TCKs define belonging more through personal relationships than geographic locations, so their sense of belonging is about ‘who’ rather than ‘where’ they are from.
Evidence
Where I’m from? Third Culture Kids about their cultural identity shifts and belonging (ResearchGate)
Categorization
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
- XREF: connects to: A person’s identity is deeply tied to their birthplace. — Crews, Harry, A childhood the biography of a place, 44; TCK identity is unconventional, not defined by geophysical places or nationality, race, ethnicity, language, or religion, but by relational bonds from shared transitory cultural experiences. — 2025-Su-Third Culture Kid Identity; Immigrants do not shed their former identity or cultural attachment with their home country despite expectations they develop local identity and belonging. — Who do you think I am? Immigrant’s first name and their perceived identity (+1 more)
Related
- TCK identity is unconventional, not defined by geophysical places or nationality, race, ethnicity, language, or religion, but by relational bonds from shared transitory cultural experiences. (similarity 0.91)
- Third Culture Kids’ identity involves negotiation, cultural multiplicity, and otherness from their passport country, not confusion but a poor fit with conventional identity constructs. (similarity 0.85)
- A Third Culture Kid’s identity is built on underlying relationships with people around her, not the place she lives in. (similarity 0.85)
- Immigrants do not shed their former identity or cultural attachment with their home country despite expectations they develop local identity and belonging. (similarity 0.81)