Caucasia Relates to Omi and Winant’s Theory

When Birdie and her sister are sent to Nkrumah, Birdie is taught to recognize and accept her “black” identity. However, her identity is problematized by her physical appearance, especially her “white” skin colour. Living in Boston, Birdie feels that she does not belong to the black community; in Nkrumah students don’t accept her for being a black girl, then she further feels isolated by her dad’s girlfriend, because she is not dark like Cole. “Others before had made me see the differences between my sister and myself – the texture of our hair, the tings of our kin, the shapes of our features. But Carmen was the one to make me feel that those things somehow mattered. To make me feel that the differences were deeper than skin,” (Senna, 1998, p.91). The students are not the only ones who make Birdie feel as if she doesn’t fit in; Carmen makes her feel as if inferior because of her lighter complexion.

In Caucasia, by Danzy Senna, Birdie spends time in several different racial contexts and, in each one, adjusts the racial definition of herself. Through this process, she discovers much about the conception of race in contemporary American society and achieves the nuanced understanding that race, while merely a construction, is still (operationally) real. This is contrasted by the more dangerous, oversimplified understanding of race – that races are biological rivals, inherently different and unable to coexist without some sort of power structure – embodied by the character of Redbone, who is also a symbol of inauthenticity. This latter aspect of Redbone shows the emptiness inherent in the views he holds about

The fourth chapter of "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”is about the identity development in adolescence. It is said that when black children are growing up, they engage in many of the white culture’s beliefs and values as it is all around them. It is not until a little later where they begin to recognize the impact of racism. This can happen around the early stages of adulthood. It might even happen around the junior high age. Gender also comes into play around this time as well. A black girl wouldn't be acknowledged for her beauty in a white setting as she is not in the society's standard for beautiful. Since the black girls aren’t considered beautiful, they begin to feel devalued. The black youth are beginning

Birdie has no recognition that without standing next to her family she might be seen as racially ambiguous. Ever since she was a little girl Birdie has understood herself to be Black because “[Cole’s] face was me and I was that face” (Senna 1). However, one day her mother asserts this fact in front of her saying to her father that “[Birdie] looks a little Sicilian”. This causes Birdie to be confused, although she recognizes it sounds “dirty of [her] mother’s tongue” (Senna 23). Despite not knowing what her mother meant by Sicilian Birdie internalizes this new and uncertain aspect of her identity. When entering Nkrumah, the other students notice the difference that Birdie does not and begin asking questions such as “‘What you doin’ in this school? You white?’” (Senna 36). Almost instinctively Birdie wants to reply “Sicilian”. In this point in time one can see that Birdie has no ties to a white identity and only searches for a word other than Black to describe herself when she receives questions concerning her blackness. Thus, it makes sense that Birdie’s box of negrobelia only contain items connected to her Black

TThroughout the history of the United States, race has been embedded in society. Caucasia is a novel about two sisters, Birdie and Cole, growing up in the city of Boston, Massachusetts during the time of racial conflicts. Birdie and Cole are the children of an interracial couple. Thier parents split up later on which adds on to the challenge of everyday life because they are trying to find their true identity and race. Michael Omi and Howard Winant believe that race has multiple definitions depending a person’s economic status, social status, and political interests (Omi and Winant 2). Senna displays these topics during the novel through the main characters Birdie and Cole Lee. Omi and Winant’s key concepts of “racial etiquette” (4), “Racial categories”(2-3) “passing” (3), are shown in Danzy Senna’s novel Caucasia while she validates that race can create problems within society.

Throughout the novel, Birdie shifts between being black and white, always concealing part of her identity in attempt to fit in with those around her and be viewed by society as normal. As a young girl entering a new school, Birdie’s features caused her to stand out. The other children stereotyped her. They didn’t perceive Birdie as “normal” and therefore she wasn’t safe in her own school. As a result of Birdie’s looks resembling her Sandy’s, she is greeted on her first day at the new school by “a boy [throwing] a spitball, which hit [her] square in the forehead. Laughter sprinkled the room. He hissed, ‘What you doin’ in this school? You white? '” (43) In attempt to fit in with the other kids, Birdie puts on a racial performance; she uses slang and tries to curl her hair. She desperately tries to conceal the “white” parts of her identity in order to fit in with the other black students. Cole teaches Birdie to conceal her white voice and fit into the black stereotype by using slang, “Say, ‘I’m goin’ to de sto’.’ Get it? And don’t say, ‘Tell the truth.’ Instead, say, ‘Tell de troof.’ Okay?” (53). Often it seems as if Birdie felt that her sister Cole was superior because she fit with the “black” appearance: “Others before had made me see the differences between my sister and myself—the texture of our hair, the tints of our skin, the shapes of our features. But Carmen was the one to make me feel that those

Within their communities, many character are discriminated against because of the way they look and act. In her search for work, Willie realizes that she cannot even be associated with her husband because the color of her skin prevents him from being able to get work. When they search for work, “They no longer [walk] together on the sidewalk...they never [touch]. She never [calls] his name anymore” (208). Willie often describes Robert as looking like a white man, in fact, others might even seen their marriage as shameful. Willie, who wants to become a singer, is also told that she is “Too dark...Jazzing’s only for the light girls” (209). Willie’s unequal treatment reveals an implicit bias against dark-skinned individuals in the musical industry, particularly from a socioeconomic standpoint. Similarly, Marjorie is mocked by the other black girls at her high school because of the way she speaks, and is told that “[She sounds] like a white girl. White girl. White girl” (269). Marjorie is surrounded by a culture where “white girl” is an insult because it makes her different. In a larger sense, the expectations of what it means to be “black” contribute to cultural rifts within the black community and a sense that there is a “correct” way to be

Birdie’s disappearances throughout her journey were identity forming processes and important for her search for her sense of self and her identity. Birdies identity quest began by attempting to disappear and become invisible, however, her quest comes full circle as she again finds herself at the end of the novel. Throughout the novel Birdie also struggles with her sexual identity. Senna challenges the categorization of identities through the character of Birdie and suggests that identity is fluid. Birdie does not fit into the rigid categories of “white” or “black” or gay or straight, she is in-between.

America is a country that lives by the claim that it embraces individuals from all racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds i.e. a "melting pot"; however, this claim is partially true. In our country, there is a clear but indirect distinction between both the majority and minority. In some aspects, the majority is viewed as more significant than minorities. Minorities on the opposing end are often portrayed in the media in a negative manner. An example of this variation can often be found in various films through the use of “black face.”

In the story Caucasia by Senna, Birdie faces many racial problems. She went to black school where everyone was black except her. Birdie grew up looking at her sister face rather than mirror. That’s why she was black from her heart and white from outside. Her sister Cole was her biggest support, when they got separated, she was alone and her life became hard because there was no one

However, in her bedroom scene with Nicholas, Senna once again shows the reader that race is a social construction and never truly hides what one really is. When Nicholas notices Birdie’s moustache, he states that he likes it and that he could like her clean (Senna, 1998). This almost goes to say that Birdie’s traces of blackness can be wiped clean by whiteness, erasing her true identity with the fake one. In Hall’s article, he mentions that everyone is provided a fixed identity or identities. Living as Jesse, Birdie remade herself to suit her current cultural identity. This affected her to a deeper level; she started to forget who she really was and where she came from. She started to believe herself to

During the semester, race is a big part of the lectures. In class, we talk about how race is distinguishing physical characteristics used to place people in different racial categories (Jensen). The biggest concern with race is racial inequality. Racial inequality is the inadequate or unfair treatment of minorities in areas like income, education, employment, health, the criminal justice system, and media. The article written by Rebecca Keegan from the Los Angeles Times newspaper discusses the inequality of race in media specifically movies. This article relates to the unfairness in films because minorities are poorly portrayed in the majority of films. More often than not, minorities are the “bad guys” in films. They are caught up in

My interest in film and episodic television lies within in the desire to join the league of artists who are steadily changing the media portrayal of African American’s. Historically speaking, African American’s have fallen victim to disparaging roles since the birth of film. D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film Birth of a Nation is known for its use of portraying black men, or white men in black face, as uneducated sexual predators while the Ku Klux Klan are praised in the Post-civil wat reconstruction era. Even though industry strays from being intentionally racist, there’s still an overwhelming amount stereotypes and whitewashing which harms minority representation. In Exodus: Gods and Kings, Ridley Scott casted several white actors to play Egyptians

First, the film industry maintains white superiority in Hollywood as the majority of roles offered to ethnic groups are limited and stereotypical. Stereotypes in film are a result of what Adichie, a novelist, calls a “single story” that is assigned to a group by mainstream media. Adichie clarifies that a “single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete”. Ethnic groups are reduced to an oversimplified idea and set of expectations on

The effect television has on people’s perception always interested me. From a young age I watched TV and many of my ideas about the world developed from the images I saw. However, I noticed not many of the people on television looked like me. Therefore, I became curious about the absence of African Americans on television.