Who are you? What’s your identity?

What? Have you ever been asked what’s your race or ethnicity? Well, I have, and it’s a strange question to answer. When someone asks me, I have to wait and ponder as to why in the world would one would be asking such a strange question. I understand that people don’t want to make assumptions about my background, but at the same time it is insulting for someone to ask such a personal question if they have just met me for the first time. I feel that when I respond with “I am East Indian”, people automatically identify me as culturally Indian. However, it does not. Just because my ethnicity is Indian, it does not mean that I identify myself with that culture. The piece Sabrina Wants Her Identity Back by Orner, Lorena struggles with the same problem as I do. Should we resist identifying ourselves as a certain race or ethnic group?

Lorena does feel the need to resist identifying herself as a Latina or a Chicana. Her reasons are very different from why I do or don’t identify myself as an Indian. For Lorena, she happily wants to embrace her dual identity, but finds it difficult to. To identify herself as a Latina or a Chicana meant that there would be negative stereotypes attached to her identity, “I don’t describe myself as Hispanic. I don’t like calling myself Latina, either. Latina with an attitude. The fighter Latina, but not the good fighter. The troublemaker. Chicana, the same way. Chicana is, ‘Oh you’re always angry at something or somebody.’” (Orner, 197–198). Also by avoiding labeling her identity, it allows for Lorena to grow as a person and not constantly have people only seeing you one way, such as the stereotypes that she mentioned in the piece.

In another piece titled, Valenzuela, by Angela Valenzuela, deciding what identity one wants to represent is just as difficult as resisting to identify oneself. However, Nelda, the little girl compared to Lorena, has no trouble with identifying herself as a Mexican and Chicana. She explains in her interview that, “while she will always consider herself Mexican, she sees herself as different from other Mexicans who “look down” on Chicanos. Thus, she manages the dual identities of Mexican and Chicana without seeing any conflict between the two” (Valenzuela, 181). I found it interesting that Nelda didn’t mind associating herself with the label Chicana, because that term is an American term that has historical ties to Spanish colonization. Many immigrants don’t want to align themselves with that history of being colonized. In her interview she said that it was, “her discovery of Rodolfo Acuna’s book Occupied American, which provides a historical perspective on the taking of the south-western lands formerly owned by the Mexican government. ‘Desde entonces, soy Chicana,’ she said. (‘Since then, I am Chicana.’)” (Valenzuela, 181). After reading about these two different yet very similar stories, I understand that it is not a simple task for the girls to pick a race or ethnicity to identify themselves with without there being stigmas attached to those labels.

So What? One of the key questions in today’s society is how can immigrants redefine what it means to be Mexican American in the US. That is a question that has several answers, but in Lorena’s case she redefines what it means to be Mexican American in the US by working hard to better herself and her life. An example of Lorena bettering herself is when she set out to get a job that would help her advance in her life instead of a job that is stereotypically done by immigrants, “… in my situation, Hispanic people, we don’t get office jobs. I was sure I needed to go get a job at another meat market, or maybe helping clean houses, or babysitting” (Orner, 195). Even though she faced so much self-doubt about what she was capable of doing, she went and explored her possibilities. That was just one way that undocumented immigrants work harder to redefine being Mexican American in the US. In the Valenzuela piece, it is more difficult to prove how Nelda was trying to change what it meant to be Mexican American. Although, the author does provide her own insight as to how Nelda makes that change to redefining herself, “the fact that she bore at least some of the emblems of Americanized speech, dress, and interpersonal skills is a side note to a more central awakening within her that helps explain her rapid transformation into a Chicana against the historical and institutional odds of her doing so” (Valenzuela, 182).

Another aspect that goes hand in hand with redefining what it means to be Mexican American is why are the distinctions between these ethnic identities so important to these young women. I think that by having distinctions about one’s identity is important because it allows the girls to be equal yet stand out from the rest of the other girls who are the same ethnic identities. Also, I believe that by having a difference in identities allows for the women to have a sense of comfort and belonging, “I really don’t know what to call myself now. I’m Mexican. … That’s where I was born, and that’s legally my citizenship. Or, I guess I’m Mexican-American” (Orner, 198). Even though Lorena is not confident with her identity in this part of her story, it proves that at least for now she knows where she belongs and fits into society.

Now What? Currently, I would not know how people at my community partner reinforce, alter or stigmatize the cultural and ethnic identities of the people they serve, because I have not started working with the community partner group. I will be going this coming Friday, so I will be able to observe how the community partners reinforce the cultural and ethnic identities of the young mothers and their children. However, from what I have learned from my classmate who has had several years of experience with working with the young moms and their children is that they try to alter the negative-identities that the teen moms face every day. This community partner wants to defeat the stereotypes and reputation that a teen-mom regularly receives. For example, our supervisor has assisted many of the moms get jobs, a house, and this has helped them rise above the poverty line. That is one way that Young Moms of Marin have helped alter the cultural and ethnic identities of people they serve. Personally, I believe that my community partner is reassuring the mothers and their children affected by the discourse about immigrants in the news by providing support and comfort to those who are undocumented. I imagine that the community partner gives as much help as they can to make sure that the Hispanic, and Latino moms and their families feel as safe as possible.

It is hard for me to pick an example of when I have been stigmatized by dominant discourses about my gender and/or my ethnicity. Ever since I was a little girl in India, I have felt that I have been stigmatized by dominant discourse because I am a female. Females are thought of as lesser than males and less competent here in the US and in India. Although, that has been changing within these last couple of decades. To be honest, I don’t really know how to push back when people stigmatize me about my gender. I feel like there is nothing I can really do, but the only thing I can think to do to change this discourse is stand up and speak up for women and for myself.