Activity Five: Avowed vs. Ascribed Identities

My avowed identities include being a student, female, young adult, heterosexual, intelligent, and athletic.

My ascribed identities include being a child, student, female, grown up, heterosexual, not so athletic, and caucasian.

I received the ascribed identity of being a child from my parents, but more so from my dad. He would always ask if I understood what something meant, which most of the time it was obvious that I should know what was being discussed. He would also do the "because I said so" line even through my late teens and would never give me legitimate reasons for why I couldn't do something. My mom treated more like a child in the sense of doing things for me. She always made my bed and did my laundry and I don't think it was because she thought I wasn't capable, but because she wanted to feel like she was still taking care of me. The student identity is ascribed to me by my professors and also by other students. Obviously if I'm sitting in class and paying attention I'm there for my education and am a student. While being a female is an identity I agree with, it was also ascribed to me from the day I was born. Everyone sees me as a female because I look and act like a female. My nieces and nephews have ascribed the identity of grown up to me because I take care of them often and am much older than them. I am seen as heterosexual probably by most people but especially by my church community and my family. I would greatly disappoint them if I were any other sexual orientation and they don't even see it as a possibility. While I see myself as an athletic person, most males probably do not. I am very coordinated and can catch, throw, and run, but because I am a female I am seen as not as capable as men are at these activities. The last identity I listed as being ascribed to me was being caucasian. Because my ethnicity isn't very obvious I am just seen as being white by everyone.

The ascribed identity that I fought against the most was being treated like a child, and I only fought the way my dad treated me as a child, not the way my mom treated me as a child. If my dad would tell me I couldn't do something but not give me a reason as to why I couldn't do it, I would still go do it. I felt just saying no wasn't reason enough for me to not be able to go have fun with friends or whatever I wanted to do. Every time he asked if I understood something I would get really smart about it and make some comment about the fact that I go to school and do learn something. The other identity that I tried to rebel against was not being very athletic. I grew up with four boys and if they wanted to fight with me I would fight and I wouldn't give up easily. In high school I played soccer and I would practice with the guys and I would slide tackle, which the girls weren't supposed to do. I really didn't like that girls' soccer was more limited than guys' soccer. I felt we should have the same rules as the guys because we were capable of the same activities.

Question: Which avowed identity that you have of yourself is compromised the most by your ascribed identities?

Activity Four

This activity really made me realize how little I know about other cultures. I could think of people from United States history, but when it came to other cultures I could really only come up with people from current popular culture. I started thinking about my history classes and how little we talked about other cultures.

I think it was definitely easiest to come up with examples of white men, especially for the earlier examples. I would say this was the easiest group just because it's what we learned about in school. I remember having to memorize all of the Presidents in order and they were all white men up until Barack Obama. That made it easy to come up with a white male for each century. I would say the next easiest category was white females because I could think of many of the first ladies.

I would say I could remember more men than women, but for the current century I think it was easier for me to come up with women. Men are emphasized more in politics and in sports, but I don't pay a whole lot of attention to either of these. For me it was easier to come up with female singers or actresses. I feel like now that women are shown in a more sexual manner that we see them more frequently. I can name many more female models than I can name male models.

I would have to say that middle eastern cultures are really not emphasized here in the United States. I could think of some Asian people and of some Latino people, but I literally could not think of any middle eastern people other than the bad ones that are shown on the news. The only form of middle eastern culture I could think of that has been incorporated into our culture is Slumdog Millionaire. This movie came out about a year ago and I can't recall any other examples of middle eastern culture from before that film.

I feel like some groups aren't talked about in our history because they were discriminated against for a very long time and even if they did do something important no one documented it or worse took credit for it. Also for a long time people of different cultures weren't allowed into our government or other important establishments or roles which is what we learn about in school. Also, some cultures that are very prevalent now probably weren't before the 1900's. I don't know when people from the middle east began moving here but it seems like it's been fairly recent. It also seems that when people immigrate here they tend to live in communities with other people from the same region to maintain their culture and their language and we don't become involved in these communities.

Question: Should schools place more emphasis on the history of other countries? Do you feel that it is extremely important for us to know our own history more than the history of other countries?

Activity Three: Ethnic Background

I have always known that I was mostly German and a little bit Polish, but I have never really discussed my family history with my parents or grandparents. My family doesn't really know how the Polish ended up in there, but they do know some things about our German ancestors. The generation that came here from Germany was my father's grandfather's grandfather, so I guess that would be my great great great grandfather. They came here in the 1850's to escape political unrest in Germany. My grandma's family on my dad's side came over around the same time for similar reasons.

I really don't feel that my ethnic background influences who I am a whole lot. There might be a couple of things that are typical of German people, for example not being extremely talkative. I discussed this with my mom and she said it was probably because when everyone came over to the United States they were very poor farmers that worked all the time and didn't have the energy or the need to talk all the time. This characteristic must have stuck around because this is very true of my entire family and myself. None of us are very outspoken and we definitely don't like being the center of attention. It also seems pretty typical to be stoic and not really show very much emotion. This is also very evident in my family. I have seen my dad cry once and have literally never seen my mom cry. It works the other way too with showing excitement.

While I don't think my ethnic background has a huge influence on me, there are many factors that have shaped me into who I am. I think the most influential aspect is that I am the youngest of five children, and am also the only girl. My brothers were my role models and I copied everything they did. I still act like a girl, but I cannot stand drama and petty little issues. I would rather be on a boat or out in the woods instead of sitting around and talking. I would rather socialize with people through doing adventurous activities than just asking questions and receiving answers. Another aspect that has shaped my life is my family's financial standing. I didn't grow up with very much money. It was never a problem but I do feel that I appreciate everything I have because of it. I also feel that it made me a more creative person because I had to find things to do that were inexpensive instead of just going to a movie all the time. I also feel that it made me a hard worker because nothing was ever just handed to me. I'm very strong-willed and when I want to do something I do it and I believe it's because no one spoiled me. Another aspect is that I grew up in the country. I love being outside and running around barefoot. I do like to shop and go to the cities sometimes but if I had the choice I would rather hang out on the lake and go swimming and jump off rope swings.

I think it would be pretty hard to tell what my ethnic background is. I think there is enough "other stuff" in me that it's not really obvious. The only thing that could give a hint about being German is that I have very blue eyes, and that could be typical of other ethnicities as well. I really don't think it makes a difference as to how people communicate with me. I feel that the fact that I'm a woman would have more of an influence on how people talk to me than my ethnicity.

Question: If you were an ethnicity that was obvious to other people, do you think you would feel different about discrimination or about racism?

Activity Two Observation

For activity two we were supposed to observe in a place that we do not normally go. I was having a difficult time deciding where to go because I am a person who will pretty much go anywhere and try anything. As I thought about it though I started thinking about parents and how they would differ from me. I chose to go to Glen Park, which I do go to fairly often, but I observed at one of the playgrounds where all the parents and children hang out. Because I don't have children this is not normally where I would be found in the park.

When I decided to go to this place I wasn't really sure that there would really be anything interesting to write about, but there definitely were interesting behaviors. I focused more on the parents, particularly mothers, more than the children because the children do not really know social behaviors yet.

The behaviors that I noticed I thought were quite humorous. If a mother was holding a child she was either pacing back and forth or shifting her hips from side to side. If two people were talking it was typically about their children or it was somehow family related. Their bodies were facing their children quite literally the whole time and they tended to stand far away from other adults. I also noticed that adults won't address kids other than their own. They will smile at them though and if the child says something the adult will respond. If a child starts crying everyone is looking to make sure it is not their own child. I also noticed that when a child is hurt or crying the parent of that child does a half run, half walk over to their child while all the other parents watch to make sure the child's parent is coming to help.

From these behaviors I realized that there are many unspoken rules when it comes to children. Firstly, swear words or inappropriate conversation are not acceptable around children. It was also very apparent that each mother was solely responsible for their own child or children. Each mom had to make sure their child was safe and was behaving. There also seemed to be a rule about space as each family had claimed its own little area.

I really had a lot of fun watching these people interact with each other, but as I realized how exclusive families are, I couldn't help but think about societies where the children are raised by the entire community. Because I have never been around children and parents in this type of situation I have never realized how little socialization there is between the adults. It seems odd because children will talk to anyone and everyone and make new friends while they play, but the adults seem to do the exact opposite. My question to go along with this activity is: Do you think parents should only be responsible for their own children or would a communal society be more beneficial?

Far and Away

The movie “Far and Away” tells three stories of different people who leave Ireland to find land and success in the United States. Their reasons for leaving Ireland vary greatly but the challenges they meet when they do reach the United States are quite similar.

Each individual or group had a different reason for leaving Ireland in this movie. Shannon was the daughter of a wealthy landlord and compared to most people in Ireland at the time had an ideal life. But because of her family’s status, Shannon was expected to be a proper woman by her mother. She left for the United States because she was strong-willed and wanted to be herself. Joseph on the other hand came from a poor family. His father had just passed away and his family’s home had been burned down on order of their landlord who happened to be Shannon’s father. Joseph went to their home to kill Shannon’s father but failed and ended up going to America with Shannon. Shannon’s parents left for the United States after an angry mob burned their home and they essentially left due to fear, but also wanted to reunite with Shannon.

Despite the fact that Shannon and Joseph were from different socioeconomic classes they faced many similar challenges. Joseph arrived with very little money, and Shannon brought silver spoons to sell to make money. She trusted a man named Mr. McGuire with her spoons but he stole them from her. Because of this they were both very poor and had to work in a chicken factory where they made little money. They had to share a small room. Being poor was a challenge for Shannon because she had never had to work or worry about money. Joseph also struggled with trusting the wrong person. He quit his job at the factory to be a boxer where he made much better money but as soon as he lost a fight, his manager, Mr. Kelly took all of Joseph’s money. Joseph and Shannon became homeless and were forced to wander the streets and beg for jobs, but because they were Irish no one would hire them. Their expectations of America were not actually met when they arrived there. They thought they would be handed land and life would be great, but tat was not the case due to being taken advantage of and due to racism.

After losing everything, Shannon and Joseph break into a wealthy person’s home to find food and shelter. Shannon is shot after the homeowner returns to find them there and Joseph brings her to her parents so she can live. He is not allowed to stay with them and has to go elsewhere. He finds a job and is alone for a while but eventually is reunited with Shannon at the land race. He buys a horse that is well trained but this horse dies and he is forced to buy a horse that is untrained. This works in his favor though because the horse is very fast. Because of this horse Joseph is able to find the grassy field with a river running through it for him and Shannon to live on.

Did the government aid immigrants in any form during this time period?

Do you think it is easier for immigrants now because the government does assist them?

Two Truths and a Lie

I am 20 years old and already have four nieces, three nephews, and another niece on the way.

I went skydiving for the first time last year in Baldwin, Wisconsin.

I have vacationed in Mexico three times; twice in Puerto Peñasco and once in Cancún.