24 abr 2012
Identity labels
Before this class I don't think I ever really thought about why I label myself a particular way. I've always said I'm Hispanic and Anglo, una coyota. But what does Hispanic mean? Why don't I say I'm Chicana, or Latina? I've been thinking about these labels, and they all mean something different to me. I say I'm Hispanic because (to me) that means I have Spanish ancestry. It's almost like it's specific to New Mexico. I have Mexican ancestry tambien, but I wouldn't say I'm Mexican-American because that would mean my parents or grandparents were born in Mexico. How I came to this conclusion, I really couldn't tell you. I wouldn't say I'm Chicana because for some reason that would mean I'm involved in some way with the Chicano Movement. And to say Latina would mean that I'm a native Spanish speaker. Is this weird?? These are all perceptions I have of certain labels, and I'm sure I've developed them based on my experiences with them. I don't think any of them are more positive than others; they just have different connotations. Do you all have different definitions of Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, etc.?
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Interesting you should ask ;) At some point in my childhood, I don't know, I must have been 9 or 10, I remember using the word 'hispanic' in a conversation with my dad about NM. I moved here when I was 8 years old and thats when I started hearing the term hispanic. My dad is from Santiago, Chile, and moved to the US when he was 18. He lived in Boston for many years but came out to visit us (my brother & me) in NM a few times when we were younger. Anyway, he suddenly got really irritated at me for using the word hispanic. It verged on anger, but he is an explosive type so sometimes its hard to tell if he is really angry or just loud and passionate.. either way, he could be really scary when I was a kid. I will never forget that conversation. He told me to use the word latino, not hispanic. He said something about the word hispanic being almost offensive and oppressive. He said it was a generic, political term created by the US government to undermine latinos and label them in a box....or something like that. He scared me and it worked. I didn't use that word for a looong time. Not until more recently actually, because I've realized it is the preferred term of a lot of people here in NM. It no longer seems offensive, but I do notice how most of my friends from south america or the islands don't use it. They overwhelmingly use the term latino. At least here in the US. Otherwise, they use the country of origin (chileno, boricua colombiano etc.) Interesting this labeling stuff....
ResponderBorrarWhat an interesting take on this! It's true that most people here say they are Hispanic, and it wasn't until recently that I've heard the term called offensive. On another note, why aren't there more terms for white? It seems that "white" people are always referred to in the same way, when they are of mixed heritage as well.
ResponderBorrarI find this stuff very interesting as well. I too have noticed that friends from South America do not use the term Hispanic often, but rather choose latino or simply state the country they are from. I think this is the case because they feel that it is an all encompassing group and stamps out individuality. The same happens with the term American, no? When people say they are American, I respond with a which American are you? I think often times people will say American thinking they are being clear that they are from the United States of America, but they in fact being very vague because America encompasses a territory that spans from the North of Canada down to the South of Chile. To be more specific, and to include individual nations or peoples, it would be more appropriate to specify a specific country or nationality, in my opinion. I also think it is difficult to put an identity label that is tied to race because how we define ourselves is not solely based on race, it could be one portion, but not the only factor. What about if you learn a new language and begin to communicate and express yourself that way? What if you become interested in family traditions and customs that were previously unknown to you, doesn't your identity change with these new developments? Does your race change also, or is that determinant on the physical characteristic of skin color? More questions than answers here definitely.
ResponderBorrarLike my mama says, you are who your mama says. Es lo que me dijo.
ResponderBorrarTienes razón, Profe. Y es por eso que yo no soy Anglo. To add to your discussion about the lack of terms for white folks, Carrie, I was amused to read Aubrey's older post about the term Anglo. I smiled when I read it because it reminded me of another conversation from my childhood, this time with my mom. She is 2nd generation Irish, with all her grandparents coming here in the 1910's or so. SHe grew up with her grandparents in the house with their accents, Irish dialects and all their Irish Catholic culture..and their propensity to hate on the British, their oppressors and the ones who forced English upon them, making Irish Gaelic almost go extinct (it is now back on the rise and offered in schools).
ResponderBorrarANYWAYZ, one day, my mom heard me use the term Anglo. Once again, I was 8 or 9, living n Gallup NM. ANd once again, I had inadvertently offended a parent. My mom's surprise soon turned into passionate anger. "You are NOT Anglo!!" She then went on a long rant about British imperialism and oppression, and reminded me that I am IRISH, for god's sake, and that ANglo means Anglo-saxon, or British...from England. Once again, its in the unique, beautiful land of enchantment that I had learned the term Anglo, and had picked up the term unaware of the consequences. Still, to this day, I avoid that term altogether, and I agree with Aubrey that its annoying to see it misused in all these articles. Pero ni modo, no me afecta & no me importa tanto. I simply dont use it, ESPECIALLY in front of my mom.... She needs to chill ;)
Just a note for us whiteys (offensive, I know). I decided Euro-American might be an ok term and used it here and there just to try it out starting a few years ago. Aside, from occasional scoffs it seems to go over alright. It does seem that more we can take the emphasis off of outer appearance when we talk about heritage, the better. But I haven't asked my Mom what I am. I'll do that on the way to class...
ResponderBorrarAnother note--one of my students last semester had very clear blue eyes and blond hair, but Spanish first & last names. He told me he was from Velarde and that everyone had always told him he had the best of both worlds. He could "pass" for white, and thus receive all the privilege conferred onto light-skinned people in this country while actually sharing in a heritage that is much richer, better that what white people have (this was the implication). He was an interesting person to get to know and I enjoyed talking with him, but this particular conversation left me disturbed. Maybe my truth is that my ancestors were so acculturated and homogenized so long ago, that now our heritage feels fragmented & lost. But surely there was something good about it, no?
Anyway, I've been to my Grandma's Irish-Newfoundlandish family in Newfoundland, Canada and there I found more culture than I knew what to do with, complete with a dialect all its own. My grandfather's people--mostly annihilated for being Jewish in Germany, and my dad's people--still playing bluegrass deep in the Appalachains. Everyone from a group of people that was once disparaged, but now acculturated and homogenized to the white tier of present U.S. society. So what am I? The product of a process hell-bent on defining power in terms of color at the cost of anything unique, special, different. Watch out everyone--if you're not careful, they'll soon have a "Brown" box to check on the census survey!