A Domestic Third Culture Kid

The concept of Third Culture Kids was rather interesting to me.  Of course the article and much of the concept refers to kids who have lived abroad, away from their home culture for a portion of their lives.  I think that a similar experience can be had for children who move domestically.  I for one, was born in Denver, moved from Denver to Cleveland, Cleveland to Boise, Boise to Cleveland, Cleveland to Boise, Boise to Cleveland, and Cleveland to North Carolina all before I was 18.  Each time I moved to Cleveland, we moved to a new suburb. Though the cultural changes are not nearly as drastic as someone who moves internationally, there are distinct similarities.  For example, the idea of constantly coming and going, and lives always changing, as well as the backdrop of physical surroundings fluctuating is relevant to my experience (Polluck 17).  Also, much of the moving happened in my developmental years, when my sense of identity was being shaped.  I have often attributed my ability to adapt to change to these years of my life.  It instilled a sense of adventure and lack of fear for things that were new and different.  It also seemed to connect me with friends who were “new” to the school.  And though it is all within the states, the culture in Boise, Idaho is quite different from that of Cleveland, Ohio.  The cultural changes were something that I was able to see at a rather young age, making me more aware of my surroundings and appreciating the new friends I was making and the ones that were in the town I previously lived.  I found this video on Third Culture Kids.  I laughed at the beginning part when the interviewees were asked where they were from, and all of them had this blank look on their face, silent, not certain how to answer.  Though I’ve lived in Denver for six years and am from here originally, I still do that sometimes when people ask me where I am from.  I noticed it the most when I was in college and people would ask where I was from.  I now have accepted the term, “I am from here,” but it took me a while to get used to feeling comfortable calling Denver home.

http://vimeo.com/41264088 

Proposed New Handicap Sign

Perhaps one of the more recognized signs, at least without words on it, might be International Symbol of Access, or the handicap sign. A stick figure sitting down upon a wheel is demarcates reserved parking spaces, accessible bathrooms, seating areas on buses, and numerous other areas designed to provide access for the disabled. This sign that you, and others throughout the world, know so well may soon change however. A group called the Accessible Icon Project is calling for a new logo as an alternative. Both are pasted below. The one to your left is the proposed new version. Here is a story from Slate that led me to this- Slate Article. 

As they note in the article, changing this symbol could help the public to redefine its assumptions and beliefs about disability. The sense of movement and activity in the picture on the left is greatly contrasted with that of stasis and immobility on the right. Loja et. al. (2012) note that “ableist thoughts and practices undermine the physical capital of disabled people; it is annihilated by architectural and attitudinal barriers.” The traditional sign is just one example of this concept has it portrays disabled people as immobile and stationary. It creates a sense of wanting to help the individual and guide them to where they want to go. Contrarily, the alternative picture shows that the disabled are capable of moving themselves.

The juxtaposition of these images further highlights the unseen ways in which ableist society others those that are disabled. A picture that some would see as society’s way of reaching out and providing disabled people with easier access to everyday places actually serves to produce a stigmatized view in the ableist mind.

Loja, E., Costa, M.E., Hughes, B., & Menezes, I. (2012). Disability, embodiment and ableism: Stories of resistance, Disability & Society, pp. 1-14.

Oppressed Majority

Oppressed Majority

                A common theme in our class has been identity and how it is created. We know now that our identities are not merely a makeup of biological properties manifested in our personalities and perceptions. We are affected mentally and behaviorally by the way people respond to us. We read that Sara Palin found it necessary to convince her party’s base that she was both motherly and strong in order to fulfill the gender expectations of her target electorate. While ascribed and prescribed identity definitions are a way we make sense of the world they can become pernicious weapons to marginalize and discriminate. I recently watched a short film by Eleonore Pourriat, which reverses gender role expectations. The film’s name is ‘Oppressed Majority’, here, and opens with what appears to be a simple story about a man going about his day. What is quickly realized is he lives in a society dominated by women, each of whom exhibit stereotypical ‘male dominant’ behavior. At first the role reversal comes off light, almost comical, as women act in cliché male behavior. However, there is something much more sinister at work here as the man’s life spirals downward, out of control by the way women constantly barrage him with insults and intimidation. None of the women in this film are sympathetic toward this man’s feelings, and while this is obviously an exaggeration, it is a necessary one, used to convey how piercingly debilitating gender norms may become. The film is a quick journey through the subtle stereotypes which weaken positive self-identity, eventually metastasizing into the highly toxic ones which destroy it.

Mexican Diaspora: De Donde Soy? 

            When someone talks about Diaspora, people usually automatically think about the Jewish Diaspora; never does someone think about the Mexican Diaspora. What does that mean? Mexicans are dislocated? Rinderle discusses in her article that Diaspora is a physical as well as cultural dislocation, and that many Mexicans and Mexican-American find themselves suffering from Diaspora. It was a concept that my brothers and I spoke about without realizing what exactly we were talking about. We constantly argued how technically we were living in Mexico because Colorado used to be part of Mexico, and I never thought about why we were trying to justify living in Mexico as opposed to the United States. No, I never felt like I really belonged here, I always felt like I was happier and more relaxed back in Mexico where we always went at least once since I was a baby. So why is it that I feel this way, why is it that I feel the Diaspora personally? In theory doesn’t Diaspora affect all Americans, so why don’t they all feel the homesickness and yearning to return to the homeland? Who knows, even one of my brothers feels like he is a true blue American, even spoke English fluently years before my other brother and I. I guess it depends on what type of identity we identify with more strongly.

Resources

Rinderle, Susana. (2005). The Mexican Diaspora: A Critical Examination of Signifiers. Journal of Communication Inquiry. V. 29, 4. 294 – 316.

New Life, Identity and Concerns; living with a life-threatening disorder

Our topic last week really hit home; disability and identity. As some of you might know, I recently developed a severe tree-nut allergy. An allergy is an auto-immune disorder where the immune system is over-reactive and sensitive. My immune system misinterprets the proteins in nuts as a foreign toxin trying to attack my body. The response floods my body with histamines and T-cells that create such a sever reaction that my blood pressure drops quickly, my throat tightens and I risk passing out and having a heart attack. Exposure is cumulative, and each consecutive reaction is more severe than the last. I am required to carry an Epi-Pen and Benadryl on me at all times lest I am exposed. The goal is to minimize risk in my life as much as possible, so I avoid eating a whole variety of processed foods, deserts, cuisine typical of nuts, restaurants with nuts on the menu, etc.

I’ve never really thought of my allergy as a disability though, nor do I really feel comfortable with describing the situation as such.  But according to the Allergy and Asthma foundation of America, it is one of the most pervasive disabilities and disorders, affecting 1 in 5 Americans at roughly 60 million – more than cancer, heart disease and diabetes combined. The amount of people developing food allergies has grown 15-20% in the last 25 years in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, which are the countries with the highest food related allergies. It is true I can't enjoy many of the things I used to and am restricted in ‘normal’ habits, but I generally felt the term 'disabled' should be reserved for people who had a major debilitating illness or a physical or mental handicap that kept them from functioning as a 'normal' member of society. Part of the reluctance in identifying myself as disabled, I think on a deeper level though, is that I never liked the idea that I might be 'defective'.

When I first developed my allergy it was a major shock, and I used to tell everyone about it. I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t really like talking about it though. There’s many reasons for this fatigue, but I’ve realized part of it is because its awkward reacting to some of the pity responses. Pity was the word that stuck out to me during our discussion. I certainly understand that it is a normal empathetic reaction, and no one means it in an offensive manner.  Overall, I am deeply grateful for the concern and compassion people give. But it does get exhausting having to explain Food Allergy 101 to people. It’s also just really scary and disconcerting that most people have almost 0 knowledge about these common disorders and conditions.

I have had some bad interactions with people regarding my allergy, especially at restaurants. For some reason in the U.S. and most of the world, people who handle food are not required to have any basic knowledge in food allergies, sensitivities and the mechanics of cross-contamination and risk.  It’s only been recently that food labels started posting “May contain ____” or “Processed on the same equipment that handles ___” and this is still not an official mandate by the FDA. It’s primarily done by food producers as a customary measure and to reduce liability. Since restaurants aren’t required to post their ingredients, this makes for a difficult situation. Red Lobster and Olive Garden are the only ones I know that have an actual “allergy” menu and tell you what each dish actually contains. Pizza Hut and Dunkin Donuts are good examples of businesses that are not transparent about their contamination issues and have compromised the safety of many of their consumers.

Many times I’ve asked servers to check with the kitchen staff if their (insert high risk product here) is made in a facility with nuts. Most of the time this request is met with fear, as they realize they know nothing about it and don't want to end up 'poisoning' me. The more defensive individuals will proudly declare “there are no nuts in it." That’s the surest way to reveal that they have no clue how allergies work and what cross-contamination is, and that I should probably steer clear of most everything on the menu.

I can't tell you how dependent I am that other people understand food allergies and anaphylaxis; friends, family, co-workers, food servers, chefs, etc. Seeing what a high demographic suffer from this disorder and the high risk of death associated with exposer, why isn’t there a better job in our society educating students about this in health classes, and also holding the food industry to a higher standard?  Right now the only way to inform is one-on-one interactions and hoping people take the initiative to research and educate themselves, but I have few expectations here granted I don't even think anyone in my family has ever taken the time to google it or read up and depend on me to tell them everything.

Overall, why aren't we educating our society better about illnesses, disorders and disabilities as a whole? As we discussed and saw in the presentation, there are elements of shame and embarrassment from the disabled community that would greatly be helped with better education, appreciation and awareness by the general public.

http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=9&sub=30

Othering and Body Types

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance- Othering

http://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/the_issues/health.html

As we’ve discussed othering and media representations of various communities this week, I was reminded of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA).  A while back, I read some NAAFA’s issues on their site and was unsurprised to find that larger individuals received mistreatment and discrimination in healthcare, the workplace, and in schools seeing as these individuals are negatively represented in the media.  From The Nutty Professor to Shallow Hal to Tommy Boy, people who are overweight, obese or just bigger are portrayed as lazy, lacking in self control, weak-willed, poorly hygienic, and undesirable.  This is parallel to the patterns found in a study of 400 doctors which are posted on NAAFA’s website.  The negative attitudes toward large individuals also spills over into the workplace and in schools where the overweight and obese employees are perceived as “slovenly and unambitious” and teachers have “lower expectations for overweight students than thinner students.”

The strange thing about this type of sizeism is that it’s infiltrating into other cultures like Mozambican culture where bigger bodies are seen as healthier, wealthier and more desired.  As a result, among the less developed and more traditional communities people shun the frail-looking bodies and favor larger bodies, and among the more developed and westernized communities (like the capitol) people are desperately trying not to get fat despite the increase in high-glycemic food in these communities.

Somewhere Between

I recently watched a documentary called Somewhere Between about four girls from China who were adopted by families in the U.S. The director and her husband adopted a girl from China and she wanted to examine how her daughter’s development of identity would be different from her own. Through four different stories the director hopes viewers will “come to understand more fully the meaning of family and the ever prevalent cultural disconnect between stereotyping and race.”

There were a few scenes that stuck out to me more than the others. The first that struck a chord, was a scene in which one of the adoptive mothers was in a beauty salon with her two Chinese-adopted daughters, and the woman in the chair next to them told the girls, “Congratulations for getting to come to America.”

The idea that they had escaped and were getting a better life because they were adopted seemed like a perfectly rational reaction to hearing that they had been adopted from China. The woman went on to ask if the youngest daughter was happy that she was in America.

Another was the struggle the girls all had to define themselves by the use of the terms Chinese and American. As one of the girls said, “I am a child stuck between two countries.” She said she couldn’t call herself Chinese American, but neither did she feel comfortable saying she was simply Chinese or American.

The idea that they were white on the inside and Chinese on the outside was expressed by multiple Chinese adoptees. Their avowed identity is constantly being questioned by others who ascribe an Asian American identity on them.

Martin and Nakayama (2012) looked at identity management in their chapter on why people should study IIC. Identity management to them is “the way individuals make sense of their multiple images concerning the sense of self in different social contexts.” Each of the girls questioned whether or not to go to China to meet their birth parents and those who did seemed to feel differently about their identities as a result.

One of the questions raised in the beginning of the film is whether or not international adoptions are a good or bad thing, and to add to that, whether they should be done at all. How do you feel about international adoptions and do you have a personal connection with someone who has been adopted from another country? How do they deal with issues associated with their multiple identities?

Here is the link to the film’s website. The trailer provides a glimpse of what the film is all about.

http://www.somewherebetweenmovie.com/

If anyone is interested in seeing the film in its entirety, it is available at the DU library.