Heterogeneous cultural groups have evolved into distinct racial groups that individuals misrecognize as natural instead of a social construction. Historically, people did not primarily identify according to race, but rather ethnic group, language, and kinship. Ethnicity is the identification with an ethnic group based on language, religion, historical experience, geographic isolation, kinship or race. Race is phenotypically dissimilar groups in some sort of long-term unequal power and/or economic relationship where the dominant group justifies its position through some kind of legitimating ideology. Although, race has no biological reality, it is culturally real and operates as a principal identity at local and national levels. The United I would not say I completely understood it while I was younger, as I would hear many comments, but I did understand that I was in some way different enough for people to point it out. Even though I had grown up in the town my entire life, there has never been a point in my life where I felt as if I belonged, or could be identified as an American. Honestly, I built up resentment to my own ethnic and racial group. I would have preferred at the time to be of African American or Caucasian American decent then the one that was being othered. They would say “go back to where you came from,” and actually never called me Indian, but Arab, and other names that did not align with my racial and ethnic group. I grew resentment because of religious factors, because there were Hindu Gods throughout my house, and my mom would force me to do daily prayers. I went to a Baptist Church growing up, and preferred Christianity to Hinduism because Hinduism seemed weird. I was more accustomed to the dominant white culture, than the one I had been raised within. The dominant white culture was depicted as the norm, and the Indian culture was a clear outlier that I could point out from a young
I agree that non-whites possess little to no ethnic options. If you are half white and half Mexican, you are most likely going to be categorized as Mexican, regardless of which ethnic option you would prefer to identify as, you are always going to be categorized as whatever ethnicity you physically match the most.
The focus of this week assignment is to discuss the interactions of gender, ethnicity, and identity development. In addition I will discuss the role of stereotyping and how it influence male and female gender identity. In conclusion I will discuss the impact that ethnicity and gender have on children when it comes to choosing between the ethnic identity of their family of origin and their culture.
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.
I definitely identify most with modern American culture. Although I am half Hispanic and half white, I was raised more “white” than Hispanic (e.g. food, language, holidays, music, etc.). On the surface you can see a white American, English speaking, femininely dressed young lady, but I am much more than what is on the outside. Like I stated earlier I was raised more “white”, but I still identify a little with my Hispanic culture. In this paper I will be addressing 10 surface and 10 deep aspects of my cultural identity.
People who have distinctive physical and cultural characteristics are a racial ethnic group. This refers to people who identify with a common national origin or cultural heritage. But remember that race refers to the physical characteristics with which we are born. Whereas ethnicity describes cultural characteristics that we learn.
Race, as a general understanding is classifying someone based on how they look rather than who they are. It is based on a number of things but more than anything else it’s based on skin's melanin content. A “race” is a social construction which alters over the course of time due to historical and social pressures. Racial formation is defined as how race shapes and is shaped by social structure, and how racial categories are represented and given meaning in media, language and everyday life. Racial formation is something that we see changing overtime because it is rooted in our history. Racial formation also comes with other factors below it like racial projects. Racial projects seek
Through research of DNA samples, scientists have been able to declare that race is not biologically constructed due to the similarities between human genes. Nevertheless, in reality, people still emphasized on biological aspects such as skin color, or hair texture to categorize others into different races. This in turn, denied the true identity of race, which it is culturally constructed. Ethnicity, by definition is also culturally constructed, therefore it greatly resemble race. There is no real clear line to distinct the two.
Ethnic market has long been associated with American society in terms of its Social and Cultural Contribution. Especially Chinses, since they have long history in America and they have large number Ethnic Markets across the United States. Socially and culturally Chinese ethnic market has done a lot of things for its Society from intercultural relations to more culturally aware and it 's comfortability. Even though, Chinese ethnic market does make a better socially and culturally for its society, aside from immigrants, large number of American still have no interest in shopping at ethnic market. Which seems quite eccentric, since Ethnic market also offers very comfortable prices for its consumers and it ensure that foods are fresh and
In today’s society, it is acknowledgeable to assert that the concepts of race and ethnicity have changed enormously across different countries, cultures, eras, and customs. Even more, they have become less connected and tied with ancestral and familial ties but rather more concerned with superficial physical characteristics. Moreover, a great deal can be discussed the relationship between ethnicity and race. Both race and ethnicity are useful and counterproductive in their ways. To begin, the concept of race is, and its ideas are vital to society because it allows those contemporary nationalist movements which include, racist actions; to become more familiar to members of society. Secondly, it has helped to shape and redefine the meaning of
?A definition of race might rely on an outward manifestation such as color or some other physiological sign. Race and ethnicity (and to some degree nationality) also imply a shared socio-cultural heritage and belief system. Finally, race and ethnicity harbor a physiological self-identification. Indeed, this factor is perhaps the most important in defining the identity of an ?ethnic? or ?racial? individual. It implies a conscious desire on the part of a person to belong to an aggregate of people, which possesses unique cultural characteristics, rituals and manners and a unique value system.
Times are changing and I feel like I am forced to conform to the everyday social norms of America, which makes me feel impuissance. Racial identity, which refers to identifying with a social group with similar phenotypes and racial category, is the only experience that I have with life (Organista, 2010). Racial ethnicity was used to build my self-esteem and to keep me in the dark when it came to how society treats individuals of darker complexion. However, once I left the confines of my family and neighborhood, I was forced to befriend and interact with individuals that had different cultural values and beliefs than me. This experience caused me to learn how to appreciate other racial and ethnic groups and their cultural values and belief. This is an accurate definition, of acculturation because I was able to understand and fit in with individuals different from me, while maintaining my own culture and ethnic identity. Therefore, knowing the importance of my ancestry, while acculturating and developing my own identity was all used
Ethnicity is generally used to refer to diverse and unequal skill of social groups with specific culture. Diverse languages, religions and attire assist to group different ethnicities. These ethnic groups develop because of history and social experiences. Ethnic group tend to hold a culture bond. People can relate to other essentially their parents when concerning ethnic beliefs and customs.
In my experience, I consider the city of Rowland Heights as an ethnic space within Southern California because it corresponds with my interpretation of an ethnic space. To elaborate, an ethnic space is an area, such as a city or town, that has a prevalent culture reflecting the prevalent group of people within that area. During my adolescence, I lived in the city of La Puente, which is primarily Hispanic/Latino, however, as I aged, I began to attend school within Rowland Heights, which is primarily Asian. Having said that, when I experienced the transition into Rowland Heights, there was an unfamiliarity of the environment and therefore, from my perspective, the cultural ambience of the city came across as exceedingly prominent. For this reason,
It seems necessary to begin this essay by discussing the differences between a nation and a state before one can analyze what Collier meant when he declared, “leaders must build a nation before they can build a state” (Collier, 2009, pg. 52). A nation represents a collection of people that are united by the sharing of similar cultures, decent, history, and/or languages within a particular region. In contrast, a state represents a region that is considered to have an organized political structure beneath a single government. Therefore, in order to build a nation first, leaders must unite the people with similar backgrounds and languages. After a nation is built, leaders can proceed can continue to rule and shape this unified population within a structured political system. The question now remains as to how this information directly relays into the second chapter of Collier’s book?
In order to give a reasonable answer to this question, we have to first define multiculturalism. According to The Australian Collaboration of National Community Organizations website ‘multiculturalism embodies an ethic of acceptance of, and respect for, cultural diversity, community harmony and inclusion’. There is no doubt that in an increasingly global world multiculturalism is a necessity. People have to learn to respect and tolerate the different. As for multi- ethnic nations like the USA, Canada or Australia, I believe multiculturalism is a need. These countries have to develop inclusive policies to accommodate all their citizens peacefully. On the other hand, there are people who think that multiculturalism can create ‘national disunity’ and ‘questionable loyalties’ in the part of minorities or immigrants.