Experiencing bicultural identities among young Polish immigrants in Denmark

Increased cross-border mobility within regions like the European Union has led to a growing number of young individuals being raised within two cultural contexts, thus fostering the development of bicultural identities. This paper investigates how Danish-Polish young adults, who migrated to Denmark during their school years, experience and navigate their bicultural identity. Based on qualitative in-depth interviews, two main themes were identified. The first theme, Being both, but not quite either, reflects how the experience of feeling Danish or Polish can be highly dependent on particular life contexts, which theoretically emphasizes a more domain-specific understanding of acculturation. These situational shifts are thought to be connected to the degree to which the cultural identities are integrated, highlighting individual differences in the experience of the integration of one’s bicultural identity. Furthermore, the second theme, Social dynamics of the bicultural experience, indicates that family and school appear to frame and shape the individual’s bicultural identity by either supporting or challenging how the individual experiences their cultural affiliation. Lastly it is discussed, if the experience of being foreign in one’s own cultures is a condition of being bicultural that can be understood in terms of constructive marginality. In conclusion, the experience of bicultural identity is found to be multifaceted, dynamic, and shaped by the individual’s situational environment.