Stephen Coleman Case Study

Asian, woman, teen. These are the three characteristics that predominantly standout to others when encountering me for the first time. Subconsciously they assess me, searching within their brain for information from prior experiences with people like me. Although this type of prejudice is inevitable, it is nonetheless painful. When others treat you differently for the characteristics they see on the outside, it is as if they are saying that those characteristics are what defines you, and the unnerving part is that you start to believe it too. In the case of Elaine Coleman, her situation was somewhat the opposite. She lived a life that was not tarnished by the opinions or views of others. The decisions she made in her life were not affected by others, and she was defined only in terms of how she viewed herself. However, the paucity of judgement from others caused her existence to dissipate, and she became a wisp of distant memory in the minds of those around her. Which

It is important to note however that it occurs in varying degrees, some experience one stronger than the other, some experience both strongly, and vise versa. I experienced both quite strongly. Moving from Japan to America at the age of seven, I was just on the verge of understanding my place in the Japanese society when I was cast into the American society and had to start all over. Being Japanese, not understanding english, and not understanding the American culture took a toll on how I perceived myself, and I began to rely on other people to determine my place in society. Long story short, a mask for my identity was created by others around me and forced upon my face, a mask that determined how I should act, what I should eat, what I should say, and how I should dress. Being in placed in a new society with little understanding of myself made me more susceptible to outside influence and concerned about how I was being viewed by my