Running head: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ASIAN AMERICAN IDENTITY 1

Subject: Comparative Study of Asian American Identity

Name of Student

Name of Institution

Date
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Comparative Study of Asian American Identity

The Identities and their defining traits

First off is my informant. She goes by the name Mercy (not her real name) a university

student with a Filipino American decent. She grew up in California and only interacted with her

Filipino community at family gatherings. She is also a member of an Asian American school

club at the University. She told me that in the past she has experienced some form of overt

racism, however, she has not had any racism targeted at Filipinos or within the community. She

also does not feel that she has been the victim of any form of Institutional racism. On the

contrary, she feels that racism is just but a phenomenon of the south (South America).

Despite of her claims of experiencing racism in one way or another, Mercy seems to be

currently in the Pre-encounter stage of Cross’ racial identity generation theory (In Wijeyesinghe

et al. 2012). However, she does not wholly fit into this category since she does not support white

supremacy. Her story can be more related to the “spiral” type of Cross’ theory; Mercy knows

that she does not ‘fit’ in the privileged White sect, which is the first stage of the Encounter phase

(In Wijeyesinghe et al. 2012). However, her past encounter with racism never stimulated her to

seek out her heritage or identify passionately with her Filipino community. Therefore, Mercy

seems to have maintained a balance between the Encounter and Pre-encounter stage, never really

feeling that racism has a significance in her life even after experiencing it in the past.

I am a Chinese female student. Due to my past experience with racism, I was forced to be

more aware of the matter. I am comfortable and conscious of my ethnic heritage. The

development of my ethnic identity cannot be related to either Helm’s 1990 or Cross’ 1991

theories, but is rather a touch of both. Some facets of the theories do not relate to my experience.
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In my early childhood, I was basically unaware of the malicious nature of ethnicity in my

everyday life. I used to be friends with everyone in my neighbourhood and in school. However,

as I grew older and went to a number of high schools before joining college, I experienced one or

two instances of racism.

Learning, Accepting, Adopting an Identity

For Mercy, her journey towards realization of her identity began when she was a child

where she bumped into a situation where a young White child verbally abused her using racial

slurs. The young kid kept on insulting her to the point that he wanted to physically assault her.

The experience was very frightening as she knew that the boy really meant to hurt her. However,

Mercy said the fact he tried to hurt her bothered her most than the fact that he was racially

assaulting her.

Another incidence that led to the eventual acceptance of her identity occurred recently

when she realized that her boyfriend’s parents resent her mainly due to her ethnic background.

They insist on their son dating a woman from a different ethnic group preferably Chinese or

Vietnamese. This experience really made her sad and grim for days but again did not lean her to

identify with her Filipino community. This could be because the racial attack had come from

another Asian community. Reflecting on the Cross’ theory, it predominantly focuses on

oppression of minor communities by superior ones which might lead the victim to identify less

with their race.

Another interesting point that Mercy was sure to relay is that she does not feel it is racism

unless her feelings get hurt. She is strongly inclined to the belief that most people are not racist

and the worst thing that a racist person can do is pas his malicious nature to his children. To
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some extent, Mercy is already convinced that the world has some preconceived notions about

Filipinos that she cannot change. Among the preconceived notions that Mercy mentioned about

Filipino girls is that they are perceived to be always wearing black lipstick, tight garments,

always hanging out at the mall, and many more.

Finally, when I asked Mercy what situation or experience, she might consider to be racist,

she said if the insults were personal and target specifically at her, then she would get hurt. She

said that she does not feel that racism has a huge influence in her life or among the Filipino

community. She is strongly convinced that racism target at Filipinos is something that chiefly

occurs in the southern parts of the United States. When I asked her how she deals with incidents

of racism towards her or her close friends and family members, she says that she ignores it.

From the information that Mercy provided, it would be a lie to say that she has unmasked

her identity completely. She can be said to be in the Pre-encounter phase where one does not feel

or recognize the effects of racism despite experiencing them. To add to this, she had recently

made a trip to the Philippines to attend the funeral of a family member but was disgusted by the

pace. She only mentioned negative aspects of the country and that she does not look forward to

visiting the country again. Therefore, one could say that Mercy does not embrace her Filipino

decent.

Personally, it deemed to me that I’m a Chinese girl when I attended a mixed-race high

school during my teens. It was there that I first made friends with people from different cultures

and ethnic backgrounds. For years, I was ignorant, neither seeking wisdom nor participating in

my culture, and was not faced with any instance of racism. However, I now regret missing out on

the experiences of my Chinese culture and I’m currently pursuing Chinese literature in order to
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affirm myself with its theatrics. This can be likened to the Cross’ Emersion/Immersion phase

whereby the victim also experiences the desire to interact with relatives from their homeland

(Wijeyesinghe et al. 2001).

However, it should be noted that a good number of my friends are White. This is because

I have taken it upon myself to learn and appreciate the culture of others. This brings us back to

the Cross’ Emersion/Immersion phase where the victim also strives to learn about the culture of

others (Santos et al. 2015). However, despite my knowledge about racism, I can confidently say

that I have not experienced it. I cannot even remember the last time someone offended or

discriminated me, or perhaps it might have happened without my knowledge. I understand that

oppressive forces do exist but I do not let myself be bogged down by them. Hence, one could say

that I embrace my Chinese descent as I have an interest in understanding the culture.

Influential Others and Situations in the Development of Identity

Perhaps the most challenging scenario when it comes to the development of identity is

having a mixed heritage. Theorists such as Weber (1961) and Elkin (1983) suggest that a

possible reason why some might identify more passionately with a particular ethnicity than

another might be because they feel more proficient with its language, general lifestyle, and

religious beliefs (Wijeyesinghe et al. 2001).

On the other hand, anthropologists such as Primov, Osaacs, Cohen, and van den Berghe

claim that both the others and the individual contribute to one’s identity. Depending on whether a

group accepts one to their sect is an important factor in identity development (Wijeyesinghe et al.

2001). A group’s power or status in society, associating more with one parent, and the amount of
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DNA heritage of a particular group are also significant factors which might lead one to identify

more with one ethnicity than the other.

I always say that everything that seems to be a problem always has a good side of it. The

case applies when it comes to mixed heritage. Mixed heritage people claim that they are more

tolerant to people of different ethnicities due to their mixed background. However, some

individuals deploy the use of social comparison to decide on their evaluations of situations. A

notable figure in this niche was Stanley Schachter. He came up with Hypotheses that assessed

individuals that felt anxious and how they would associate with others in order to reduce their

anxiety.

A number of people use comparison to develop their identities and self-concept. This

involves forming accurate convictions about their opinions, abilities, and attitudes. Therefore,

social comparison has a huge effect on the development of ones identity. When one is able to

compare themselves with others favourably, then the outcome is that they feel good about

themselves but when the comparison shows that the other party is doing better than they are, then

the outcome is that they suffer from low self-esteem.

Effects of Others and the Situation on “the Self”

Everyone is who they are because of the kind of people that they interact with in their

lives. In fact, research shows that our destinies are shaped by the kind of society we grew up in

(Santos et al. 2015). Therefore, one could say that our identity development is greatly shaped by

others and we also shape the identity of others. That is why the famous philosopher Plato said,

‘be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle’. If we extend negativity to others, they

shall do the same to others and in the end the world will be a terrible place to live in.
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It should be noted that no matter the situation we are in, only we have the power to

decide on our identity and character. One’s identity is their destiny. Therefore, we should always

be striving to be better everyday that we get a chance to live. Identity is who you are and what

you are going to be in the future. Identity also gives us a sense of belonging as we regularly

identify ourselves with each other. Those that fail to develop an identity are more often than not

in troubles as they can easily be swept by anyone. Furthermore, race is a sensitive subject and

has always been since the beginning of time, hence it is upon everyone not to judge others due to

their ethnic background. Despite our different heritages, one should never do something because

of crowd psychology. Each one of us is an entity by themselves and should never do something

because members of his/her ethnicity are doing it.

It is evident that human beings have well developed and complex self-concepts and they

strive to view themselves on a positive basis. These more affective and cognitive aspects of “the

self” do not generate themselves. They are greatly contributed by the forces that surround us as

aforementioned. A good angle to view this is through the self-verification theory where it claims

on the importance of feedback from others and how it can affect our esteem and self-concept.

Another crucial factor that plays a significant role in “the self” is sociocultural background.

Sometimes, the gravity of other people’s appraisals of our self-concept may take toll on

us and we may end up keeping them in our hearts. A good manifestation of this are nicknames.

Sometimes the names given to us by our friends and family may be unpleasant to us and end up

evoking negative emotions. This kind of labelling may affect our identity development in a

somewhat negative way that we can start negatively reacting to others.

References

In Wijeyesinghe, C., & In Jackson, B. W. (2012). New perspectives on racial identity

development: Integrating emerging frameworks.

Santos, C. E., & Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2015). Studying ethnic identity: Methodological and

conceptual approaches across disciplines.

Tang, J. (2003). Youth style and identity development in China: Articulating the “postmodern”

fashion market and cultural ambivalences.

Wijeyesinghe, C., & Jackson, B. W. (2001). New perspectives on racial identity development: A

theoretical and practical anthology. New York: New York University Press.

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And other Conversations about

Race. (2010). Read How You Want.com, Limited.