Jenner Racial Identity

429 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: An essay on self identity

In our culture today, it is problematic to gaze at an individual and recognize exactly how that person self-identifies. Self-identification is becoming more ambiguous and self-determined. In recent years, our culture is making strides in becoming more accepting of this revolution of identification. Caitlyn Jenner and her gender transformation was a catalyst for the movement. During the 2015 ESPY Awards, Jenner received the Courage Award honoring her bravery in her transformation. However, Rachel Dolezal identifies herself as being black. In an essence the American society is denying one’s personal identity. The question that lies before us is, why is the American society in an uproar when Dolezal identifies herself as black, but Jenner is rewarded when she identifies herself as white? Self-identification should not be limited to just gender or sexuality but should also include race and ethnicity. According to New Oxford American Dictionary, the definition of the prefix trans is, “referring or relating to people whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond …show more content…

Race and ethnicity alone is becoming more complex and fluid. There has been an increase in racial categories making it more complicated to limit oneself in a singular racial category. America is considered the land of immigrants. This implies America is an inter-racial nation. Many people are naïve of the nation’s heterogeneity it possesses. If society today still applies the one drop rule that was used in our nation’s history, a person with any percentage of African American decent would be considered an African American even if the individual’s outwardly appearance appears to be Caucasian. It could be possible a Caucasian today could have African American or Native American

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Tommie Shelby's We Who Are Dark

    1480 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is commonly thought that one has to struggle in order to be black. Black people tend to have a stronger sense of group identification than any other racial group in the United States. The question is whether or not this is helpful or detrimental to the black population. In “Promoting Black (Social) Identity” Laura Papish criticizes Tommie Shelby’s We Who Are Dark. Shelby argues that the black population’s sense of group identity is vital to furthering their collective political agenda. Shelby believes that best way to make sure that their political ideologies are cohesive is for black individuals to have a “thick conception of black identity” (Papish 2).” Having a thick sense of black identity calls for “ African Americans think of themselves as and act as a ‘nation’ constituted not by physical borders, but by a shared ethnic, cultural, or biological trait that imbues the community with a ‘general will’ and this “ will” typically includes political motives (Papish 2). Papish argues that it not part of the duty of a black person to have any sense of loyalty or solidarity with other African-Americans and that not doing so does not make them any less black than those that choose to have a thick sense of black identity. Those who don’t grow up with a strong black group identity in their lives are just as black and go through some of the same struggles that other black people do. In the video “Black Like Who?” Debbie Reynolds did not have a strong sense of blackness because she was raised in a white neighbor. The other ladies in the short film talk about how they thought that she had a “ real problem with [her] ethnicity like [she] had a problem with the fact that [she] born African-American (Reynolds). This along with the documentary on Lacey Schwartz show that a person’s sense of blackness is very much a product of what others around them define blackness as. However, it is not clear

    Read More

  • Analysis of Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of Beverly Tatum's major topics of discussion is racial identity. Racial identity is the meaning each of us has constructed or is constructing about what it means to be a white person or a person of color in a race-conscious society. (Tatum, pp Xvii) She talks about how many parents hesitate to talk to their children about racism because of embarrassment and the awkwardness of the subject. I agree with her when she says that parents don't want to talk about racism when they don't see a problem. They don't want to create fear or racism where none may exist. It is touchy subject because if not gone about right, you can perhaps steer someone the wrong way. Another theory she has on racial identity is that other people are the mirror in which we see ourselves. (tatum pp18) 'The parts of our identity that do capture our attention are those that other people notice, and that reflects back to us.'; (Tatum pp21) What she means by this is that what other people tell us we are like is what we believe. If you are told you are stupid enough you might start to question your intelligence. When people are searching for their identity normally the questions 'who am I now?'; 'Who was I before?'; and 'who will I become'; are the first that come to mind. When a person starts to answer these questions their answers will influence their beliefs, type of work, where they may live, partners, as well as morals. She also mentions an experiment where she asked her students to describe themselves in sixty seconds. Most used descriptive words like friendly, shy, intelligent, but students of color usually state there racial or ethnic group, while white students rarely, if ever mention that they are white. Women usually mention that they are female while males usually don't think to say that they are males. The same situation appeared to take place when the topic of religious beliefs came up. The Jewish students mentioned being Je...

    Read More

  • Essay On Symbolic Ethnicity

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    I agree that non-whites possess little to no ethnic options. If you are half white and half Mexican, you are most likely going to be categorized as Mexican, regardless of which ethnic option you would prefer to identify as, you are always going to be categorized as whatever ethnicity you physically match the most.

    Read More

  • Real Life Experiences Of Transgender Women By Michelle Castillo

    1469 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine going through life believing that you were born into the wrong body. This is how a transgender feels as they go through life. A transgender is a person who whose self-identity does not conform unambiguously to male or female sex. This topic is very controversial due to many arguments about the differences between the male and female physique. The natural biological differences between males and a females play a huge role in this controversy.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Rachel Dolecial Identity

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rachel Dolezal was head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) division in Spokane, Washington, from 2014 until June 15, 2015, when she stepped down because of claims that she had told lies about her racial identity and additional details of her life. She drew the press’s scrutiny when her caucasian mother and father said publicly that Dolezal was a caucasian female being taken as black. Dolezal’s situation brings to light issues regarding the social construction of race, racial hierarchy, racialization, and the creation of ethnic identity.

    Read More

  • Social Construction Of Race Essay

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    Such an encounter becomes a source of discomfort and momentarily a crisis of racial meaning. Without a racial identity, one is in danger of having no identity" (Michael Omi, Howard Winant, 12). It is obvious when we look at someone we try to get a sense of who they are. We categorize people within our society and place them by gender, ethnicity, race, religion, and even social class. Because one of the first things we utilize is race and gender it is questioned that without racial identity one is in danger of having no identity. Personally, I believe that this is true, for instance, within our society gender roles are very apparent. We utilize gender as a form of identity, because many people now are coming forward with wanting to change their identity there has been ann uproar to try to fight against equality for citizens that identify with a different gender. What is to be considered is the same uproar that is occurring with people who identify with a gender is also occurring with citizens that are identified solely on race. Within our different generations there has been an uprising in mixed races, a person can be

    Read More

  • Mexican-American Identity

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people see themselves differently. How do you see yourself? What identity do you give yourself? Maybe some people are confused to what they are or what to call themselves. Whether to call themselves African American or Hispanic or Asian or White. I see myself as a Mexican-American and would want to be called this. Yes ima Hispanic and Latina aswell but i prefer Mexican -American.

    Read More

  • Treatment of Transgender Prisoners

    2734 Words  | 6 Pages

    So what does transgender mean and what is transgender identity disorder? According to the American Psychological Association," transgender" is "umbrella term whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they wer...

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Transgender People

    2203 Words  | 5 Pages

    According to an article “Somewhere Under The Rainbow: Exploring The Identities And Experiences of Trans people the term is an “Adjective to describe a diverse group of individuals who cross or transcend culturally defined categories of gender. The gender identity of transgender people differs to varying degrees from the sex they were assigned at birth.”(Dargie 61) We are all born with a gender either male or female. Those who are transgender are born feeling as though they were born with the wrong gender, causing a great deal of stress. A term used for those who are confused about their gender is gender dysphoria. Dargie states the definition of gender dysphoria as “Distress that is caused by a discrepancy between a person’s gender identity and that person’s sex assigned at birth”(61). These terms are important to understand because it gives an understanding of what a transgender person really

    Read More

  • Racism in Society

    1808 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Stuart Hall’s “Ethnicity: Identity and Difference,” he claims that identity is a volatile social process through which one comes to see the self. Hall argues that identity is not a thing rather a process “…that happens over time, that is never absolutely stable, that is subject to the play of history, and the play of difference.” These factors are constantly entering the individual in a never-ending cycle, re-establishing and affirming who one is.

    Read More

  • Ethnicity And Ethnicity

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    The race or ethnicity is essentially an ascribed status but nationality in the United States is also ascribed because of jus soli in the 14th Amendment that guarantees citizenship for those born on US soil (Peralta, 2015). Essentially, your ethnicity, nation and nationality all become one but are separate on your unique classification within the census. The United States has Native American tribes that are their own nation and has the state of Hawaii that was its own nation which would cover an ethnic and nationality classification. Each state in the United States has their own culture which could be classified as distinct ethnic groups such as Louisiana with creoles, Florida with residents that have linage that connects to the Kingdom of Spain before statehood and Pennsylvania with their Amish population. The layers are what make the United States complex and unique. Words can have two meanings and mean almost the same

    Read More

  • transgender children

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    Transsexuals, defined simply is a person who from the very core of there being feels like they are in the wrong orientation and transgenderism is that state of being when one's gender doesn't match those feelings. In the case of transgender children they usually feel like god made a mistake and in some case scenarios boys particularly try to alleviate the situation themsel...

    Read More

  • Discrimination

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    In many cultures finding your identity is hard. It is even harder to not be labeled for what you look like in society. Currently, people have changed the way that they judge each other and are judging everyone based on the idea of their ethnicity. As I grew up, who I was as a person did not matter because everyone did not bully me based on the color of my skin. I assumed I was just like everyone else. Although when I became a teen things changed. After 9/11, my race and ethnicity mattered more and people treated me differently because I was labeled as a Muslim.

    Read More

  • Ethnic Identity Essay

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being able to identify with a certain group has been an issue that individuals hesitate with daily. Am I Black, are you a girl, what religion do you practice? These are all common questions that society has forced individuals to concentrate on. Should an individual have to pick a side or is it relevant to the human race to identify with any group? One may believe not, but for others having and knowing one’s own identity is important, because it is something that they have been developing their entire life. Along with how their identity influenced their life chances and their self-esteem. This can also affect how society interact with whatever identity an individual chooses to live. Which is why it was important to recognize how identifying

    Read More

  • Asian American Identity

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    American society is often guilty of assuming there is only one true, certainly white, “American”

    Read More

More about Jenner Racial Identity

Open Document