A Bad Case of Stripes
- By David Shannon
I was introduced this book today in my Intro to Social Work class. We were split into groups and had to create a scenario as to how we would utilize this book for clients in either a individual or group setting.
The story is about a girl named Camilla. She is new to a school and begins drawing concerns with making friends and finding acceptance in her new environment.
While reading this we found many scenarios that we could use this book in and some that are very obvious observations. I don’t want to go in depth too much about the book because I recommend those interested to go to their nearest library and check it out.
- Cross-cultural differences
- Life transitions (i.e., changing to different schools, moving, work, families)
- Self acceptance and accepting others’ differences
- Labeling (racism, sexism, -isms, etc.)
- and more…
China's Dreamers: So my other Asian (and adopted) friend told me yesterday to stop trying to be a fake Asian.
I’m sorry that I really want to learn about my own culture. This is something that has always really bothered me. I just started to accept that I am Asian and I have been trying to embrace so it was kind of upsetting, but I understand that it takes different amounts of time for everyone to…
A Me By Any Other Name
By Jenny Zhang, culture
“What is it you want to change?”
I’m standing at the counter of the Registrar’s Office at my University talking to a lady named Vanessa. She starts scrolling through my records on the computer in front of her, and I can sense that she is already annoyed with me.
“My name. The name that I’m enrolled under at the university.”
She frowns. “What’s wrong with the one you have now, Jenny?” She glances at the computer screen to confirm that this is—indeed—my name.
“Because it’s not my real name.”
This statement is met with silence. I immediately realize this makes me sound like a shady con artist, one of those people they feature on shows like 20/20 or 48 Hours Mystery. I mean,” I stammer, “I need to change it to my Chinese name.”
(click here to read more)
ATG Against The Grain Productions PSA
Asian American Identity Development
From Kim J. (1981) The process of Asian American identity development.
1. The Ethnic Awareness Stage begins around the ages of 3-4 when the child’s family members serve as the significant ethnic group model. Positive or neutral attitudes toward one’s own ethnic origin are formed depending on the amount of ethnic exposure conveyed by the caretakers.
2. The White Identification stage begins when children enter school where peers and the surroundings become powerful forces in conveying racial prejudice, which negatively impacts their self-esteem and identity. The realization of “differentness” from such interactions leads to self-blame and a desire to escape their own racial heritage by identifying with White society.
3. The Awakening to Social Political Consciousness stage means the adoption of a new perspective, often correlated with increased political awareness. Kim believes that the civil rights and women’s movements and other significant political events often precipitate this new awakening. The primary result is an abandoning of identification with White society and a consequent understanding of oppression and oppressed groups.
4. The Redirection stage means a reconnection or renewed connection with one’s Asian American heritage and culture. This is often followed by a realization of White oppression as the culprit for the negative experiences of youth. Anger against White racism may become a defining theme with concomitment increases of Asian American self and group pride.
5. The incorporation stage represents the highest form of identity evolution. It encompasses the development of a positive and comfortable identity as Asian American and consequent respect for other racial/cultural heritages. Identification for or against White culture is no longer an important issue.
For those of us who are Asian American, this might provide some insight and clarification into our own experiences. For those of us who are not Asian American, I would stress that White Identification is a difficult stage that some never move past.
Identity development models like these are flawed in one way: identity isn’t linear. It’s not as though you make it to stage 5 and boom, you’re done, you’re enlightened. A change in environment may trigger someone who was in stage 5 to progress to stage 3. I’ve heard identity described as a spiral staircase; you are always moving forward, and each step is unique, but you can look back on all the steps you’ve taken.
(via fascinasians)
Pathos of Asian Adoptees Twitter
Pathos of Asian Adoptees is a space for dialogue for Asian Adoptees. They can uniquely share experiences from their own perspectives. These experiences help bridge the gap between some Asians and Asian Adoptees alike and help others understand through socio-cultural issues, adoption policies, and the journey of identity searching.
Adoptees Don’t Just Feel Foreign Around White People
What people forget is that I look Chinese, but I’m not linguistically Chinese.
What people fail to understand, or rather, cannot understand, is how it feels to be in a room full of people who look exactly like you, but the way they act and speak is nothing like you in the slightest. What people fail to understand is how demoralizing, frightening, and subconsciously intimidating that is.
And what does that make me, if I’m Caucasian-raised and end up in a Chinese environment not of my doing (ie. work)? White? Asian? An Asian-who-is-really-white? A “white” person who just has Asian skin? Someone who “bridges” between two cultures just because she looks like one ethnicity but is culturally of another?
It’s April 1975. As the Khmer Rouge takes control of Cambodia, a small orphaned girl, Li-Da Men, is flown out of the country. Eventually, she ends up as the adopted daughter of an affluent British couple and has a privileged upbringing whilst the country of her birth is returned to Year Zero. Now, twenty six years later, Li-Da returns to Cambodia in search of the truth: the truth about her past, the truth about her country’s past and the truth about what is going on in that country today. It is a journey which forces Li-Da to re-examine not just her past and her opinions, but also challenges the way in which the West regards Cambodia. Many people come forward believing they may be related to Li-Da, often travelling long distances at their own expense: none searching for a rich Western relative, all searching for personal peace, having lost children and sisters during Cambodia’s bloody war and its aftermath. This powerful film is the story of that search.
Born Identity: Adopted Asians Returning Home to Adopt Their Own
ST. PAUL, Minn.—When Rebecca Eun Hee Viot speaks of her daughter Ruby, her tone expresses a love that clearly transcends words.
“She has basically done what no husband or therapist or boyfriend or girlfriend has ever been able to do,” Viot said. “She’s basically quieted my heart.”
Viot, a Korean adoptee, grew up in the Midwest feeling a disconnect between her US life and her culture of origin. But, through Ruby (in photo above), her adopted Korean daughter, Viot has filled a void within herself.
Over a half-million children in the United States are adopted, and 60 percent of Americans have either been through the adoption process or know someone who has, according to the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a New York-based nonprofit devoted to improving adoption policy and practice.
Culture Heritage Camps
Connect with your roots and branch out to others with the same background as you. These heritage camps help people learn about themselves and each other.
Oh, you mean you’re Chinese, right?
(via jfitzlin)
