Thursday, May 10, 2007
Discussion of Her: Ethnic identity, white privelege and political correctness
As we were discussing the book Her: A Novel in class, the topic of ethnic identity came up - a topic in which I am very interested in. I thought it was interesting that the topic of "political correctness" came up - and wanted to respond, first, with a story. I was listening to a morning radio show on my way to school the other day, when the DJS were talking about Mexicans (I can't remember the exact framing of the discussion). A person called in to state that she was from Nicauragua and hates it when people constantly call her a "Mexican". After she hung up, one DJ (who happens to be both male and White) didn't understand why the caller was so frustrated and upset. He said that, if he was travelling and someone mistook him for being Canadian, or British or Australian, he would not care (a subtle example of his white privelege). My point in telling this story is to promote the idea that ethnic identity (or however we choose to identify ourselves) is something we must choose for ourselves, not something that should be defined by others. In the example given, the caller was trying to tell the DJ that she identifies as being Nicauraguan, and when others just assume or press upon her another identity, they are simply being ignorant. In my eyes, addressing someone by their "correct" identity is not a matter of being "politically correct", but a matter of respectablity. If you don't know how someoneone identifies themselves, please ask before impressing upon them an identity. Something to think about.
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6 comments:
i complety agree with analysis, the world is too diverse for everyone to put people in the categories they think they fit into. your identity is who you are so when some one takes that away from u r doesn't even care to address u correctly to me they are stripping u of who u are.
I agree with you. Identities are complex, and society as a whole tends to lump individuals together, usually in ways that benefit the people who are in power. Personally, I feel pushed into labels I don't identify with fairly often. For one, I get labeled as tongan quite a bit, which is interesting. What bothers me more, is when people try to push me into a racial category of either white or black, when I am both of those races, and feel the right to claim both of them.
My question is this. Why is it so important for people to label others? Labels, or course, aren't always about race. They can be about gender, ability, wealth, and a whole bunch of other things. Why is it that so many feel the need to place people into categories? Anybody have any ideas on this?
This doesn't have to do with this post, but I can't figure out how to post my own blog entry. Anybody who has figured this out care to help?
I think people feel the need to place others into nicely drawn categories (usually binary ones) because it gives them a sense of control and comfort. Anyone that falls outside of "traditional categories" seems to make people uncomfortable. And society, I think, encourages this in ways such as the use of ethnic identity or gender check-off boxes on forms and applications. Where do people "check" when they, literally, fit "outside the box"?
P.S. Dylan, on the first page of blog, at the very top, in teeny tiny letters there is a link entitled "post blog". This is where you...well, you know...
This is prob'ly a bad analogy, but...
I'm reminded of how when people who don't "get" it will say:
"bisexual or whatever you call yourself"
of "transsexual, transgender, or trans-whatever"
one: it's just disrespectful
two: it says I don't really know and I don't really care
But yeah, identities are complex:
there are some Latinos who get offended if they're called "Mexican" because they have a low opinion of "Mexicans" and don't want to be mistaken for such. That really gets my goat!
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