So, What Are You?
- Valerie F. Castillo (Iowa State University)
Abstract
It is human nature to assign everything to a known category, including our identities. When in discussions of race and ethnicity, this is a lot more complicated than what meets the eye. The “multicultural” racial classification is still misunderstood in our society and requires clarification. It is difficult for some to divide race, and to avoid the unknown we feel more comfortable assigning people to a specific race than have it be ambiguous. “Where are you from?” “What are you?” are common questions referring to racial characteristics, but the real messages behind these questions are “How do you want to be classified?” “Pick a racial group for assignment.” Join us for an interactive discussion with multicultural persons who struggle to explain their backgrounds for cultural acceptance.