The Interviews Conducted with Two Females of Different Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds - Research Paper Example

Your full April 16, Interview Analyses This paper is an analyses of the interviews conducted with two females of different racial/ethnic backgrounds, named Martha and Priyanka. Both were female, and were of the same age. They lived in the United States, and shared their experiences regarding their racial identity. Martha was born in USA but to a minority family; while, Priyanka migrated from India to USA for studies and employment. Both belonged to minority groups, and had to share their experiences that they had during their studies and employment. Both revealed many dark and bright aspects of belonging to a different racial identity. They exposed facts that were shocking and disturbing but interesting at the same time. This paper reflects on their responses, and highlights the similarities and differences in their racial identities and experiences. When asked about their racial identities, Martha replied that she belonged to an Africa-American family; while, Priyanka was an Indian Asian. Both of them were unmarried, and were working in their respective workplaces. Martha did not seem to be very happy while describing her racial identity; and, it indicated toward her harsh experiences that she had to suffer from, just because she was a minority. It seemed like it was a bit uncomfortable for her to respond to the interview. Priyanka was confident despite the fact that she came like a stranger to this land, and studied and worked here. She did not seem to be very sensitive about her racial identity which revealed when she discussed if she was happy with her being an Indian Asian in a white dominant country. She responded that she felt proud of her racial identity, and that she was happy that the laws that protect minorities’ rights in employment gave her much security. This shows the effectiveness of the government’s steps toward providing spiritual and physical security to the minority ethnic groups in USA. Martha described that she also felt secured due to the anti-discriminatory laws. She felt quite sad on the behavior of the whites toward the African-Americans. She told that her parents had also had to bear harsh experiences due to their African descent. It is important to state here that anti-discriminatory laws have been very much successful in providing equal opportunities to the minority racial and ethnic groups in USA, so that the talent and expertise of minority racial groups does not go wasted just because they are looked down upon by the historically dominant group in USA. Major factors that have shaped African-American identity include socio-cultural influences of white oppression since slavery trade, and the racial discrimination resulting from it. The slavery trade resulted in snatching away the sense of identity from the African-Americans, as happened with Martha’s ancestors; but with the rise of African Diaspora, they were able to regain some of their identification through a revival of religious and cultural practices. But still, white oppression remains to be a main social factor that shapes their sense of identification even today, and this was what Martha’s sense of identity revealed. She felt fear and hopelessness, and frustration expressed through her way of conversation and tone. Such frustration was not reflected in Priyanka’s conversation about her sense of identity. This might be because she spent the major part of her life in her own homeland where she inherited a sense of security and belonging from her ancestors, unlike Martha who received a sense of strangeness and inferiority regarding the racial identity inherited from her ancestors. Identifying with other racial and ethnic groups is also a major problem with the people of other races in a white dominant country. Martha responded that she identified with Asian Americans, Chinese Americans and other many other minority groups, but she did not identify with the dominant races of Americans and Englishmen. Even Europeans seemed to be strange to her. Racial discrimination, as we have understood, has resulted in unexpressed hatred and strangeness in the hearts of the people belonging to minority races. This hatred has resulted from old age oppression that the whites showed toward the blacks; and, despite all the protection offered by the government, the traces of hatred have not vanished completely. The insecurity still remains and the frustration is still there. Martha was a true example of this kind of hatred and frustration, as she expressed her experiences of racial discrimination at many points in her life. She called the behavior of whites as “demeaning behavior”, and had also mentioned earlier that she did not want to study further because she disliked how her teachers preferred white students to students belonging to other races. This behavior demotivated her from extending her educational qualifications. On a similar note, Priyanka also did not identify with the Americans. She identified with the people belonging to Pakistan, Chinese and Iran. She also identified with African-Americans. This was because she felt that she shared the same kind of experiences and feelings with minorities. She stated that she felt a kind of strangeness with Americans because they did not understand her very well. Here, the cultural differences also jump in. Martha belonged to the same culture as the historically dominant group of the country she was born in. There were no cultural differences. Still, she was facing a kind of frustration linked to her racial identity. Priyanka, contrarily, belonged to another race, and another culture. She had to face double discrimination- racial and cultural. Still, she was not as unhappy as Martha was. This led toward another very important conclusion; that is, the sense of racial identity the ancestors possessed in their times had a strong impact upon the descendants’ sense of racial identity. Martha’s and Priyanka’s ancestors had different kinds of racial identities, confidence or frustrations which they passed on to their descendants. The similarity in them was that they both identified with the minorities, because they felt that they shared the same kind of bondage; while, the difference between them was that Priyanka had a sense of confidence and maturity in her behavior which Martha lacked, and the credit goes to the racial identities they had been born with, and the honor attached in case of Priyanka’s racial identity, and the stigmas attached in case of Martha’s racial identity. Racial identities also have great impact upon the interpersonal lives of people. Martha had a very small social circle; while, Priyanka had a huge one. The difference between the sizes of their social circles led to the sense of identity they had. Martha was an introvert. She did not like to make many friends. She was in touch with no one but a few friends from her childhood. She had a Facebook account but she did not like to add many people. She avoided Americans. On the other hand, Priyanka liked to add many people to her online social network; and, was in touch with relatives, childhood friends, and friends from college, university and her workplace. This helps understand what role racial identity plays in persons’ interpersonal relationships. One who has a sense of subservience suffers from inferiority complex, and thus, refrains from making many relationships; while, one who has been born with a confidence linked to the racial identity likes to meet people and make friends. Martha and Priyanka were good examples of this aspect of racial identity. Not only interpersonal relationships are affected, but racial identities are also strongly linked to experiences in various aspects of professional life; however, anti-discriminatory laws have greatly impacted the experiences. Martha and Priyanka discussed what their sense of racial identity and experiences had to do with their lives at their respective workplaces. Although they feared having being subjected to prejudice, yet they stated that since their companies implemented anti-discrimination policies, so, they did not have to face any kind of harassment related to their racial identities. Martha had to face some difficulty in finding a job since whites were preferred, but finally she got a job of her choice. Priyanka also had no issues at her workplace. Hence, Martha and Priyanka were very comfortable, and finally, they were at peace with their respective racial identities. It is important to discuss what strategies must be employed in order to remove this kind of potential discomfort while one talks about his/her racial identity. Martha was throughout uncomfortable talking about her racial identity- something that Priyanka felt at ease with. It is important for the interviewer to make the other person feel at ease. Developing friendly terms with the interviewee belonging to another race or ethnic identity is important for the latter to express his/her emotions properly. It is also important to assure the other person that he has got equal rights as all the other persons of the society, and that the insecurity he has is totally her own self-created and not real. When the person, for example Martha in this case, will feel that the society does not recognize her as inferior and takes her as a worthy citizen, she will start shedding off her frustration and hopelessness, and will work to bring out her full potential that will not be linked to her racial identity but to her personal competencies. Read More