...Human being are born into a differences identity by accident of birth, people have developed these ideas about differences and identities to distinguish them selves and others, and to serve their interest. These identities could be gender, ethnic or race. Race is a common identity that people around that world have used it to distinguish our selves from the others, to serve their interest. They used race identity to label one group as superior, rational and intelligent while the opposite to the other group, which would be inferior, emotional and backward. For example, at apartheid time, in South Africa, the colonial power, the Dutch people see them selves as the White superior race, while the native black Africans as inferior...
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...Alyssa Boyer SOC 144S 5/1/2012 When pondering about way that I would describe myself, I would usually come up with physical attributes and personality traits to portray who I am. While thinking deeper into my true identity, I see more broad aspects as well as social constructions that have made me who I am today. Due to social construction and the culture that I have been brought up in, I would describe myself physically and share the things that I do in my life. I was raised in a place where everyone around me was similar and if they were of a different color, gender or sexual preference I shouldn’t and wouldn’t look at the differences in them. When taking a step back and looking at the differences between other’s identities and my own, I see that I am a Caucasian female. I am an upper-middle class American but I come from French and German decent. I come from different decent, however myself and my family will always identify with American because ourselves and our grandparents were all born here in the United States. I am heterosexual and I have identified as a female athlete most of my child and adolescent life. I was raised going to Catholic Church so I identify as somewhat religious and attend a highly respected university so I am identifiable as student as well. These words that I use to describe myself show the differences between my upbringing and other cultures. I grew up in a pretty well-off family and in a nice area of a small town. As I grew up, the only...
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...Displaying racial identity in form of arts can have both positive and negative effects. Art can be used to glorify and empower the race, but it can also be used to promote superiority of certain racial groups over the others. One of the racial groups that I would like to discuss in my essay is the representation of African Americans in art. The way African Americans were displayed in art was correlated to the historical events. Over the 150 years, unflattering images of African Americans have been common in popular culture. For example, Aunt Jemima who was a domestic servant whose tittle of ”aunt” was commonly used for African American domestic servants such as nannies, maids, and servants. Aunt Jemima is a caricatured fat woman who has been...
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...The topic of beauty standards and body image is a pressing matter regularly discussed in today’s society. However, the concept of black beauty, both the internal and external components, has yet to be explored thoroughly. This study is done with the purpose to bring to light the opinions of black women, whose feelings are frequently ignored in our society. In this paper, I draw on the information taken from my interviews with two young black women attending a predominately white institution to discover the motives of black women and their hairstyles. Literature on Racial Identity and Beauty Hegemonic quality for women is held to the societal standards of beauty. Setting and Methods Syracuse is a medium-sized city located in the central region of New York state. The demographics of the city is predominantly white with them comprising 56% of the population. This analysis is based on interviews with two young black women. For this study, I’ve kept my sample and research question within the confines of the Syracuse metropolitan area with a particular concentration on the Syracuse University campus, which was geographically...
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...After Saíz, the scholarship on casta paintings began to focus on themes of racial stratification and social classification. This change occurred once scholars, who were trained in the Anglo-American methodology, began to examine casta paintings. In 1992, Abby Sue Fisher published her dissertation entitled” Mestizaje and the Cuadros de Castas: Visual Representations of Race, Status and Dress in Eighteenth Century Mexico”. Fisher’s work focused solely on the depiction of dress within this genre and how it conveyed a nonverbal indication of status. Later sources mostly focused on depiction of race and how these paintings demonstrate social stratification based on racial identities. This is view is widely purported by Ilona Katzew, one of the...
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...In today's society, many of us are label gay or straight, black or white . Do these labels define who we are? Does a specific genre of music or style of cooking belong to a specific group of people? Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses the issues of identity, race and culture in his essay "Racial Identities". Appiah uses references from poets and scholars who see different or similar views on race and culture. Matthew Arnold, Thomas Sowell, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Charles Taylor are few of the scholars and poets that are used in "Racial Identities" and how their literary texts, views and issues contributed to Appiah's essay. Matthew Arnold poem was used as a reference in the "Racial Identities", where he discusses culture. Arnold was born on December...
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...1. How do you identify your racial and ethnic identities? Over time, there has been different views on racial and ethnic identities. The identities can be Identified through Census which was one of the earliest measurements and it classified people Into different races. Some features could be used. “Such features typically include speech or Language, physical appearance, dress or costume, religion, customs, and others”. 2. Describe the history of your racial and ethnic identities holistically in the United States? When Philippines became one of the territories of the United States in 1898, it led into the creation Of the Filipino American race. “Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century with small settlements...
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...parents have been the biggest influences in regards to my racial identity. They are the ones that raised me under the norms that they were taught when they were growing up. Being part of a working class Mexican American family in the United States, I was raised in a neighborhood that consisted primarily of Mexican Americans. They taught me the culture and history of my relatives back in Mexico in order to make me feel connected to my roots. Teachers in my schools that have had the same racial background as me, have allowed me to learn more about myself. They assisted in allowing me to learn more about...
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...appreciate how my physical traits influence my life and identity. Being a woman, certain expectations are thrust on me and I certainly internalize them to an extent. Blackness functions in the same way. From an early age, my race has influenced and impacted my life. I have also interacted with and within my race to form my racial identity. My racial identity is the result of an intersection between my personal history, inter-racial experiences, and societal interaction. My first interaction with the concept of race came abruptly at the age of four. I was in preschool signing the lyrics to the Britney Spears albums that my sister played on repeat when I was...
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...As a white, middle-class young adult, social identities and understanding how they shape my life is an ongoing journey deeply influenced by the difficult framework of social justice. In this essay, I will explore two social identities to which I belong, my racial identity as a white person and my economic identity as a member of the middle class. Through examining these identities, I aim to explain how privilege and oppression intersect to shape my perspectives, values, expectations, and beliefs. First, my racial identity as a white person gave me many privileges I didn't realize.. Growing up in a predominantly white community, I was shielded from many of the harsh realities of racial inequality. My family and peers instilled in me the idea...
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...Social Identity Development: Jones, S. R. & McEwen, M. K. (2000). A conceptual model of multiple dimensions of identity. Journal of College Student Development, 41(4), 405-414. A diverse group of female students at a university was interviewed in examining multiple dimensions of identity to fill a gap in studying development which has only considered a single dimension of identity. The conceptual model proposed for complex identity differentiates the core representing the inner self, how an individual perceives themselves, with the outside identity that is defined by others. Each factual dimension surrounds the core as intersecting rings, asserting the importance of considering multiple dimensions mutually and holistically. The contextual influences are significant to continually relocate the dots on the rings, which...
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...English we were always wogs and nigs and Pakis and the rest of it”. Write an essay exploring how Kureishi’s novel maps Englishness as a contested terrain of identities, politics and performance. Your discussion should refer to Stuart Hall’s work on ethnicities and on Judith Butler’s writing on performance as identity. Much of the Kureishi’s early work is grounded primarily in racial and cultural conflict between British mainstream culture and ethnic minority communities; the conflict between the cultural claims that the first-generation immigrants were prone to clinging onto and the sense of belonging, which they their children aspired to develop in mainstream British society. To the children of immigrants, particularly those who had migrated from British Commonwealth or ex-colonized countries, any reflection on Britain, or their parents’ homeland, in terms of “home” may differ significantly from that perceived by their parents. As a writer born and bred in Britain of a Pakistani father and an English mother, Kureishi reflects upon his own identity, affirming in an interview his own sense of identity be seeing himself as British: “Critics have written that I’m caught between two cultures. I’m not. I’m British; I’ve made it in England. It’s my father who’s caught. He can’t make it. Elsewhere he proclaims his British identity in a similar way: I’m British, as wrote in The Rainbow Sign. Just like Karim in the Buddha. But being British is a new thing now. It involves people with...
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...An individual's identity is formulated both by how they perceive themselves as well as how others perceive them. The individual's perception of themselves becomes determined by society when they allow how they perceive themselves to be dictated by how others perceive them. To identify and belong to a certain group is a universal human desire and is the fundamental purpose of our social existence. Often times an individual allows society to form their identity in order to gain acceptance and a sense of belonging to the group by abiding by the values and standards of society. Social psychologist Arie Nadler suggests that the 'building block of our sense of self are the groups to which we belong'. This need for acceptance becomes detrimental to the individual when the...
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...Associate Program Material Diversity Worksheet Answer each question in 50 to 150 words. Provide citations for all the sources you use. 1. What is diversity? Why is diversity valued? Diversity is the similarities and differences that people have in perspectives, identities, and points of view. Diversity includes race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, socio- economic, nationality, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, ability and age. (Definition of Diversity, 1999). Valuing diversity is patterns influence the way people understand and interpret the world. Diversity enhances the intellectual, emotional, economic, moral, and spiritual life of the community, which is why diversity is valued. 2. What is ethnocentrism? In what ways can ethnocentrism be detrimental to a society? Ethnocentrism is the evolution of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one’s own culture/ the belief that your culture or way of doing something is better than another culture’s. (Dictionary.com, 2013). Ethnocentrism can be bad; it ultimately can lead to racism and prejudice. It is important for racial and cultural tolerance, also people should understand that their way is not the only way. 3. Define emigration and immigration. Emigration is the actual act of relocation from a country. Immigrate means to come to a country of which one is not a native for a permanent residence. (Dictionary...
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...When considering the issue of multiple discrimination, it is worth starting from the fact that each person has many aspects of identity. People do not see themselves as just women or men, only people of a certain age, only as heterosexual or homosexual people. People's identities consist of many components, they are functions of belonging and identification with many groups and circles. These are complex, multidimensional integrals, which depending on the situation, some identifications or roles become more important, but never contain the multidimensionality of identity (although we are often perceived by others only through the prism of belonging to one group, which ignores this complexity of identity). This class increased my knowledge of...
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