Ethnic Identity Essay

This paper will identify the ethnic identifications within individuals. Ethnicity is part of everyone’s identity development. Individuals may have one ethnicity or multiple, depending on their current location, homelands, generations, religion, environment, language/dialect, physical appearance, and more. A cultural individual is considered ethnic either by being first, second, or third generation. According to Phinney (1989), there are four stages of ethnic identity development: diffuse, foreclosed

later affecting their overall identity. It can be argued however, that the extent of that affect/influence is largely dependent on the strength of the individual’s identity before being exposed to the media. Psychologist Beverly Tatum defines identity as a “complex concept shaped by individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts” in order to define ones self (Tatum, 1997). When discussing the complexity of identity, Tatum addresses the different

manner wherein ethnicity, and therefore, cultural identity becomes something continuously negotiated. My father and his family came to Canada from South Africa as refugees 31 years ago. However, my mother was born in Edmonton and her family has been in Canada for at least 7 generations. As for myself, I belong to no isolated culture and like to consider myself a challenge to the often-one-dimensional approach to both ethnic and cultural identity. I am a biracial, English-speaking, second-generation

My racial and ethnic identity are tied to my everyday experiences. I identify as African American or black because it’s my culture. I born by two black parents and grew up in a black household. Although I was often told by my parent I am black, I would say that the term “Black” was given to me before I even entered the world. The term “Black” was given to Africans by Europeans when they took us as slaves to the Americas. Ever since then, the one drop rule applied to anyone with African heritage in

1. Why do some Roma hide their ethnic identities? Some Roma hide their ethnic identities because it can be dangerous and bad for their business because of the stereotyping that goes along with being a Roma. Also, depending on the community, they may be threatened, attacked, or discriminated again. 2. What challenges did the Roma face in different parts of the world? The Roma face a variety of challenges in different parts of the world. When the Roma moved to Western Europe, people took away their

ways of thinking, religion, and even how I define myself as a woman. Coming from a collectivist culture we have strong family values. We are high-contexts, high-power, low-ambiguity, communicators who aim for long-term goals. Even though my ethnic identity and race is the same as my parents, due to demographic changes in my life, I have experience acculturation. In a diverse classroom environment my students and I will be expose to many more cultures, and hopefully I can help improve their intercultural

The Development of New Ethnic Identities such as Black British or British/Asian When referring to British Asians, the majority of us often fall into the trap of understanding the Asians referred to are linked to the Indian Subcontinent, i.e. India, Pakistan etc. What we tend to forget is that Asians are associated with a number of different countries and with Asia being the largest continent in the world, what exactly is meant by the term 'British Asians?' Generally

Stated in Ethnicity & Family Therapy (2005) the most important training for a counselor is to understand their own ethnic identity. As a counselor, if I am self-aware it will be less likely that I will become triggered by characteristics (beliefs, thoughts) that are different than my own. A multiethnic perspective allows me to understand values that are different than my own. I do not need to have others see or think as I do, or give up my own values in the process. “We learn about a culture not

Tajfel (1981) described ethnic identity as part of an individual’s self-concept developed from knowledge of membership in a cultural group and the value or emotional significance attached to that membership. Ethnic identity content has been defined as “the actual ethnic behaviors that individuals practice, along with their attitudes toward their ethnic group” (Phinney, 1993, p. 64). Charlesworth (2000) maintained ethnic identity development to be an essential human need that

The Hmong people are a people of diaspora and are an ethnic minority group who, have been a group of people who were basically unknown up until three decades ago. They are of unknown origin and are often misplaced from country to country and often have to assume many different hyphenated identities to fit in with the mainstream culture. As Hmong Americans they have gone from being unable to read and write to being educated; which has led to Hmong writers, congressmen and women, to scholars, and to