I have German/US-American dual nationality, was born in the US and spent most of my childhood in Germany but part of it in the US, my cultural background/family background/etc. is German and I do NOT consider myself American although I sometimes do consider myself to be from the specific state where we lived (although not the one I was born in). And, to top things off, am currently living in Britain and have been for six years, aka the entirety of my adult life.
So, like, if you asked me where "home" was I'd say Germany, and if you asked me for a location in Germany I'd give the city in which my family lived after returning from the states although I only set foot in it for the first time when I was eleven (because the only alternative is the city we moved from when I was five which I cannot remember living in, and which is in Bavaria when I do not consider myself Bavarian), if you gave me ticky boxes and separated out "home" and "where you are from" and "cultural background" and "ethnic background" and all that I might also add Britain and might might MIGHT add "Connecticut" if it was an option but would never add "USA" (?!?! my brain.)
...it's complicated? D:
Personal rage buttons for me are assuming birthplace, nationality, or ethnic background entail everything else (for the first two, as said, do NOT consider myself American - and birthplace actually erases my identity as German completely - for the last, I get severely pissed off when people argue as though a US person of US culture with German heritage a few generations back is totally the same as and equivalent to me and my experiences), conflating culture with other identity markers, assuming there are no cultural differences between Western countries (minimising culture as an aspect of identity or, especially, conflating US culture and German culture and other Western cultures, sets me off like nothing else. I am still plumbing the depths of the complexes and hurts growing up with a minority culture in the US gave me.)
I am understanding of just "Europe" though because there's not enough boxes for every country in the world, so unless something else is going on it pings me as a space limitation rather than conflation. Do admit to feeling kind of >:) to see all countries being treated that way, since usually it's something like "US, Canada, Australia, UK" and *then* "other country in Europe, etc." (or sometimes just "other country" as one option which... yeah, not so much.) Also, I do generally consider "where are you from" as a question okay because that's a question I can interpret in a way I find comfortable, although it's somewhat different in RL (where if I answer "Germany" people think I've just recently moved to the UK and if I answer "(city in Britain)" people think I'm British. *sigh*). You might also try something like "what do you consider your national identity/ies" or... idk. /o\
Sorry for the wordflow, just, IT'S COMPLICATED. D:
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So, like, if you asked me where "home" was I'd say Germany, and if you asked me for a location in Germany I'd give the city in which my family lived after returning from the states although I only set foot in it for the first time when I was eleven (because the only alternative is the city we moved from when I was five which I cannot remember living in, and which is in Bavaria when I do not consider myself Bavarian), if you gave me ticky boxes and separated out "home" and "where you are from" and "cultural background" and "ethnic background" and all that I might also add Britain and might might MIGHT add "Connecticut" if it was an option but would never add "USA" (?!?! my brain.)
...it's complicated? D:
Personal rage buttons for me are assuming birthplace, nationality, or ethnic background entail everything else (for the first two, as said, do NOT consider myself American - and birthplace actually erases my identity as German completely - for the last, I get severely pissed off when people argue as though a US person of US culture with German heritage a few generations back is totally the same as and equivalent to me and my experiences), conflating culture with other identity markers, assuming there are no cultural differences between Western countries (minimising culture as an aspect of identity or, especially, conflating US culture and German culture and other Western cultures, sets me off like nothing else. I am still plumbing the depths of the complexes and hurts growing up with a minority culture in the US gave me.)
I am understanding of just "Europe" though because there's not enough boxes for every country in the world, so unless something else is going on it pings me as a space limitation rather than conflation. Do admit to feeling kind of >:) to see all countries being treated that way, since usually it's something like "US, Canada, Australia, UK" and *then* "other country in Europe, etc." (or sometimes just "other country" as one option which... yeah, not so much.) Also, I do generally consider "where are you from" as a question okay because that's a question I can interpret in a way I find comfortable, although it's somewhat different in RL (where if I answer "Germany" people think I've just recently moved to the UK and if I answer "(city in Britain)" people think I'm British. *sigh*). You might also try something like "what do you consider your national identity/ies" or... idk. /o\
Sorry for the wordflow, just, IT'S COMPLICATED. D: