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Recommended: Ethnic identity essay
Introduction The purpose of this paper is to cause the writer to reflect on the past and discover what incidents developed the writer’s ethnic identity. Ethnic identity is an essential aspect of the self that connects people of common heritage with a particular ethnic group, and is an important component of social development (Brown, Spatzier, & Tobin, 2010). Ethnic Identity is part of our self-concept and how we view ourselves and our relation to the groups we belong to. Before one can truly relate to people of different ethnicity than their own they need to understand their own ethnicity and how they came to identify with that group ethically.
General information The writer of this paper is a 47 year old, white female. Born in October
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Both parents had a bachelor degree in teaching; her dad continued his education and did not go into teaching. However, after working many jobs this writer’s mother went back into teaching and is now a retired preschool teacher. The writer has used her education for the last 23 years, by owning and operating her own daycare, teaching in private schools, mentoring daycare directors, and currently working as a home educator for Head Start. This writer has worked with young children as far back as she can remember. Working for Head Start
PERSONAL CRITICAL INCIDENT 3 gives the opportunity to be around many different cultures and explore why people are the way they
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A mixture of multiple cultures makes it difficult to identify with just one ethnic group. It was difficult growing up knowing that the traditions that one has is not from a deeply rooted ethnic tradition that ties to one specific ethnic group. This writer has a deep desire to identify with one ethnic group, especially Hispanic or African American a while writing this paper has discovered the reason why this desire is so strong. This desire could be considered xenocentrism, which is to have a preference for another ethnic people, ideas, or values. However, the writer believes that it is more about loving people and desiring to be accepted by all people. The writer of this paper loves and accepts all people and wants to know the stories about how they became who they are now. Looking back on the critical incident that caused this writer to identify as white has also lead to the discovery of why there is the desire to connect and be like
PERSONAL CRITICAL INCIDENT 4
African Americans or Hispanics more than other ethnic groups.
Critical
Ethnic Identity and Culture.’ New Tribalisms: The Resurgence of Race and Ethnicity. New York University Press. 1998
Establishing an identity has been called one of the most important milestones of adolescent development (Ruffin, 2009). Additionally, a central part of identity development includes ethnic identity (ACT for Youth, 2002). While some teens search for cultural identity within a smaller community, others are trying to find their place in the majority culture. (Bucher and Hinton, 2010)The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian chronicles Junior’s journey to discovery of self. As with many developing teens, he finds himself spanning multiple identities and trying to figure out where he belongs. “Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger. I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other” (p.118). On the reservation, he was shunned for leaving to go to a white school. At Reardon, the only other Indian was the school mascot, leaving Junior to question his decision to attend school he felt he didn’t deserve. Teens grappling with bicultural identities can relate to Junior’s questions of belonging. Not only is Junior dealing with the struggle between white vs. Indian identities, but with smaller peer group identities as well. In Wellpinit, Junior is th...
Identity is one of the main questions throughout all of our readings, because it is hard for people to accept who they are in society. Accepting their identity as a minority with little if any freedoms sparks many of the social problems which I will show happening in all communities and cultures. The main issue we will discuss is how social environments effect the search for identity. The Mexicans in the U.S. module gives us examples how Mexicans try to keep their customs while living in a discriminated environment by the Whites. This module also gives us examples how people are searching for personal identity while struggling with cultural traditions. Finally, the African-American module gives us more examples to compare with the Mexicans in the U.S. module, because these readings deal with Blacks finding personal identity also through discrimination from the Whites. To properly understand the theme of identity, we must first look the factors influencing it.
Paul Haggis’ film Crash (2004), demonstrates how people can adopt a dominant and subordinate role concurrently, this is illustrated through the character Jean Cabot. When people look at Jean they see an affluent White female. As a result of the way a person looks their actions are scrutinized due to social construction. Jean is White, so people assume that she leads a charmed life. Although, Jean’s racial identity and class allows her to be a member of the dominant group, her gender she does not have as much power as White males; Jean builds her life around the racial identity that is assigned to her and participates in the social construction that plagues American communities.
People go through many obstacles when they face their social identity. Some can overcome their differences, but others may not have they change to even face them due to the treatment that they get from society. Social identity is the one of many controversial and complex problems that many individuals deal with. Because, sometimes it used to be misunderstood making reference to racism and/or others complex matters. “On Being a Cripple” and “How It Feels to Be Colored” are two essays in which both characters suffer from some kind of discrimination. Indeed, in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston and “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, each author shows different attitude, endures challenges, and change toward social identity.
A baby boy is born in a clinic within an impoverished village in Thailand. The mother, who had no immediate family and was unwed, deceased during childbirth, leaving her son an orphan. The baby was placed in foster care and soon adopted by an American couple. The couple then raises the boy in their home as their own. He grows up in a suburban neighborhood, learns English, attends public school, lives within an entirely American culture, and embraces it. He is aware that he comes from a different familial background and is of a different nationality than his parents, but he has made the choice to identify himself with the ethnicity that he has grown to love. He believes that his ethnic identity entirely up to him. A Thai boy choosing the ethnicity of an American child as his own goes against the widespread belief that ethnicity is in our DNA, and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, he is setting the example. Being able to make a meaningful choice in your ethnic identity is something everyone should be allowed to do, no matter the situation. Nobody should be expected or forced to believe in an ethnicity determined by their race or heritage because everyone has their own beliefs. Your personal notions give you the power to decide who you want to be, just like the Thai boy. Ethnicity is the choice everyone can make to be the individual they want to be and the origin of a person’s ethnicity is not inherent or defined by race, it comes from personal beliefs.
· Dashefsky, A. (Eds.). (1976). Ethnic identity in society. Chicago: Rand McNally College Publishing Co. Smith, E.J. (1991). Ethnic identity development: Toward the development of a theory within the context of majority/minority status. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 181-187.
According to most, ethnicity usually is displayed in the values, attitudes, lifestyles, customs, rituals, and personality types of individuals who identify with particular ethnic groups. Ethnic identifications and memberships in an ethnic group has farreaching effects on both groups and individuals, controlling assess to opportunities in life, feeling of well being and mastery over the futures of one's child and future. These feelings of belonging and attachment to a certain group of people for whatever reason are a basic feature of the human condition. These ties are called "ethnic ties" and the group of people that one is tied to is an "ethnic group." In the general sense, an ethnic group consists of those who share a unique social and cultural heritage that is passed on from generation to generation.
Singh, Amritjit, Joseph T. Skerretk Jr., and Robert e. Hogan. Memory, Narrative, and Identity: New Essays in Ethnic American Literatures. Introduction. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1994.
This country was founded by immigrants and is known for its population from a wide array of cultural backgrounds. Living in a westernized society that is so diverse, we are forced to choose an identity for ourselves at one point or another in our lives. Some choose to identify by their outer qualities, while others may identify by their inner qualities. One may identify by their looks, gender, sexuality, political views, or their beliefs. Some may have an identity that is dynamic and ever changing depending on the events faced in life, or some my identify by a single aspect throughout their whole life. Some may even struggle finding an identity due to the countless influence both conscious and unconscious. “In the Borderlands of Chicano Identity,” Saenz shares why it is necessary to find an identity and also presents various difficulties due to our surrounding culture and politics.
I remember when I was in high school; I encountered a gruesome experience. A young girl was being beat and thrown into a trashcan by two boys and one girl. I hysterically ran to her aid and told the group of people to stop. Minutes later, security arrived and the victim was picked up and driven away. Two days later, our high school principle scheduled a mandatory auditorium student meeting. He said, that the young girl was beaten and bullied because she identified as a homosexual. I couldn’t believe it! I was embarrassed and ashamed that these students did not have any sense of morality. Is our educational system lacking the knowledge that students are constantly being abused and bullied due to sexual orientations, ethnicity and culture? Perhaps
Whether around a group of friends or among total strangers, many people feel compelled to act in certain ways to please those around them; this part of our identity is labeled conveniently as social identity. A social identity can sometimes be very close to one's personal identity, but the differences between the two is caused by social pressures and obligations, and the extent to which it differs is based on many factors such as race, heritage, age, etc. Specifically, the pressures on minorities in a predominantly white society may cause them to behave in certain ways. Also, examining these pressures may help us further see the reasons for this behavior. Both The Reivers and On The Road are commentaries on how this social identity develops, and both novels state their stance on what role race should play in determining social identity quite clearly.
The narrator of The Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man decided not to fight for racial equality in America for his fellow African-American, or even for himself, but rather conformed with the white majority thus selecting the uncomplicated path: the path that would lead him to security and safety in the years to come. After struggling with his identity in the white and African-American community as a “colored” man who could pass as white, he decided to discard his “colored” roots and stick with his white origin. By doing such a thing, he was able to live a simple, respectful, and safe life, but he abandoned a very significant part of his identity. He felt slight remorse towards the end of the novel, but self-interest held more importance to him than embracing the cultural heritage of the African-American community.
No human being is culture free. We are a product of the many different cultures which surround us. Our values, worldview and experiences are structured by the society and culture that exert influences on our lives each day.
Being able to identify with a certain group has been an issue that individuals hesitate with daily. Am I Black, are you a girl, what religion do you practice? These are all common questions that society has forced individuals to concentrate on. Should an individual have to pick a side or is it relevant to the human race to identify with any group? One may believe not, but for others having and knowing one’s own identity is important, because it is something that they have been developing their entire life. Along with how their identity influenced their life chances and their self-esteem. This can also affect how society interact with whatever identity an individual chooses to live. Which is why it was important to recognize how identifying