Analysis of the Myth of the Latin Women and the American Dreamer - Essay Example

Ethnic Views Cultural conflict is much pronounced in the western world due to the large numbers of immigrants who settle in theseareas from all areas of origins. Cultural conflict occurs when an individual tries to establish themselves in a foreign culture while at the same time trying to hold their native cultures, a condition that results to a high contrast between the natives and the immigrants and in most case leads to stereotyping in both the parties involved with the immigrants being affected psychologically and sometimes physically. Settling in a different context would also result to cultural conflict where the dominant group isolates the minorities due to ethnic and other differences. In this text two incidences; the myth of the Latin women and the American dreamer will be explored to portray how cultural conflicts occur and lead to stereotyping. Fredrickson, M. George put forward four models of ethnic relations and how they are embraced as well as their effects on the affected parties. In this case one-way simulation, a model that tries to forcefully integrate the immigrants into the new ways of the native people in America will be analyzed in the two narratives above and the specific cases outlined to relate the cases occurrences with the model as postulated by Fredrickson. The American dreamer The American Dreamer is a narrative of an Indian woman; specifically from the Bengali speaking tribe who went to study in Canada in the 50s only to be met with harsh racial sentiments and highly contrasting cultural perspectives that makes her to forget her real identity in a confused racial conflict situation. The hierarchical classification society that she was used to was replaced by a contradicting westernized lifestyle that encompasses virtually everything that her cultural background describes as social norms. The westernized ways of life such as 5 minutes wedding in a lawyer’s office was the climax of departure from a well structured cultural that the writer has abandoned and tries to fit in to a different cultural perspective that is not welcoming. This makes the writer and her family to move to the United States, where she becomes a committed immigrant from being detached onlookers that she had been reduced to. The writer later becomes an advocate of integration among cultures and critically discourages the idea of cultural retentions, a view that did not go well with many scholars and especially those of Indian origin who blames her for leaving her culture, and advocating against those cultural lines in America. The writer describes America as having a good bill of rights meaning, that there were chances of equal treatment among the cultures with increased advocacy. Analysis From the story above, Fredrickson model of one way assimilation is evident in both the Canadian and the US platforms though on a lesser extent on the latter. One way assimilation recognizes that humans are equal in treatment and rights, but on terms that strictly specify that the native or dominant culture; in this case the American culture is more superior, pure and has to remain unchanged by the immigrants or new cultures from outside the American culture (Frederickson, 635). This was observed when in 1994 when the Florida Lake country School board announces it policy that required that all middle class teachers to instruct their students that American culture, meaning the European-American culture was “inherently superior” to other foreign or historic cultures. The case of some of Indian born academics in the US campuses appointing themselves as the guardians of the purity of ethnic cultures also portrays a case of one way assimilation, and this explains their disgust with the writer’s efforts. The myth of the Latin woman This case is a case of stereotyping and culture a conflict between a student of the Hispanic origin and the English culture in Britain. The student is humiliated and undergoes psychological torture as the English speakers isolate her due to her Hispanic looks and view her as a sexual object or a woman that has to be more trained on sexual issues as compared to the English ladies. In addition, the English people portray a case of stereotyping as viewed from daddy who tries to tease the writer with Hispanic songs that he understands little of. The sex orientation in which the student is being portrayed by her peers and other English people is a case of stereotype that they have for the entire Hispanic womenfolk of being romantic and of a lower class as compared to the English woman. Analysis The one way assimilation is viewed from the fact parents of the Hispanic girls are strict on their dressing code to maintain their Hispanic origin and resist the new English culture. The stereotyping of the Hispanic women as being good housekeepers, waitresses and other lower jobs is also one way assimilation as most of the Hispanics women do not try to climb up the ladder and view themselves fit for these roles; perhaps by being suppressed by the dominant natives. As Cofer explains, this has led most Hispanic women and especially in the United states to fail in upward mobility in professions (Cofer, 207). Fredrickson (636) argues that in one way assimilation, nothing of the immigrant culture is presumed as being worth to preserve. This is observed from the critic of the Latinos dressing codes that is viewed as being odd and uncivilized in that the girls seemed to wear everything at once (Cofer, 205). The above writings portray the extent to which cultural conflicts occur, and their effects on the immigrants or the minorities who are in most cases exploited through psychological abuse. This is observed in Cofer’s case, where the English natives view the Hispanic women as more deserving in sexual advances, and being romantic as compared to the native girls. In Canada, Mukherjee explains of the conservative nature of the natives to embrace foreigners and this even makes her and her family to relocate to the US. Therefore, both the cases portray the stigma of cultural identity against dominating cultures that criticize and view the immigrant cultures as having nothing worthy to maintain. The immigrants still cling to their “cultural orientations” though living in different lifestyles and this creates more confusion and crisis in cultural identity. As Mukherjee explains to avoid these stigmas, it would be advisable for people to embrace cultures according to their localities and situations and avoid clinging to their cultural backgrounds in foreign settings. Work cited Cofer O. Judith. The myth of the Latin woman http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/hdh9/e-reserves/Cofer_-_The_myth_of_the_Latin_women_PDF.pdf 5th dec. 2011 Fredrickson M. George. Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective http://www.uhd.edu/academic/colleges/humanities/english/documents/Frederickson.pdf 5th dec. 2011 Mukherjee Bharati. American Dreamer. Mother Jones (Jan/Feb, 1997). http://motherjones.com/politics/1997/01/american-dreamer?page=2 5th dec. 2011 Read More