Personal Identity Essay On My Development Of My Ethnic And Cultural Identity

Personal Identity Research Paper
Racially, ethnically, and culturally, I classify myself as a white, Irish-Italian- American, woman. My mother was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and my paternal grandparents are from Sicily, Italy. I imagine being first generation Irish and second generation Italian makes me relate more with my ethnicity.
My maternal grandfather impacted my development of my ethnic and cultural identity. He instilled a pride and an understanding of my Irish roots. Specifically, he brought me over to Belfast to learn and experience the culture. At the time, the hostility between the Protestants and Catholics was evident. People were living under the threats of terrorism, bombing, propaganda graffiti, and under a police state. In addition, I witnessed families torn apart because a mother was one religion and the father was another. Yet, I developed a love for the country, its people, and heritage. In the same manner, my paternal grandmother taught me about my Italian heritage. She would cook specialties from Sicily and tell

Growing up the only girl with six brothers I experienced gender discrimination. I was treated differently and more unfairly than my brothers. As an adult, I was subjected to sexual jokes, harassment, and innuendo. People have implied I could not do things because of my gender. This impacted me negatively by preventing me from attempting certain things in life. I interviewed my nephew, Jeremy, for my Personal Identity paper. I come from a very large family including; six brothers, sister in laws, and fifteen nieces and nephews. My brother, Joe, married an African-American women (Sandra) and had two sons; however, they look nothing alike. Jeremy, the oldest, looks African-American and Anthony, the youngest, looks white. I chose to interview Jeremy for my paper because I wonder how being the only black child in a large white family impacted his