When my Mexican compatriots are asked if they consider themselves racist, the most common answer is ‘no, there are no races in Mexico’. This rhetoric erases the indigenous ethno-racial identity through an assimilation delusion and hinders academic and political projects from confronting structural discrimination. The obliteration of indigenous identity has taken place since Mexico’s independence; the ‘mestizo’ identity was paradoxically appointed as the core of the nation-building process. ‘Mestizos’ adhere to the pre-Colonial majestic monuments and mythical past as a testimony of their indigenous heritage whereas they ground the nation collective values, practices and institutions in the Euro-Catholic framework1. The paradox of ‘mestizo’ identity …show more content…
Politically, ethnicity could be considered a homologous for ‘race’ which takes into consideration socio-cultural attributes (instead of biological) that are primordial for defining someone’s identity (language, values, etc.)8 Using ethnic categories the State hierarchs its population’s identities9; it privileges or denies access to infrastructure, political goods and rights according to its discourse of national identity. This rhetoric constructs a correlation between cultures and bodies, presupposing that certain identities have a fixed behavior therefore will have similar outcomes, based on the way they use their body to experience societal life10. The binary categorization of body-culture results in systemic violence against indigenous identities; this institutionalization of ethno-racial prejudices, is entrenched within the ‘racelessness’ discourse. The fallacy of a ‘raceless and culturally homogenous Mexico’ leads to structural marginalization (by the State) and to indigenous populations being blamed for their own oppression (by the citizenry).11 In this project, I intend to challenge the ethno-racial homogeneity (racelessness) discourse12 and examine its role within the systemic discrimination and structural violence towards indigenous
Traditionally history of the Americas and American population has been taught in a direction heading west from Europe to the California frontier. In Recovering History, Constructing Race, Martha Mencahca locates the origins of the history of the Americas in a floral pattern where migration from Asia, Europe, and Africa both voluntary and forced converge magnetically in Mexico then spreads out again to the north and northeast. By creating this patters she complicates the idea of race, history, and nationality. The term Mexican, which today refers to a specific nationality in Central America, is instead used as a shared historic and cultural identity of a people who spread from Mexico across the southwest United States. To create this shared identity Menchaca carefully constructs the Mexican race from prehistoric records to current battles for Civil Rights. What emerges is a story in which Anglo-Americans become the illegal immigrants crossing the border into Texas and mestizo Mexicans can earn an upgrade in class distinction through heroic military acts. In short what emerges is a sometimes upside down always creative reinvention of history and the creation of the Mexican "race (?)".
People are discriminated against because of their race and social position every day. This has been going on for hundreds of years. In Mexican White Boy, Danny and Uno were discriminated against by people around them for being different, but along the way of discovering themselves, they form an unbreakable friendship.
Mexican American struggles in the United States date back to the Spanish discovery of the New World in 1492. For over five hundred years, Mexicans have endured social injustices and inequalities at the hands of their superiors. The mistreatment of the native people of this land is constantly overlooked for "…the main goals shaping Spanish colonial policy were to maintain and expand political control and to convert Indians to Christianity." (Vargas p.30) With this mindset, the basic nature of relations between the dominant Anglos and the inferior Mexicans was that of suppression, rejection, ignorance and separation as opposed to establishment of ideals that would foster cultural relations and produce the true definition of a "melting pot" society.
Armando Rendon in his landmark 1970 wrote the book I am a Chicano. This book is about how activist in the Chicano movement pointed to an empty monolog of the word Chicano. Chicano means an activist. Chicanos describes themselves it was a form of self-affirmation; it reflected the consciousness that their experiences. Chicanos means, nations, histories, and cultures. This book talks about how Mexican American also used the term of Chicano to describe them, and usually in a lighthearted way, or as a term of endearment. In a text it talks how Chicanos haven’t forgotten their Mexican origins, and how they become a unique community. The book talks about how Mexican American community’s long-suffering history of racism and discrimination, disenfranchisement, and economic exploitation in the United States. The
Queens is one of the most diverse boroughs in New York. There is just about every ethnicity living in it. Growing up in Queens I adapted to the diverse environment at a very young age. Living in a diverse environment impacted my way of thinking and the way I act towards others.
The increase and changing demography in the United State today, with the disparities in the health status of people from different cultural backgrounds has been a challenge for health care professionals to consider cultural diversity as a priority. It is impossible for nurses and other healthcare professionals to learn and understand theses diversity in culture, but using other approaches like an interpreter is very helpful for both nurses and patients. In this paper of a culturally appropriate care planning, I will be discussing on the Hispanic American culture because, I had come across a lot of them in my career as a nurse. The Hispanic are very diverse in terms of communication and communities and include countries like Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, South and Central America, and some of them speak and write English very well, some speaks but can’t write while some can’t communicate in English at all but Spanish.
The contrast between the Mexican world versus the Anglo world has led Anzaldua to a new form of self and consciousness in which she calls the “New Mestiza” (one that recognizes and understands her duality of race). Anzaldua lives in a constant place of duality where she is on the opposite end of a border that is home to those that are considered “the queer, the troublesome, the mongrel and the mulato” (25). It is the inevitable and grueling clash of two very distinct cultures that produces the fear of the “unknown”; ultimately resulting in alienation and social hierarchy. Anzaldua, as an undocumented woman, is at the bottom of the hierarchy. Not only is she a woman that is openly queer, she is also carrying the burden of being “undocumented”. Women of the borderlands are forced to carry two degrading labels: their gender that makes them seem nothing more than a body and their “legal” status in this world. Many of these women only have two options due to their lack of English speaking abilities: either leave their homeland – or submit themselves to the constant objectification and oppression. According to Anzaldua, Mestizo culture was created by men because many of its traditions encourage women to become “subservient to males” (39). Although Coatlicue is a powerful Aztec figure, in a male-dominated society, she was still seen
Gonzalez, Araceli. “Discussion #2.” Chicano Studies 10. University of California Davis. Wellman 229. 8 October 2013.
Crouch, Ned. Mexicans & Americans : Cracking The Cultural Code. NB Publishing, Inc., 2004. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
Living in a world where African Americans are judged because of their skin color, while whites are passed by with no other thought is confusing. What do people think when they see me? I am biracial, and because of this, I’ve faced the struggle of having to explain my races to those who can’t tell, or just make an incorrect assumption. It’s not a bad thing, having two races and two cultures, because I’ve been open to multiple traditions my entire life, but sometimes it’s hard not being considered a whole person because I’m not considered one race or the other. Being biracial has shaped my life experience and the way I see the world in countless ways.
“When Race Becomes Even More Complex: Toward Understanding the Landscape of Multiracial Identity and Experiences”
In today’s society, it is acknowledgeable to assert that the concepts of race and ethnicity have changed enormously across different countries, cultures, eras, and customs. Even more, they have become less connected and tied with ancestral and familial ties but rather more concerned with superficial physical characteristics. Moreover, a great deal can be discussed the relationship between ethnicity and race. Both race and ethnicity are useful and counterproductive in their ways. To begin, the concept of race is, and its ideas are vital to society because it allows those contemporary nationalist movements which include, racist actions; to become more familiar to members of society. Secondly, it has helped to shape and redefine the meaning of
The ethnic- Mexican experience has changed over the years as American has progressed through certain period of times, e.g., the modernity and transformation of the southwest in the late 19th and early 20th century, the labor demands and shifting of U.S. immigration policy in the 20th century, and the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. Through these events Mexican Americans have established and shaped their culture, in order, to negotiate these precarious social and historical circumstances. Throughout the ethnic Mexicans cultural history in the United States, conflict and contradiction has played a key role in shaping their modalities of life. Beginning in the late 20th century and early 21st century ethnic Mexicans have come under distress from the force of globalization. Globalization has followed the trends of conflict and contradiction forcing ethnic Mexicans to adjust their culture and combat this force. While Mexican Americans are in the struggle against globalization and the impact it has had on their lives, e.g., unemployment more common, wages below the poverty line, globalization has had a larger impact on their motherland having devastating affects unlike anything in history.
Race and ethnicity are two terms that are constantly used in today’s society. Understanding these terms can help people to recognize that color of skin or color of hair does not define a person. These terms connect with history, social interaction, and the overall make up of a person. However America is constantly obsessed with labeling people by the way that they look or the way that they act. America seems to encourage the terms race and ethnicity and continue to divide people into categories. It is interesting to comprehend these terms because they are not going to disappear any time soon. Race and ethnicity are apart of America’s history and will be a part of the future.
What do you think about a marriage system called polygamy? Polygamy is the meaning will be “often married”. A man can marry as many women as he wants. Do you agree if your boyfriend or husband has other girlfriend or wife? Most women think polygamy is absolute nonsense and insincere sentiment, and some men think so too. On the other hand, some men think it sounds too good to be true because they can have an affair and cheating in state. Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and Bali agree polygamy. In this circumstance, there are many Muslim people in these countries, and polygamy is not a serious matter under the doctrine of Muslim. No one knows what are polygamy 's origins, but many countries had polygamy in old times because the war (What 's the History