In the chapter, the author described some of the characteristics of minority family units. She argues that they still face intense social pressure because of their racial or ethnic identities from a white majority concerned for it's hold on the larger cultural identity. She then goes on to talk about the diversity of family forms across different nationalities and why they arose. She concludes the chapter with a discussion about the factors behind the increasing rate of interracial marriage.
What I learned:
I was interested by the fact that, as opposed to the other racial groups the author discussed, Asian-Americans have such a wide array of familial structures. I thought that, since most Asian-American's are identified strongly with their national origin, there would be variation along those lines. However, I didn't realize that the variation also occurred across class, generational, and status lines.
Discussion:
I was disappointed that the author didn't go into identity with interracial couples as much as she did with the other groups. Personally, I'm a fan of DuBois' double consciousness, though I think it can be expanded beyond African-American identity. I'm curious what other people think about how being raised in an interracial family affects identity.
i have a biracial cousin and she struggled with knowing who she was. Her mother died when she was only 4 so her father had to raise her. but him not know how to raise a young lady he struggled to teaching her bout the other side of her race
ReplyDeleteI'm currently in an inter-racial relationship (I'm white, he's Asian), and I've often wondered about how my children (if we stay together) will be perceived in the future social climate. Hopefully by the time I have children, our society will have evolved to be more accepting of my hypothetical children, and they will not feel the need to choose between the racial identities of their parents.
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