In the article “Mixed-Status Latinx Families: Love and Chosen Family as a Means of Resistance to the American Dream”, the author, Cárol E. Mejía, tells her story and her own opinions on mixed-status families in the United States. Mejía argues that the love within mixed-status families helps them overcome the struggles that they face as immigrants, as well as redefines the typical idea of the American Dream.
Growing up, Mejía had a hard time understanding her mixed-status family, and explaining to her friends that weren’t Latinx that more than half of her family was in another country. When Mejía was younger, she had written her Grandmother who lived in another country a letter that revealed how hard it is to be separated from family, and to be a part of a family that is made up of both U.S. citizens and undocumented people (1). Although there is distance between her and members of her family, and not all of her relatives are blood-relatives, love brings them together and surpasses those barriers (2).
Many people choose to migrate in hopes of having a better life for their families, but for people within mixed-status families, this means that they have to challenge immigration policy. The United States’ immigration policy attempts to regulate
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Love, the American Dream, and the concept of family are all very important things within mixed-status Latinx families, and all of these just so happen to represent different parts of an ideal U.S. citizen (2). Love is something that can change the preconceived ideas about immigrants, and the policies regarding them in the United States. When mixed-status families show love within their families and towards the people outside their families, it destabilizes the way that the U.S. does things, and changes the way we interact with other people who are part of families that are not considered “normal”
America is a land filled with immigrants coming from different corners of the worlds, all in hopes of finding a better life in the country. However, No one had an easy transition from his or her home country to this foreign land. Not every race thrived the same way—some were luckier than others, while some have faced enormous obstacles in settling down and being part of the American society. Many people have suffered
Sandra Cisneros “Never Marry a Mexican” and Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are stories that reflect on the cultures in which the characters grew up in. In Never Marry, Clemencia, the narrator, reflects on her past sexual relations as well as her childhood. She speaks of her parents’ marriage and then transitions into her relationship with college professor and his son. In Oscar Wao, Yunior, the narrator, gives a second-hand retelling of Oscar’s experiences in New Jersey growing up as well as in the Dominican Republic. A person’s identity is largely influenced by their culture, this is especially the case in Hispanic cultures. The social constraints that these cultures place on social class, sexuality, and gender norms can be very detrimental to a person’s self-esteem.
Wanting to achieve a sense of fullness is arguably a goal that many, if not everyone, has. To live a life with meaning and transcendence is to live a life worth living; it is to have something that makes you see the beauty in the world and it is to have daily motivation. The Latinx community is a community that embodies this desire of having a meaningful life, and it is mostly evident in the community’s working class. As anthropological studies arise, scholars have also noticed this strong desire. However, they say that working class Latinxs ' longing of fullness stems off form the oppression and “trauma” that they have undergone. In other words, that desire is simply an outlet to escape from tension caused by unprecedented shifts in the lives
Although many families today are dysfunctional and fragmented, “Cakes” serves to show the importance of unity within a family. No matter what we do or where we go, family is something that will carry us and define who we are. Family serves as a building block or blueprint for success. The values that a family instills allow the “strength” of an individual to prevail. In this short story, La Puma is able to highlight the role of family as an educator, and protector, and depict the importance of family values in Italian-American immigrant culture.
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” That statement holds strong for immigrants in America. Equal access to opportunities allows immigrants to achieve the American dream. Their success correlates with America’s success because of the contributions immigrants provide to America. Unfortunately, the current immigration policy in America denies many immigrants the American dream. It is crucial to understand the historical context of immigration in America. Initially, most immigrants were from Europe and were not restricted by any immigration laws. Now, most immigrants come from Latin America but are restricted to severe immigration laws. The Latino/a community is one of the most severely affected groups because the current immigration system disproportionally affects Latino/as. Recognizing how the experience of Latino/a immigrants have been both similar and different in the past from other immigrant groups and dispelling common misconceptions about Latino/as today bring an awareness how Latino/as are affected.
Family dynamics present interesting revelations, especially regarding the relationship between parents and children. While most families undoubtedly encounter dysfunction at some point throughout life, immigrant families seemingly experience such stress continually. A handful of short stories, including “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, “Who’s irish” by Gish Jen, and “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” by Yiyun Li, demonstrate how strained relations erupt in immigrant families. Familial tension noticeably arises because of the immigrant parents’ inability to fully adjust to the American way of life. Further, immigrant parents adhere to strict expectations in an attempt to uphold the family’s conservative heritage. Finally, immigrant parents typically
We tend to be like those around us that have the same values and beliefs. So we also tend to do the same things and are raised the same way. Marrying into an Anglo family, this family does not have the close family relations that my Mexican family has. Some Anglo families may, although not to the extent of Mexican households. If you have ever seen My Big Greek Fat Wedding, well this is how Mexican families tend to live their lives, always in each other’s business. I don’t see much of this in my husband’s family and for me, it was a huge adjustment. There almost seems to be a distance and lives are not shared. Where Mexican women think family is most important, Anglo women think family is important, but so is the status. Anglo women seek it all; they want family and career; although not an impossible task, it can take away from family time. “Since prestige, power, and self-esteem are not derived from achieved status to as great an extent among Mexicans, employment is more crucial to psychological well-being for Anglo women than form Mexican” (Ross et al. 1983). Inequality among races shows that Mexicans take immense pride in the household chores while Anglos take great pride in status. By tradition, Mexican women are praised and revered for their roles as homemakers. This view is a status of prestige that is very respected in the Hispanic community. “Ministering mothers are respected revered and recognized important figures despite their alleged low status in the family” (Mirande, 1977:752). On the other hand, “Anglo women are not in traditional homes where the wife receives prestige for her role in family, yet they are not in nontraditional homes where the husband and wife share the work (both outside and inside the home) equally” (Ross et al. 1983). As stated earlier Mexican women in the roles of homemakers in their home are viewed as pillars of strength and respect in their homes and
The United States is in the midst of a major debate over immigrants and their place in our economic and political life. As during other times in our history, immigrants, are being blamed for causing or contributing to the social, economic and political ills of our society. Politicians from both major parties, at both the national and state levels, are promoting a range of punitive legislative proposals that single out immigrants for adverse treatment by the government. Many violate basic civil liberties principles.
He relates to how the America family values can change the way families accept its members being different. He opens his essay on a personal note, describing himself as a middle-aged homosexual man who is about to explain to his parents the fact that he is gay. He outlines that the concept of family values varies, based on the country of origin. Explaining that the American idea of family values is more based on the independence that a child experiments when he or she leaves the parent’s home and manage their ways to be different from their parents. Throughout his work, Rodriguez makes some harsh realistic points as the detachment of the children from parents “The assurance of family –continuity, inevitability—is precisely what American encourages its children to overturn. Become your own man.” (Rodriguez, pars. 6) He introduces in an ironic sense the idea of the American family values referring to the way the Republican political party uses this concept to their favor “Republicans celebrate American economic freedom, but Republicans don’t seem to connect that economic freedom to the social breakdown they find appalling.” (Rodriguez, pars.
Immigrants leave their countries in search for a better life and improvement of their situation. There is no singular reason for immigration; motivations range from better economic prospects to political safety. As of late, the number of immigrants living in the United States is an estimated 11 million. Those who immigrate are expected to contribute to the United States culturally, politically, and economically. Yet, full assimilation becomes difficult to achieve when the immigrant is made into “the other” by the country of reception.
To say that immigrants in America have experienced discrimination would be an understatement. Ever since the country formed, they have been seen as inferior, such as African-Americans that were unwillingly brought to the 13 colonies in the 17th century with the intention to be used as slaves. However, post-1965, immigrants, mainly from Central and South America, came here by choice. Many came with their families, fleeing from their native land’s poverty; these immigrants were in search of new opportunities, and more importantly, a new life. They faced abuse and Cesar Chavez fought to help bring equality to minorities.
I will begin to examine the Mexican American ethnic group, probing the historical circumstances that impelled them to come to America, focusing on the structure and functioning of their family life to determine or, at least, to raise clues about how and why they have been able or unable to maintain an ethnic identification over the generations, and take a brief look ahead to being to speculate what the future endeavors are for this ethnic group and their constitutive families.
Queer Latino/as encompass both of these states of being, which often clash with each other and society in general, creating a “busy street with lots of foot traffic”(Servera, 141). Using concepts like “homemaking,” “choreographies of hope” and clear examples throughout
Every child is born with the instinct to seek acceptance and find a source of comfort and love. For the first chapters of their lives, a caring parent has all that they seek. In the book I Love Yous Are For White People, written by Lac Su, we get the chance to walk through the experiences of the author himself as he struggles to find acceptance at home as well as the new society he’s thrown into as a result of the family’s sudden immigration to the U.S. Subsequently, what seemed to be the journey a better place leaves young Lac quiet confused as he starts to discover the challenges this country forces upon his family leading to a home focused mainly on survival and competition rather than a bonding of love.
The American Dream can mean a number of different things to number of different people. Over the years this ideal has evolved and its definition will continue to change for many more years to come. What has not changed is the desire to achieve this dream. For decades now, people from all over the world have immigrated to the United States with hopes of obtaining this dream. However it seems that, to many immigrants the American dream has a very different and more modest definition. To many foreigners it means having the basic necessities in life and giving their children opportunities and life they ever had. Immigration can be a good and a bad thing. On one hand the overall standard of living is better but on the other hand it is almost inevitable that the family, especially the children, will lose some of their culture as they Americanize and assimilate. This is partially the reason why the mothers of The Joy Luck Club continue to have the Joy Luck Club meetings. Even though they are now in America, they want to make sure their daughters are exposed to and maintain the Chinese culture. Mother/ daughter relationships are a large component in Amy Tan’s award winning novel, The Joy Luck Club.