Chapter 8: Toward a Multiethnic Cartography
Being authentic means to belong completely to one race. You cannot have mixed races because then you do not belong to just one. I disagree with this because you are also authentic if you belong to more than one race. If you belong to two races, you are authentic to both. Society has made monoraciality to be based on power. If you belong to one race, you are more powerful than if you belong to two. Being multiethnic disadvantages you becuase you do not belong with one or the other, both races see you as less becuase you are mixed. In order for our society to move towards a multiethnic cartography, it is vital that we get rid of our narrow conceptualization of identity (Mixing It Up, pg. 144).
Ethnicity is a group of people sharing history, culture, and symbolism, whereas race is a social construct based on physical characteristics. Race is based on a hierarchy of power, where certain races have more influence than others. Race does not provide understanding for identity, especially as conceived by the Census that leaves out Middle Easterners, Latinos, and other multiethnics.
Identifying as a multiethnic is difficult, especially when it leads to accusations of betrayal and weakness becuase they do not want to choose one. The two races can feel like the person does not want to identify completely with them. People just want to belong and trust that they are accepted in.
Racial cartographies change over time and are influenced greatly by popular culture. The media has a huge role in reinforcing the monoracial identity. Famous people, such as Mariah Carey, Halle Berry, Cameron Diaz, and Paula Abdul are all multiethnic, yet are revealed as being monoracial. I do not understand why the media does not represent the artists as they truely are. If they belong to more than one racial group, then they should be presented with everything they are. Since the media has such a big influence, it should be promoting diversity, not trying to hide it. Such as with Tiger Woods, he is Caucasion, Black, Indian, and Asian, yet he is presented mostly as Black. It was important that he announced his racial background and that he did not choose to belong to just one, but that he belongs to all of them (Mixing It Up, pg. 153-155).
Promoting multiraciality is very important in opening up the doors for people to truely express themselves. It is horrible to have to hide part of who you are and only having to choose one part of you. A multiracial cartography is possible if society stops focusing on having one identity and moves towards accepting all identities.
Chapter 10: Against Erasure
"What are you?" That is the main question that is asked. People need to know what other people are, its a necessity. I do not understand why knowing someone's race is so important. It should not affect how you view or treat that person, however it does. If you do not fit into a certain race that people want you to be in, then thier outlook on you changes. If you belong to two or more races then you are not "authentic." Who even decides what is "authentic." If you have two races, you are authentic to both, because you belong to both- you are part of both races.
It is easier for people to just be black or white, but real people do not just fit perfectly into these categories. Most people are not monoracial, but they are multiracial. The institutionalized monoraciality denies people the opportunity to describe themselves as they truely are. Monoraciality encourages la conciencia de la mestiza (new multiracial consciousness), where society requires people to choose a monoracial identity and hide who they truely are(Mixing It Up, pg.182-183).
Cherrie Moraga, daughter of a Chicana and an anglo, remembers hating being both and not completely feeling like she belonged to both. Racial hybridity needs to be understood by all so that their view of racial identity does not have to be solely monoracial, but can have multiple racial identities.
One group that has not been given a chance to show thier diversity are Mexicans. The Latinos are grouped together as if they were all the same. Also given the term Hispanics does not represent the different backgrounds of the Latinos, and only refers to those with Spanish descent (Mixing It Up, pg. 187).
Being forced to having only one racial identity, is like having no identity because you cannot express who you are. A child of two or more races cannot identify with both, the child has to chose one and society usually forces the child to chose the race that is inferior. The "hybrid degeneracy theory" is that the multiracial child is genetically inferior to both of his parent's races, and this was used to place fear in interracial couples and urge them to seperate. American society forces people to chose a race that they can pass for (Mixing It Up, pg. 188).
It is unfair to place limits on how a person can identify. People should be free to express themselves and not care of how society will treat them. However, the importance of pure-blood is still dominating and the polluted blood is seen down upon. Society is in charge and mestizos and "mixed blood" will continue to be seen as polluted (Mixing It Up, pg. 199-201). Multiracial people need to be proud of who they are and to not let anybody make them hide thier races. There is no need to only choose one race, when all races should be accepted.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Wendy, you summarize key themes well and are able to use the concepts like 'authenticity', 'racial cartography', and 'racial hybridity'...
ReplyDeleteWhen you say you don't even know why we should ask what races people are, use these same concepts to answer that question to show that you can connect your personal narration with theorizing.
Keep going...you're on the right track.
Great and well organized post! The way you wrote it makes it very easy to follow and understand. Are you more than two ethnicities? Do you ever feel that you are American as well as something else, however the something else is never seen or noticed by others around you? As a white, fourth or fifth generation in the United States, I feel that people only see me as a white person who is American. However, what about the different backgrounds of my ancestors? I come from families that migrated from both Germany and France. Why are those never part of who I am and why am I never asked about where my family comes from. People spend so much time focusing on where people of different skin colors come from, and when those people are not given credit for their backgrounds, they are offended that no one takes the time to find out who they are or where they come from. Well what about people who are white? Do they not come from other places as well? They can come from many places such as Italy, England and Denmark, as well as many other places. So my question to you is why are people of color the only people that could come from other places?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about why knowing the race of another person is so important. While I do not feel that I am a color blinded person, I do feel that we are all people and it is great that we all come from so many cultures and backgrounds and are able to mix different aspects of each other’s lives into one. But why do we classify each other by race? All people should be treated equal whether they are white, black, brown, red, yellow or green! It is in the words of our founding fathers, all people should be treated equally and with respect. Are races used in order to communicate about different people, or do we as a society use races to make fun of each other. For example, Asians are “horrible” drivers, and Blacks are thugs and “not smart, Whites are called crackers… Is this the importance of race in our society?
Then there is the topic of those who are mixed. Where do they fit in? I agree again with your thoughts on it being unfair to make a person choose what race they are and want to identify with. Why can we not accept them for all their races? Multi-cultural people should be able to feel free to be themselves and not feel that they need to be classified as one race or the other. And by having more than one race there are many things that mixed people are able or should be able to enjoy that people of one race cannot. Different holidays, celebrations and traditions can be great in mixed raced people when they can participate in both or more while single raced people only get one.
I never realized how difficult it is to be a multi-ethnic person in the United States until I began taking this class. My parents have always taught me to accept all people and appreciate different cultures. I have always admired multiracial people because they have a connection to different cultures. Learning about different cultures and customs has always been so interesting to me and I am draw to people who can share that with me. I have asked people many times the "what are you?" question. I have never meant it in a demeaning way; I am just genuinely interested to learn about that person and the culture that they may know about. I never even imagined that that person would take my question negatively. I guess I have been a bit naive about race. However, as I got older, my multiracial friends began to share feelings of not belonging to either race. I was always comforting and supportive, but it did not seem like a huge deal to me because I strongly believe that people should be judged by their character and not by the color of their skin. Unfortunately, this is not how the world operates. Taking this class and other classes in the American Multicultural Studies major have opened my eyes to the struggles and racism that non-white people face. Hearing stories of families disowning their children because they married someone from a different race and stories about how multiracial people feel like they do not belong really bothers me. I am glad though that I know these things so that I can spread my knowledge and bring awareness to others.
ReplyDeleteI want to comment about what you said about authenticity and how multiracial people feel torn between their different races. I agree that multiracial people should not have to choose to identify with one race or another. I think that being multiracial is a beautiful thing and I hope that one day multiracial people will not have to pick between which race they will identify themselves with. Even today, I see multiracial people raising pride for being multiracial. I think it is absurd for others to expect someone to be a certain way because of their skin color. It is more likely that multiracial people will act in a completely different manner than you expect because they have formed their own identity from their different cultures.
I agree that media should begin to promote multiraciality. Right now, even if the media tells society what races a person is, they still identify that person with one race. Like you said, Mariah Carey, Halle Berry, and Tiger Woods are all multiracial yet they are considered black. I wonder if this is what they think of themselves or if it is just how the media portrays them. What racism or feelings of not belonging have they faced throughout their lives? I am curious to know.
I absolutely agree with you that people should not be limited on how they can or cannot identify themselves. Multiracial people are pressing the limits about this very subject and I think that it is wonderful. I hope that multiracial people will stand up and refuse to identify themselves how society wants them to identify. Be yourself and do not let anyone tell you how you must act, look, and identify yourself.
I also appreciated the articles by Alsultany and DeSouza for the thorough explanation of monoraciality. Before becoming an AMCS major I wasn’t aware of the multitude of challenges that multiethnic individuals must face. Being wrongly classified as monoracial is another instance which may test one’s identity of themselves. I appreciated your assertion that monoraciality should not hold so much power in the United States. Authenticity doesn’t imply “purity of race” yet we somehow equate one with the other. I believe authenticity should imply “purity of heart”. I believe being authentic is a positive personality trait that has nothing to do with racial composition. It must become more socially acceptable for multiracial individuals to proudly claim all desired aspects of their heritage. If pressure from society to choose one racial category didn’t exist, multiracial individuals would be more able to form their own identity. Ethnicity should be a positive force in one’s life. By celebrating the ethnicities that you embody, you have an awareness of multiple cultures, not to mention a better awareness of yourself.
ReplyDeleteI also found DeSouza’s discussion of Latinos to be valuable. “Because ambiguity disrupts current racial stratification, the United States tends to “racialize the body count” by attempting to group, however superficially, all Latin Americans as a single racial population” (Mixing It Up , 187). I have Latino/a friends from Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Chile who are commonly misclassified as Mexican, which tends to bother them. It is not as though they have a hatred for the nation of Mexico or people of Mexican descent, but because they would prefer to be categorized properly. They feel that when incorrect assumptions are made about their own identity, they somehow lose part of their connection with their actually country of origin. We often believe Mexican and Latino to be synonyms, but it is important to remember Latin America is much bigger than Mexico. This concept of monoracializing Latinos can also be applied to other ethnic groups. Asian Americans, for example, is a racial group consisting of people from a wide range of locations with distinctly different cultures. We often classify individuals as Asian American with little or no awareness of their ethnicity, assuming that Asian Americans have a common experience or identity .
Ultimately I agree with you when you say that people should be able to identify themselves, rather than being identified by others. By definition “identity” implies something personal. “The condition of being oneself, and not another” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). How has something so individualized become open to interpretation by the community? I believe it is time for Americans, especially multiethnic Americans, to practice being true to themselves, despite pressures from society to blend in.
I agree with you when you say identifying as a multiethnic is difficult. Being a part of two or possibly more ethnicities cuts you off from possibly being accepted by one race or the other. My cousin is in a multiethnic relationship; him being Filipino and his wife being white. My family welcomed her with open arms and never criticized her or my cousin for their decisions and actions. I believe my family has realized that since immigrating to America you expect multiethnic relationships to happen that’s why were not opposed to this relationship.
ReplyDeleteI also agree when you said society should be accepting to all identities. Media does focus on monoraciality and that just shows how ambiguous they are when it comes to identify most celebrities today. I like how Tiger Woods came out straight as to what he identifies himself. I think that some celebrities are afraid of coming out clear on what their ethnicities are because of how the media and fans would treat them.