My Social Identity: The Oppression Of The Latinos

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My social identity was something that I had always struggled with and as a child I believed that it was something that was happening to me exclusively. It never occurred to me that there were people out there, who were in the same position as me. Reading about the oppression the Latinos/as faced, I was able to identify with their experience in many aspects. Although our social identities were different, we still shared a lot of the same troubles and faced the same oppression. One of the things that I could relate to, was being able to recognize my social identity but not being conscious of it. I was unaware of my gender, class, and ethnicity, however, I could not grasp the significance and value that my group holds in a social formation (Hurtado …show more content…
For example, in the 1940s to the 1960s, the Pachuco/Pachuca aesthetic was very popular. Wearing the zoot suit was considered anti-American and they were often beaten down and stripped of their clothes. They were seen as “delinquents” based on racial stereotypes and despite that they continued to wear it in public (Barbara section week 4).This shows that they were proud of being Latino/a because they did not mind going through extreme measures to publicize their social identity. Although the Vietnamese aesthetic faced less harsh treatments, I can still relate to the experience they went through. I was never beaten or stripped of my clothings, however I faced constant criticism for the way I dressed. The Vietnamese aesthetic involved a lot of embroidery and bright colorful, which was not the mainstream aesthetic at the time. At first, I reacted the way everyone would; I wanted to get rid of my clothes but I couldn’t afford to do so. This is also the reason why, in my Loteria card, I had myself covered by the American flag. I wanted to hide my cultural esthetic because it was a display of my social identity. However, after I came to accept my social identity, I felt no shame in dressing the Vietnamese aesthetic. In fact, rather than being ashamed, I actually felt empowered, much like the …show more content…
Being an immigrant and being a lowerclassmen, I was always encouraged to do well in school. My whole life, from elementary school to high school, revolved around studying. I was so focused on doing well in school that I never really got the chance to socialize and hang out with my friends. As a result, I became really shy and timid. I like keeping things to myself, and the thought of vocalizing my thoughts scared me. I feel like a lot of Latinos/as can relate with me because when you come from a lower income family, there is always a big emphasis on getting an
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