Asian, Female, and the Middle Class

One’s identity has the ability to play a central role in one’s schooling experience and in return, affect the way they perceive the world around them. Growing up in an Asian household located in a predominately Asian American neighborhood located in the San Gabriel Valley, I always identified myself strongly to my race and took pride in being a first generation Asian American child. Race has definitely affected my schooling experience in many different ways, both positively and negatively. In addition, there were a variety of other aspects such as stereotypical gender roles and socioeconomic class status which factored into the way I learned in the U.S. education system. In this paper, I will examine how race, class, and gender played a big role throughout my schooling experience.

As someone of Asian race, but adopted into a white suburban family, it has always been hard to reconcile the two. Growing up I never saw myself different than my primarily white classmates. Only when kids, mostly strangers, would sometimes pull their eyelids back or spoke pseudo-Chinese in an attempt to imitate Asian culture in middle school did I realize that I was different on the outside did I begin to understand that the

In Asian American studies, identity is “a set of characteristics or a description that distinguishes a person or thing from others” (Ho 125). One would have to truly perceive his or her culture, language, beliefs, customs and values in order to be viewed as a distinct person in terms of identity. However, many Asian Americans are often faced with personal struggles when they are finding their own identity. These included the issues of assimilation, and contradictions of race and identity within their family and school life. They may sometimes feel insecure with their identity as Asian Americans due to their position as racial minorities in the Unites States. As a consequence, some would unconsciously reject their identity when their emotions are severely damaged in confronting with unequal treatment or being labeled with the Asian stereotypes. In his article “Distilling My Korean American Identity,” Patrick S.

In our daily life, there are a bunch of distractions which influence our daily life. Distractions which may always affect people’s life, behaviors, and identities. If people do not know themselves well, they actually would undeveloped their language of identity. A language of identities means people need to know themselves well and when they are in a society they can make themselves united with others. Andrew Solomon, the author of the essay “Son,” talks about two kinds of identities which are vertical and horizontal. Vertical identities always pass down from the parents, but horizontal identities may acquire from peer group like being gay or deaf. Individuals who with horizontal identities which are much easier to know their language of identities.

Being raced ethnically white at the same time as performing as racially Asian made it puzzling for me to discern out the individual I desired to grow to be. There have been regularly I felt not as good as my pals and people around me. In fact, whites have been nearly taken into consideration as a superior

I enjoyed reading your post. I agree with you when you said that the different Asian Americans groups have similarities while also having differences. I did not know that some Vietnamese speak French! When comparing the two Asian American groups that I researched- Chinese and Filipinos, their languages were different, but they both had many different dialects. Their religion also varied a little from each other. Chinese culture has five main religions which include Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, Protestantism, and Taoism (“Demographics of Asian Americans,” 2013). Another classmate said Christianity, but I have yet to see this on a website. The Filipino culture’s religions include Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Buddhist, and other

Identity is a socially and historically constructed concept. An individual learns about their own identity through interactions with family, peers, organizations, media, and educational institutions. Education and identity are two closely related topics. On average, most Americans will spend a fourth of their life in educational institutions. During this time period students are growing and maturing, but most importantly they are discovering themselves. Students realize their qualities, determine their morals, and establish their beliefs during this time of instruction. Undoubtedly, education forms and challenges a person’s identity throughout the years.

Although a student’s culture and family influence the formation of his or her identities, other factors in schools play a larger role. She identifies these

Third world women are face with discrimination and sexism just like the women and men are in America. To further explain this, the first example are Asian-American women. Asian-American women have two “roles” that they need to be labeled as by their culture: docile or submissive oriental dolls (Kerber 735). If Asian Americans men, see Asian-American women taking on too much responsibility they are labeled as “unfeminine.” Kerber gives the examples of two sisters who have achieved positions of authority, but since they are minorities they still face the stereotypes society has placed on them. The sisters have rejected the stereotype that is imposed on them and are labeled other harsh names. Still giving labels instead of just seen as human Not

When I was a junior in high school, I took Pre-Calculus Honors. As an Asian, I paid more attention to the class because I thought that I had an advantage. In reality, I did not. When I got 90 on a math test, rather than acclaimed me, my Chinese

Our identity can sometimes be shaped by the way others see us. As we have seen, the way in which others view us can have some sort of impact on how we see ourselves. There are also other contributing factors such as our years of adolescence, the basic human need of wanting to belong and maturing; all play an equally important part in the forming of our character and who we are. On balance it appears that there is not only one influence in the shaping of our identity, but there are many.

Identity is formed from internal and external influences. It is partly what we are, and feel inside and partly how we are influenced by our culture and society. Identity is fluid and can be changed in many ways and for many reasons. Similarly, race and ethnicity can alter as people’s perceptions change. As Henry Louis Gates (“Loose Cannons”, 1993), eloquently put it “My grandfather was colored, my father was a Negro and I am black.” This brings me to my own personal identity and the aspects that have most influenced it. My black cultural identity, dual citizenship, religion and lastly, my teacher identity.

A person’s family, race, culture, and life style within a society or a community are just a few factors that give him or her an identity. Coming to terms with understanding one’s identity is not simple because of the many factors defining it and might take one’s whole life to finally understand who he or she is. “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and “My Two-Lives” by Jhumpa Lahiri are both writing pieces that have characters who share these conflicting factors of identification yet still have very different views on which of these factors are more valuable to allow them to be accepted in their societies or communities.

Only a certain number of people graduate from high school or obtain a GED. Even fewer of them go on to pursue a post-secondary education and obtain a degree. It is obvious that many factors contribute to this lowered rate of degree obtainment such as tuition cost, being overwhelmed by the advanced curriculum, and the loss motivation; however, another factor that may contribute to this issue is simply the way one feels about him/herself. Although the most crucial time for self/identity development is probably during adolescence, it is still possible for people’s sense of identity to change. It may be possible that people’s ethnic identity, specifically, can change as they become older and gain more life experiences.

However, these identities are not always apparent. Tatum (2000) states that “it is our targeted identities that hold our attention, while the dominant identities go unexamined” (p. 7). In order to develop a holistic sense of self, we must examine all parts of our being. As my interviewer remarked: “you have to know who you are, and how you show up in pieces, and the impact that may give to others, because that definitely contributes” (A. Rubango, personal communication, September 13, 2017). Every person has their own multitude of identities. My interviewer’s own identity contains numerous components as a female, an immigrant from the Congo, and having a middle-class SES. Through her many target and dominant identities, she has acknowledged how these “pieces” have given her a unique viewpoint on the world, and how they have affected her view on issues, such as those pertaining to social justice.