As a child, growing up in a predominantly Hispanic middle class community in East Carson California, I never felt different from anyone. I did not understand what it meant to be a little Mexican brown girl until I moved to a different part of Carson at the age of 12. From the day I was born to the age of 12, I had always lived in East Carson where it was predominantly Hispanic. I was raised in a household that incorporated our Mexican culture and traditions. My grandparents came from a generation of “Machismo” but the “Machismo” skipped the later generations of my parents. My parents and my extended family were very supportive and encouraged me that my gender was nothing to hold me back and constantly reminded me that I had American privilege and opportunities that they did not as immigrants. I never understood what they meant until I reached adulthood and everything became apparent. As an adult I did come to understand that my gender would be an issue to the outside world both in Mexican and American culture. Furthermore, I came to understand that I did indeed have American privilege as my immigrant parents and other family members did not. To be successful in America as a Latina meant I had to replace my traditional Mexican values with the one’s preferred by the Western world. Coming from a family of immigrants I started to understand that Mexicans were the outsiders in the States because we were the unwanted. However, I did not understand what my family meant by
Growing up I knew that being Mexican made me a subordinate group member because I witnessed how my family members struggled to find employment in the United States. “The family has been identified as a primary agent of ethnic socialization
As many immigrants arrive in the United States of America and begin to call it “home”, comparisons between such immigrants are certainly inevitable. In particular, the U.S. Hispanic population gives more room for such comparisons since their cultures and traditions are very similar. Most of their similarities stem from a common Spanish heritage. However, there is a lot more to being Hispanic than just speaking Spanish or eating rice and beans. What most people do not understand is that there are also many differences amongst Hispanics and that, most of all, there are many differences between people born and raised in Hispanic countries and people born and raised in the United
1. How can an understanding of the complexities of culture help us make sense of the day-to-day world which we live? Give an example from your life to illustrate your answer.
Because my neighbor is considered suburban it often gets a bad rep. A lot of people think that suburbs are boring and aren't interesting. As this suggests, the problem is also cultural. For the most part, American culture and opinion are still created, even in the Internet age, in cities at either edge of the continent. If intellectuals do deign to look at the suburbs they assume that so much banality must be hiding something deeply
Violence and discriminations against Mexican-Americans was experienced as negative affect that was organized in segregating our society in such places as the labor market, residential setting and in the educational system. Although many countries have overcome, name calling various ethnic groups they also struggled for equality and respect. However, people in America have placed a racial connotation in the minorities groups. Mexican Americans and Mexicans are one of the minorities in America that have been categorized and degrade to derogatory names. They have been considered lazy, dirty, unable to speak English and uneducated. Many people have a wrong image of the Mexican race because of the way they act and the way they dress therefore was assumed that all Mexicans are like that. Segregation has always been an obstacle that made an impact in our society and has change history with laws that outlaw any sort of discrimination towards others. Parents had an important role to changes that have been made in the history. The parents were the first ones to arrive to America because they wanted a better future for their children. Parents find the motivation in helping each other by supporting other parents to fight for their children’s right every step of the way. In the research I have done I will be addressing the many issues that the Mexican and Mexican Americans faced to earn the equality here in America in the labor market, residential
American culture has been referred to as a “melting pot.” Different cultures have added their own distinct aspects to society, making America a diverse country. Despite the plethora of cultures, certain norms, mores, and folkways are evident in American society. These ideas are vital to the function and stability of America. They provide guidelines for what is acceptable and not. In virtually every society, there are people who engage in deviant behavior and do not abide by the values that the rest of society follows. Theorists have debated if people are socialized into acting this way and if it is a social or personal problem. The sociological study of culture focuses on norms, mores, and folkways.
I am a U.S. born citizen. My parents moved to the United States in 1984 without knowing anything about this country. Looking for a fresh start and new opportunities, my parents settled in Houston. With hardly knowing any English, my parents knew this was the place to make dreams become a reality. Luckily, I had older siblings to look up to whenever I needed help. Like Lahiri, I was trapped in between two different cultures while I was growing up. At home, I only spoke Spanish, but in school it was English. My habits and customs were different than others. Life as an immigrant’s offspring can be very difficult. As I grew older, I allowed myself to open my eyes and see the beauty of being an American from Hispanic descent.
Thesis: Although Mexican-Americans are legally considered white, the inequalities and discrimination they face show how they fail to receive the social benefits that come along with this label.
Culture is a very vital part of the world as we know it today. There are very many different cultures all around the world. In the USA, we have a mix of all the different cultures and and family values. From the original Native Americans that inhabited America to the Middle Eastern people in Afghanistan. These people groups have brought their language, food, values, and customs with them.
I was intrigued by these differences in perspective, and attempted to understand why this was occurring. I first asked my parents, as I was only in the fifth grade, and their answer was simply that we were different, and that that wasn’t a bad thing. Feeling displaced, I began to question everything that I did on a regular basis, and if there was a proper manner in which to act for someone in my situation. The constant choice between my Mexican and American identity was always present.
American Lore is just like any other lore it has myths, legends, and fairy tales, but American lore shows the history of America and how we live today, with a twist to the story. With Legends, myths, and fairy tales it expresses the way americans think and how creative we can be to come up with these stories from things that could actually happen. Legends are based on historical facts Myths are based on religion and gods and goddesses. Fairy Tales are made believe not real, includes special creatures. Tall tales and legends are more based in American lore and is heavily based on history and the many traditional stories that are spread from generation to generation. American lore is based on, “power social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources. Achievement which is a personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards . Hedonism pleasure or sensuous
Growing up Mexican-American is similar to living a dual-identity. It feels as if I’m stuck in-between a border where I am unsure if I’m more American or more Mexican. Mexican-Americans have to live a life of proving themselves to the world. Am I Mexican enough to my family and am I American enough to the people of the United States.This idea was new to me even though I had been living with this.
I am a young female Hispanic of Mexican decent that I am indeed proud of even though I never wanted to admit it due to all the negativity going on with being Mexican. I am considered a first-generation American born in Georgia and raised in the Rio Grande valley. I am the youngest and only female of three, sadly but fortunate they left a permanent impact on me both positive and negative. They are a big part of my life that have helped mold me into the women I am today. I am grateful that I am the youngest because older siblings just consistently make mistakes after mistakes and thanks to those mistakes I learn from them and I’m careful not to commit them. I am also considered a minority due to my gender and roots, which is sad and completely irritating because being labeled as a minority isn’t really a good feeling, making me feel like if I am less and powerless just because of my gender and ethnicity. Having to hear all the negativity occurring in the country towards minority and women and all the inequality occurring, I would have thought that in this era all the unequal treatment over gender and ethnicity would be vanished but as I grow older I realize that has
American culture refers to the traditions and practices of the people of the United States. Culture comprises of the nature of buildings, religion, music language and marriage. The population of the United States is more than 320 million people making it the most culturally diverse country in the globe. Books such as Crabgrass Frontier, Manifest Destination and Muscular Christianity are important sources of information about American culture. This paper is a reflection on the methods that these books use in providing information about the evolution of the US culture. The paper examines the relationship between these three sources and ways they challenge or inform an understanding of the American society during the late 19th and early 20th century. There is an analysis of the efficiency of the issues tackled by these books in influencing the contemporary discourse surrounding American culture. The major argument of this paper is that Crabgrass Frontier, Manifest Destination and Muscular Christianity provide reliable information about the evolution of the US culture and they supplement each other through the use of relevant examples.
The United States of America being the third largest country in the world with more than 315 million inhabitants, consists of multicultural societies with ethnically diverse population. Since there are a lot of foreigners, the US culture has evolved in such a way accepting and tolerating other foreign cultures. US is very much influenced by protestant work ethics according to which people believe in themselves and their efforts to attain the goal of self-actualization and success. The rich diversity in the culture brought by foreigners, prevailing values of protestant ethics, hard work etc. have helped US to emerge as a superpower in the past years. Nearly every religion had its impact on US culture in one way or the other. The