Date
7-4-2023
Department
School of Communication and the Arts
Degree
Master of Arts in Strategic Communication (MA)
Chair
John Dunkle
Keywords
clothing adaptation, cultural identity, cross-cultural adaptation
Disciplines
Communication
Recommended Citation
Martinez Murcia, Kharen Alejandra, "How Do International Students in a University in the United States Relate Their Cultural Identity to Fashion Trends" (2023). Masters Theses. 1040.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/1040
Abstract
International students who move to the United States must endure the challenge of adapting to a new culture. Understanding different aspects of how the adaptation process works is essential to create better avenues to connect with these students as they go through the acculturation process. This research focuses on how international students communicate their cultural identity through clothing choices. This study followed a qualitative method through in-depth interviews with ten participants from eight countries. Participants answered questions regarding motivation, cultural adaptation, clothing adaptation, and cultural identity and expression. Findings show that participants consider clothing communicates something about themselves and their cultural identity, as many students make active choices to preserve their customs in terms of clothing to communicate their cultural identity. Regarding the clothing adaptation that participants had to endure, most participants related to having less pressure in the United States as opposed to their countries which often have more strict cultural norms in this regard. In the same way, freedom in terms of clothing was often associated with comfortable clothing choices.
