.

TOMMY MCMILLION is a Domestic Third Culture Kid who grew up in Texas and later lived in Colorado, New York and Las Vegas. As a student of art, McMillion was able to turn his passion for music, photography and graphic design into a career. Since 1997, he has created unique compositions for local, national and international talent and businesses. As a professional photographer, McMillion specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, urban life and entertainment. McMillion is the founder and co-owner of McMillion Multimedia, a firm specializing in brand development, promotions, and marketing solutions for the entertainment industry while actively targeting the five senses through use of the meme senses methodology.

U.S. Military B.R.A.T.

DONNA MUSIL is a documentary filmmaker, writer and activist exploring the subculture of U.S. Military B.R.A.T.s. She wrote and directed the award-winning 2006 documentary “Brats: Our Journey Home,” a film about growing up the child of a military family and the effect it has on that child’s adult life. She is also the founder of Brats Without Borders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness, celebration and support for Military B.R.A.T.s and other Third Culture Kids.

Colombian Native

JHONATAN RODRÍGUEZ is an actor and photographer, born in Colombia and his work is carried out in the performing and visual arts. After backpacking in southern Latin America, his inspiration is life, and he seeks to continue traveling to portray the cultures and diverse landscapes that exist in the world. He studied theater at the University of Antioquia in Medellín and his passion for photography was born in a self-taught and empirical way.

Indian-Australian

Australia-based SWARNALI SIKDER DAS produces content for Culturs because she believes it is important for people from all over the world with all different stories to have a medium where their stories can be shared. She is passionate about different cultures, fashion and fighting domestic abuse. As a professional model and actor, she always wanted to work on strong concepts which can reach out to masses and influence people from different parts of the world. She believes it’s time for all of us to make this world a better place to live with love and respect for each other.

Diné (Navajo)

EUGENE TAPAHE, Diné (Navajo), is the owner, photographer and graphic designer at Tapahe Photography and Tapahe Inventive Design. His experience ranges from Managing Editor, Art Director, Senior Animator/Designer, and Photographer for publications such as The Navajo Times, and ESPN The Magazine, Communication Arts Magazine, and Photoshop User Magazine. He draws creative inspiration from his Navajo culture and credits his traditional upbringing for his continued success. His photography and work in his professional career have taken him to the NFL Super Bowl, MLB World Series and other major world events.

Culturs began in 2014 as a fledgling website with growing content, a university workshop on media and global culture identity and a dream to enhance community for cultural “in-between” people around the globe. up-to and meager resources to do so. From the start, all of our proceeds went back into the publication and directly into supporting crosscultural communities around the world with an emphasis on people of color. Just yesterday, as I read an online article celebrating how far Third Culture Kid (TCK) research has traversed in the last 50 years, I was disappointed to see that the many images felt like more of the same: few people of color and no Black faces among those featured in places like Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, The United Kingdom, Brazil and more.

Soon those hopeful beginnings grew into a university-accredited class and a beautiful print magazine that launched to almost 500 people at our then HQ in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. Today, we reach more than one million people in 200 countries and territories, work with some of the globe’s biggest brands, and have a team that spans 17 countries on five continents.

Along the journey we’ve wrestled challenges, enjoyed successes, communed with many an in-betweener, and championed our community.

Culturs still is the one single place that continues to celebrate both visual and hidden diversity, and makes a point to include everyone in our cultural inbetween. In a landscape where 283+ million people live outside their passport countries, there’s no reason we all shouldn’t be represented.

This issue closes our fifth year in print, after a five continent world tour last year meant to document the journey. We met with tens of thousands of “our people” on the ground in 19+ destinations around the globe and included some of the most beloved articles from those experiences, and the last five years, with updated visuals and commentary from our contributors to culminate in a proper anniversary recap. It’s also the perfect launch to what promises to be our most iconic year. In 2024, we plan to launch new products, new media, new staff and new partnerships, including a much-anticipated ambassador program. Community is top of mind as we continue to grow, and we look forward to communing with you all along the way.

Live in Full Color,

As with any bootstrapped startup, we had a lot to live- Publisher and CEO

VIDEOGRAPHY

Ishmael Ambrosine