Is a person’s identity created in society correlated with a person’s ethnicity and border experience?

Student Presenters:

• Irlanda Martinez
• Gabriella Maggio
• Morgan Brennan

Transcript:

How is a person’s identity created within society? How could this be correlated to a person’s ethnicity and border experiences? Let’s dig deeper into this idea and figure out how single stories and living in the hyphen affects a person’s identity. Hello. Our names are Irlanda Martinez.

Gabby Maggio.

Morgan Brennan.

We are first year students at UNF in the class of “Ni de aquí, ni de allá” Immigration Cultures at the Hyphen. In this podcast, we will discuss single stories and living in the hyphen and how they correlate with borders.

We will discuss some of Gloria Anzaldua’s statements about living between two cultures and Chimamanda Ngosi Adichie’s TedTalk.

Living in the hyphen refers to the experience of someone who identifies with multiple cultures or backgrounds. For example, I was born in the United States, but both of my parents are Mexicans, which my ethnicity to be Mexican American. As a Mexican American, I have always struggled to find the correct borderline on where I belong. Growing up, learning how to speak Spanish, and then adapting to innate language when I started school, created a borderline within myself because I didn’t know where I fit. As time has gone by, I still don’t know where I stand. Borders provide structures and between these two borders, I have always came across in being in between. Gloria Anzaldua wrote “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”. Throughout her chapters, she describes a conflict between language. For example, her statement that stated, ethnicity, identity is twin skin to linguistic identity. I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself. In this example, we can see that language distributes identity and how we are seen within ourselves. The borders of identity where you stand between two language, for instance, my English and Spanish language, correlates to me figure out how I can construct my personality and be true to myself. My identity crisis started when I was 13. In that period, there was a moment where I didn’t feel that I belonged in both aspects of my culture. Throughout my life, I learned that each culture helped me grow as a person. With my Spanish side, my identity is created by how my character is shaped, while my English side is shaped by my personality. Between living in the hyphen, you are portrayed to establish a sense of recognition of who you are. But between Gloria’s writing and personal experiences, living in the hyphen allows better empathy and more expensive worldwide, pries creativity, and more profound companion of many points of views. Creating pride in both my ethnicities. As much as this influenced our character trait, other perspectives is our way of identifying ourselves, and that could be shaped with single stories.

A single story refers to a one sided or incomplete perspective about a person, group, culture, or situation. Chimamanda Ngosi Adichie’s TedTalk on the danger of a single story is a great example of her own experience with single stories, and she shows how a single story can be taken in different ways. Some people who listen to this talk can probably relate to what Adichie said about the prejudice and harsh criticism from those who did not understand her background. For me, I took this talk from a lighter, more broad point of view. Throughout high school, I and many others have dealt with being judged, falsely accused of something, or just simply being gossiped about. The single story in this case would be the false story or accusation being spread and others believing and accepting it. A specific single story that I have undergone is people making assumptions that my life has always been easy because my skin color is white. I have been mistaken for having money and coming from a wealthy family because I am white when that is simply not true. Not every single story consists of judgment and prejudice, though. Adichie describes one interesting story of how her college roommate pitied her and felt bad for her. Her roommate thought that she had a rough background and struggled while growing up just because she was from Africa. This is an example of an assumption that would be false, although it was not full of hatred or prejudice. I have also experienced a single story that was more of a positive assumption and that I come from a good and safe family/background. This is because of factors like my parents being together for many years, coming from a large Irish Catholic family and having two younger siblings. The quote that I took from the TedTalk is, “Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize.” This quote explains how it is up to each one of us to put our differences aside and not make an assumption about someone or something from a lack of knowledge. This quote can also be applied to the movie we watched in class called The Golden Dream. This film tells the story of three young Guatemalan migrants who set off on a journey to the United States in search of a better life. Along the way, they face many challenges such as harsh conditions, theft, and the constant threat of being caught. The film also shows the emotional and physical struggles the characters endure in their pursuit of a dream. As a speaker in the TedTalk shares stories to convey fuller perspectives, The Golden Dream brings depth to the migrant experience, encouraging viewers to see migrants as individuals with unique backgrounds. So far, we have talked about how living in the hyphen and single stories influence our way of identity, but borders can influence our character traits and identity also.

Learning about a single story can create assumptions based on someone’s race, leading to misunderstandings and false judgments. Adapting to new borders creates perspective on diversity and creates question on where we fit in the most. In my personal experience, as someone who is both of European and Hispanic descent, sometimes I find it difficult to fit in and not know where I stand and I feel caught between two different cultures. Sometimes I feel pressured to choose one identity over the other or feel like I don’t fully belong to either group. It can be challenging to navigate expectations from both sides of my heritage. However, it helps me embrace both the Italian and Hispanic sides and it’s caused me to feel closer to my family members and want to learn more about my cultural background. It helps me find balance and create my own unique identity. Coming from a mixed cultural background has made my life experience eventful and fulfilling. I enjoy spending time learning about different traditions, languages, and unique dishes my background has to offer. Borderlands/ La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldua and living in the hyphen has affected me as an individual who comes from mixed backgrounds. Anzaldua’s work explores the idea of living between cultures which can help people from mixed backgrounds understand their own identities. I like how her writing shows the beauty and struggles of being part of multiple cultures. A quote I found very memorable was, “I’m a turtle. Wherever I go I carry home on my back.” This quote reflects the sense of not belonging to any one place and carrying a sense of displacement. I felt as if I could understand where she is coming from as a child of both Italian and Hispanic descent and moving from Florida to New York. Even though I’m in a new place, I bring my sense of self along with me, such as my mannerism, slang, and style. No matter where I come from geographically, I carry a sense of identity with me. This is because I feel a connection to both places and navigate my identity between them much like how I feel caught between my Italian and Hispanic heritage. Since coming to University of North Florida, this has helped experience more of my Hispanic side because I have had the opportunity to gain an insight into cultural aspects. For example, seeing the altar at the language lab allowed me to understand a better meaning of culture and how it has an impact on diversity in society. It created a personal growth for myself, which has made me thankful to experience.

Identity is a perspective on how we view ourselves and how we portrayed within society. The correlation between single stories and living in the hyphen together highlights how identity is shaped not only by others perceived us, but also by how we choose to define ourselves.

These two important factors shape our experiences, and it’s an important concept to understand stereotypes of our name. Hobbies, race or ethnicity shouldn’t define us.

We as individuals should have the opportunity to represent our true selves and create our own stories.