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What ethnicities do you identify as?
- Thread starter TaySan
- Start date
I would probably argue that Italian-American, Polish-American, Russian-American, and so forth, are distinct ethnic subgroups (i.e., they are distinct (white) ethnic communities that are not accepted or entirely accepted as members of their ancestral ethnic communities). I'm not sure how this intersects with identities like Japanese-American or Chinese-American, so I don't want to overextend here. That said, I think you could run the same argument from my post on those communities. Someone who identifies as Italian-American might not be accepted as Italian (culturally, linguistically, or what have you) by an Italian person. Like I have been arguing, ancestry is an important part of identification with some ethnic groups, but in general ethnicity as a concept is distinct from ancestry.
Here is an example. I recently watched an advertisement for a genetic testing company. The subject of the advertisement was your typical white North American. The person discovers that they have Italian ancestry, and suddenly develops an interest in pasta dishes. What is this commercial attempting to illustrate? Is there something about this person's genetic heritage that makes them like pasta? That makes them believe they should like pasta? I'm not sure, but my intuition is that we are seeing racist tropes play out on the level of ethnicity and culture.
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I am Australian, but my family is Welsh/Scottish on one side and English/ Southwestern French/ Breton on the other. I identify with some sort of European mongrel group.
I'm born and raised in the US. When would I identify as, German or whatever?
Yeah my wife is half Mexican and her 23 and me lights up the globe. And it's her Mexican side because her dad is 100% north European from the testing.
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I think both "American" or "German American" or xyz American works. It's how you feel you should identify yourself. German American can be considered it's own ethnic group.
I'm just a white dude. I avoid "identifying" as American because I hate that shit. The Pacific Northwest specifically is what I'm culturally connected to the most. I'd be happy to just say I'm from the PNW and cut out the "America" part.
Genetically, all Irish and that's where my family was from, but I don't really use it in a context outside of that and genealogy.
Genetically, all Irish and that's where my family was from, but I don't really use it in a context outside of that and genealogy.
I agree with the bolded part of your post. Unless they actually immigrated from Italy, there aren't any Italians in the States, and they wouldn't be recognized as such back in the old country, but if a 4th generation person says, "I'm Italian," it's always an identification with their ethnic community in the US. I'm sure there's a sentimental or romantic identification with the old country, but I don't think it goes far.
As far as the genetic testing commercials go, I think they're playing on the need for a lot of people to identify with something more interesting than Basic Blanco. As people left the ethnic enclaves, began inter-marrying with other ethnicities, and moved out to the suburbs, I think their children & grandchildren developed a disconnect from any real identification with a community, and the commercials are meant to appeal to those people.
I'm really white. I think my ancestry is German and a more distant Irish. I don't think about it too much aside from my place of privilege. I'm just a southern Californian dude.
People certainly identify their ethnicities as where they're born. Some people - particularly here in the US - have closer ties to their respective immigrant groups than others. I've really never come across someone identifying their ethnicity/ancestry as American before, so you're among the first! I identify closely with the Irish immigrant community of my grandparents because that's the community I grew up in. Other parts of my ancestry I don't identify as closely with either because relatives did not pass on that knowledge and partially because some of that cultural knowledge was destroyed.
I am a mixture.. Father is mixed with white/black, mother is Indian, i have chosen to identify myself as Indian makes life easier when filling out forms..
I mean, yeah, ethnically American doesn't make sense as it's not an ethnicity. But just in general I identify as American. Not German American.
1/2 irish, 1/2 English. On the English side we are a bit mixed. There is some Jewish, some Hugenot, and a bit of Norman. (we are descended from the angevin/plantagenent dynasty and some of my cousins are heriditary peers.)
Hispanic/Latino/Mexican, American
But when people first see me they assume caucasian which is understandable. I do look pretty white. I've been confused for Asian too which is funny. kind weird though.
I've tried to look up the origins of my last name and France came up. That might explain why I'm "guero" idk
But when people first see me they assume caucasian which is understandable. I do look pretty white. I've been confused for Asian too which is funny. kind weird though.
I've tried to look up the origins of my last name and France came up. That might explain why I'm "guero" idk
I'm white, but I only associate myself with clones of me. Everyone else is a big weirdo and all suck at an equal amount. Every race, gender, religion, all of it unless you are an exact DNA match as me.
I hate when people try acting like me talking shit about white people is some form of self loathing. There is only one of me.
I hate when people try acting like me talking shit about white people is some form of self loathing. There is only one of me.
I more or less agree with your assessment - no disagreement here.
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I can understand this. There is only one of me and nobody else can replicate that :)
I'm mixed, my mom's Puerto Rican and my dad was white, with the ancestry from that side of the family mostly going back to just England and Ireland.
I mostly consider myself to be Puerto Rican/Hispanic/Latina though, primarily because I have brown skin and very obviously don't LOOK white.
I'd actually love to do one of those DNA test things to find out my exact make-up because while my dad (before he passed suddenly last year) was big on the genealogy stuff, it was mostly on his side of the family and not my mom's that he did research on (they had divorced in 2001), so while I know a lot about that side, all I know about my mom's side is literally 'Puerto Rican'.
I mostly consider myself to be Puerto Rican/Hispanic/Latina though, primarily because I have brown skin and very obviously don't LOOK white.
I'd actually love to do one of those DNA test things to find out my exact make-up because while my dad (before he passed suddenly last year) was big on the genealogy stuff, it was mostly on his side of the family and not my mom's that he did research on (they had divorced in 2001), so while I know a lot about that side, all I know about my mom's side is literally 'Puerto Rican'.
I'm Austrian because I was born an raised here, and I got no immediate family to add to that.
You identify as all of those based on some genetic material? That seems so odd to me. Like.. Do you have any cultural connections to any of those?
White (some scots/irish/english, some german), and Japanese
Though if you look at me I just look like a dark haired white dude. My cousin who is also 1/4 Japanese is blonde and blue-eyed lol.
The few people to think I was anything other than your average white guy of western euro descent seem to think I am Bosnian or Albanian, oddly.
Though if you look at me I just look like a dark haired white dude. My cousin who is also 1/4 Japanese is blonde and blue-eyed lol.
The few people to think I was anything other than your average white guy of western euro descent seem to think I am Bosnian or Albanian, oddly.
Ethnicity from a genetic perspective, yes. Not sure how else to interpret ethnicity, it's not like someone says they are Tennessean as an ethnic group. My family had a pretty good idea of our ancestry and the genetic testing turned out to confirm it. Only surprise is that depending on the current data I have 0.1% oceanic.
My dad is white and my Mom is mestizo Mexican from Chihuahua (she's brown and looks native af tho)
I have fuck all to do with my dad's family and was raised in a city that's 90% second generation Mexican-American. I really identify with my mom's side more culturally. I also look like a lighter skin version of my mom and uncles so yeah I just say Mexican-America or mixed
I have fuck all to do with my dad's family and was raised in a city that's 90% second generation Mexican-American. I really identify with my mom's side more culturally. I also look like a lighter skin version of my mom and uncles so yeah I just say Mexican-America or mixed
I mean, I read "identify" differently I guess, despite the OP. To me, it's about being part of your identity. Some genetic markers just don't mean enough to me, I think.
Different perspective I suppose. The United states is so vast that i don't identify with it culturally, so when I see ethnicity I assume by ancestry. But if you live in a smaller nation with a more homogeneous, richer culture you may assume national/social ethnicity.
