What is an internationista?

Internationista world.

An internationista is a state of cultural identity experienced by persons of multicultural backgrounds combined with experience living in multiple countries. 



The term "internationista" relates to females in this state while males could be referred to as an "internationisto", with the collective term being an "internationist".



The internationista attempts to explore a state of cultural identity that runs deeper than the "global citizen", which tends to focus on the "other" (eg an understanding and respect for universal states of equality etc and diverse cultural norms. Instead the Internationista is an introverted look at the individual citizen who is of the world in biology, culture and physical location.



The internationista is also not about cosmopolitanism the idea that all human ethnic groups belong to the one single global village with shared moral norms. It asserts instead that a minority of humans are not a part of any village and therefore transcend shared moral norms. 

Internationistas are also not nomads or gypsies as they don't move with a community from one place to another. They move alone or at times with a partner or family.



They are also not expatriates: to be of one place and live in another for a period of time. To be an ex-pat one must identify with one cultural identity that one is extracted from. The internationista does not identify with one cultural identity.



Internationista is perhaps most linked to globalisation though globalisation tends to focus more on the macro systems of economics, environment and socio-cultural and how they impact on certain markets, locations, cultures etc than the individual. Eg: globalisation can explore the "californication" of the world through western media. Whereas the Internationista explores the effect of globalisation on the individual eg: eating vegemite on toast in Australia, watching Beverly Hills 90210 on tele and listening to your nonno yell in Italian playing poker in the backroom under the tartan crest of your Scottish father's clan.

It is because the Internationista is none of these cultural ideologies that it is.



Some signs of an internationista:

1. You have trouble answering the question "Where are you from?"

2. You were born outside of the country you were brought up in and have lived in several countries for extended periods of time since.



3. You were born outside of the country you were brought up in, your parents were born in different countries from you, each other and the country you were brought up in and you have lived in several countries for extended periods of time since.



4. You don't know which country to support in the World Cup or Olympics or you are entitled to support two or more countries in the World Cup or Olympics and are therefore a pain to have around during these competitions.

5. You have paid tax in more than three countries.

Are you an internationista?