Reilly O’Neill, Blogs Editor
@RONeillCourant
What is identity? The question that guides sophomore English, and one that humanity has been contemplating for centuries. As I see it, there are hundreds of different faces of identity, but a part that has been more important to me lately is race.
Race, according to Dictionary.com, is “any people united by common history, language, cultural traits”, etc. However, when we learn about race in History, we learn mainly about racism. We are taught that race has been about the color of a person’s skin. We group race and ethnicity together as if they are the same thing, without considering what either word means.
According to Merriam-Webster, race is defined as “each of the major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical characteristics.” There you go, race is a major division of humankind. In all honesty, I could’ve told you that. To me, the “distinct physical characteristics” part is fairly understandable. I am shorter in stature with a completely different skeletal structure than my white mother, so ergo we are different races. All of this I understand, I am Chinese because I look like other people from China.
Ethnicity, however, is a completely different story. Google defines it as “the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition.” Nowhere in that definition is aesthetics brought into the mix. Ethnicity is about a shared culture and traditions, not appearance or skin color. This is where I find myself at a crossroads.
See, I share tradition and culture with my family. I share tradition and culture with my friends. So that begs the question: am I ethnically Chinese, or ethnically white? Here is my proposal: racial identity is a choose your own path book. There are thousands of different ethnicities, and environment, I believe, impacts that much more than a word on a birth certificate.
A few weeks ago in an airport security line, I was standing next to another adopted Chinese girl, while our parents talked up ahead. The subject of us feeling more like “white girls” came up at the same time we were accidentally separated from our families at a fork. Once again, stuck at a (literal) crossroads. The way I have been raised is one where I have assimilated to a “white culture” however, I do not enjoy the same privileges as someone who has the appearance of a white person.
Another question I have found myself investigating, is “what classifies one as a ‘person of color’?” The term itself defines humans by skin color, People of color normally share common experiences with racism, or stereotyping. Is someone from Spain, who is European, considered a person of color? Or even seeing the differing treatment of light-skinned Hispanics versus that of darker, more tanned ones harbors the idea that race comes down to nothing but color.
When a good friend of mine, who is Dominican and has a very fair complexion is mistaken for a white girl it can get confusing. Her Latina culture is wiped from her at first glance because of a pigment in her skin. On the other hand, another friend of mine who is white but with a tan complexion is often mistaken for being Latino. So, race may come down to something like skin tone, but ethnicity surely shouldn’t have to.
Filling out my personal information on forms will be difficult for me, because of this issue with racial identity and having people refer to me as Chinese can be frustrating.
This mis-identification can often be difficult since the way others see us can negatively impact how we see ourselves more often than we realize. A continuous barrage of other people’s opinions can cause you to start thinking the same things. The more I hear people say stuff like “It’s because you’re Asian” or “I wish I was exotic like you” or “white guys love Asian girls” it just reinforces the confusion about how I should identify. It can drive me insane, feeling like the only thing people will ever see me as is Chinese, when I am so much more.
Sure, it’s breaking down a lot of old traditions and is kind of a radical idea, but allowing people to create an identity that feels like our own creates a better understanding of our own sense of self.
