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It's amazing how the things we discuss in class always are in the news!
When it comes to the Census...how do we define ourselves? Which box do people check? Watch the vids that were in the news 3/31. One is about biracial students from WA. The other is about confusion on filling out the Census forms. So interesting!
To me, it's not surprising that the younger generation is more inclined to check multiple racial identities in the Census. I think it shows how people are proud of all their background and showing the progress that has been made in racial matters in the US. Of course it's not perfect, but I do believe that there is a step in the right direction in many places within America.
ReplyDeleteThis year, it was really interesting that they decided to put on the form that "Hispanic" is not considered a race and rather left a whole smattering of other races to choose from. My roommate is from Ecuador and was completely stumped as to what to mark under the race category. No, she is not African-American, White, Native American, etc. She did not fit any of the the categories listed under races and didn't know what to select because she has always identified herself as Hispanic/Latina. For something as stupid as the census, my roommate suddenly had a temporary identity crisis because the racial parameters she had been so accustomed to were no longer present on this form and she was at a loss how to explain herself to the census. (In the end, she marked the "other" category and wrote in "mestizo", just like the man in this video.)
ReplyDeleteI think the Census' control over what defines a particular race is rather interesting and frustrating. We all know that race is not biologically constructed, but rather socially, so it is open to change over time I suppose. Perhaps it is a lapse in my understanding, but I thought it was odd that things such as "Japanese" or "Chinese" were listed specifically under Race. Aren't those more of ethnicities or groups tied to a specific country? With the same logic, Irish, Cambodian, etc. and some would even argue American should be listed as well as to not exclude certain groups. For the most part, racial definition is pretty broad but it seems like the census made it too narrow in scope. Race and ethnicity have very blurry lines and there is a lot of grey area. I think sometimes it can be frustrating when a survey such as the census forces people to choose and fit into a socially constructed box that perhaps they don't feel right identifying with, such as in the case with my Ecuadorian roommate.
I think that in the next ten years and the years following, census forms will be harder and harder to fill out in the race category. If someone who is half white & half latino now, marries a black person, what will their kids' race be? I think there needs to be an easier way, or maybe just get rid of the race box altogether.
ReplyDeleteI am proud to be mixed race. While filling out my census I was excited to mark more than one box while my roommates could only mark one. Growing up, my grandma told me to take pride in my Native American ancestry.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching the segment on the confusion of the hispanic to race, I began to understand why it was confusing. My friend asked me about it since I study censuses often and I honestly had no answer. I think race is important to know but there does need to be an easier way to mark it.
Why is there even a race box? Is the ethnicity box not good enough? I'm fully White, so I can't relate to those who are mixed. I am pro colorblind society, so I don't see the need in a race box. I believe we should recognize our cultural and ethnic differences, but not our skin color. And like the videos said, 10 years from now the children will be even more mixed than they are now. How many boxes will they get to check off? I feel like it is just going to get too complex and complicated and people will eventually lose track of the percentage of this or that race they are. It does not matter in the end. We are all American.
ReplyDeleteSnowboardgirl:
ReplyDeleteTo those who are not "fully White," race does matter. It matters because racism exists and places those who are not "fully White" at a disadvantage in society. Skin color matters because discrimination based on skin color affects the kinds of jobs people get (or don't get), how they are treated, in which neighborhoods they live, among many things.
Being colorblind ignores the reality of racism and discrimination that has been and is a part of our society. Our society is a white-dominated society and gives preferences to whites. If you try to ignore color and give all the same opportunities, whites will obviously have a great advantage and minorities or those of a unfavored skin color will not gain access to the same opportunities.
I agree that it will be complicated in the future but race was never an easy thing to understand. It does matter in the end.