The Other Box

This is probably the most important piece i've ever written. This is simply my own personal opinion based on what I've experienced in my 19 years on this planet.

To whom it may concern, this is probably the most important piece of writing i've ever written. I almost couldn't even write it. I spent an hour crying over my free write, terrified at what people would think. Those who love me have told me that it's great. My professor said it is worthy of publication, although she never emailed me back... So I thought I would present this to the world my own way. Hopefully I can inspire someone, or at least change some perspective. 

The Other Box 

Sara M. Headley 

University of South Alabama

  Imagine you are in the 3rd grade again. You and your classmates are excited because there will be cake at lunchtime today which begins in a few minutes. Today, the class is practically jumping out of their seats. There will be cake at lunchtime, which begins in a few minutes. The bell rings and the sound of twenty something little feet rising simultaneously breaks the  bored silence of time table practice. Instead of naming the new line leader, your teacher tells everyone to sit and returns to her desk, taking out a folder. She says that before we leave, she has to fill out the class census. She counts the boys and girls and carefully explains that now she has to line the class up by race to get a count, she says that this is just something the school needs to document and it didn’t mean anything bad. You don’t understand what she meant by “bad” but you watch as she first calls up the white kids, then the Black, Hispanic, Asian, and finally the one Indian girl. Everyone is lined up, except you. You wait on her to call your group, but she doesn’t. Your classmates stare at you, some are whispering, others look impatient. Your cheeks burn and you break  out in a sweat. Your teacher calls you up to the line, leans down and whispers, “Why aren’t you in line?” you respond equally as quiet, “You didn’t call my group yet.” Your teacher knells down and shows you that there are only six groups there, you can’t read the words, but you see that there are indeed only six groups. She asks if you know what race you are. You look at your classmates in their groups. None of the groups seem right, and you realize that you don’t really know. Now your teacher looks confused. She asks if you know what race your mom and dad are. That one is easy. Your mom is African American and your dad is Caucasian-Hispanic, your proud that at 8 you can say all those big words. You wait for her to praise you and finally tell you what group your in, but she doesn’t. Instead her eyes move all around the room, looking anywhere that isn’t your face. She flips through the folder for a minute and you wonder why she looks so nervous. After a minute she tells you to go stand with the black kids, but you know that that isn’t right. Before you can question her she turns away and begins moving the line. At lunch you keep catching glimpses of your classmates staring at you. You barely touch the chocolate cake you were once so excited for. After school you tell your mom what happened. She doesn’t react at first, almost too shocked for words. She leaves the room to call the school and you can hear her yelling at your principal. Once that’s over, she calls your dad and they talk and argue for what seems like hours. You feel angry too. Why won’t anybody talk to you or answer your questions? You just want to know what group your in. 

 The term ethnic identity is not a phrase heard on a day to day basis. While there is no official definition, notable social scientists provide their own interpretation of the term. British social psychologist Henri Tajfel defines ethnic identity as a part of an individual’s identity that comes from their knowledge of membership in a social group, along with the meaning and emotional attachment to that membership (Tajfel 1981). The English form of  identity originated in the 1560s, derived from the Latin word identitas meaning “sameness”. Identity is the very essence of human nature. That yearning for self-definition and self-understanding rests at the heart of the human experience. Because of human consciousness, our existence is not just basic survival, we long to thrive and have productive meaningful lives. This is the role that identity plays. We come into this world as a blank slate, nothing more than tissue and cells. The development of conscious identity is the foundation of a person’s life. Your own personal identity is the Sun that your whole life will gravitate and revolve

around. Identity is the burning inferno that gives light to your life. While there are numerous components to identity development, most of which occur during adolescence, there is one in particular that begins during early childhood, and continues through adolescence. Ethnic identity is the basis of self-concept and is heavily influenced by culture. How society views its various ethnicities is an important factor to how ethnic groups will perceive themselves and thus affects people’s individual identity. In American society, racial tension has always occupied a large portion of history and is still apart of day to day life today. In a way, our society has not changed too much when it comes to equality. We still categorize people into ethnic “boxes” in the huge storage unit of America. In these ethnic boxes contains “files” on how society stereotypes people and how they will be treated. The files however, are not set in stone, and  change as time and society progresses. 

  The narrative in the beginning of this paper actually happened to me in the 3rd grade, and I never forgot. This was the moment I saw race and I saw my own ethnicity, which was unknown at the time, and it marked a lifelong battle with my own ethnic identity and the formation of my whole identity. For many years I was not sure which box I belonged in, so I metaphorically stood in a corner and watched everyone in their boxes. Since I did not fit inside a norm, I was an outsider which had a detrimental affect on my mental health. Then one day, I said no. I refused to be inside any box, or let anyone categorize me. I left the storage unit and started my life, embracing all parts of my ethnicity. While I am late, this got me back on track to developing my identity. Because I did not choose a category, I believe I have become the best version of myself. Those who let society put them in these boxes and let stereotypes affect their own ethnic identity compromise their whole identity and alter their life. This could prevent a person from exploring certain interests and prevents them from becoming their best self and achieving all that they can in life. The solution is to not completely remove race, which is impossible, because ethnicity is apart of our self and its good to recognize ethnicity and its cultural aspects. We must learn to see ourselves as equals. While everyone may look and act different we are all the same on the inside.  We cannot let society divide us any longer. We have to rise above stereotypes and recognize everyone for who they are, not what they are. 

  Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson, creator of the lifespan model of development, when asked to describe the importance of identity said, “In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity,”(personal communication, 1978). Identity is not a singular notion, it is made up of many different identities developed over time. While some people do not believe that certain parts of themselves do not play a huge role in their identity, nevertheless those factors are apart of individual identity. TheCriticalMediaProject, a website founded by University of Southern California Annenberg provides educators with information regarding media literacy to encourage students to think critically about media messages and the politics of identity. In a post, they challenged the question, who are you? Here they explain that there are key facets of identity�" like gender identity, ethnic identity, and sexual orientation among others. These identities play a significant role in how we individually understand and experience the world, as well as the types of opportunities and challenges we face (“Concepts of Identity,”n.d.). 

  Ethnic identity is significant to identity, especially to minority groups. Research scientists Linda Charmaraman and Jennifer Grossman conducted a mixed-method study to explore the importance of racial-ethnic identities of 923 high school students from Black, Latino, Asian, and Multiracial backgrounds. The participants were asked to rate the importance of race-ethnicity in their lives and to write about the meaning behind they’re rating. The results presented that Black and Latinos had the strongest sense of ethnic identity while Asian had significantly lower results. Unsurprisingly, Multiracial adolescents reported the lowest levels of racial-ethnic centrality and had the highest levels of uncertainty. A potential theory being that they struggle with racial centrality because they have no set group belonging. Possibly many of them too stand in the corner of the storage unit looking into the ethnic boxes. Ethnic identity is identifying with ones cultural background, knowing where you come from and the values and traditions your culture has influences other parts of your identity like your morals and/or religious beliefs. 

  While many revere that one’s ethnicity is a major part of their identity as well as other key facets of identity, others would disagree. There are people who do not believe that their ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender play a huge role in their identity. Those people would be those affected by privilege�" white, straight, male, with possibly no religious ties. Those who believe that minorities only define themselves by their race, are misguided. Taking the stance ‘race doesn’t matter’ is much easier than recognizing race. Most white people in the U.S. do not acknowledge their own racial identity because they do not have to. Identifying with your ethnicity does not mean it defines you. It is just one of the many parts of identity and it is apart of everyone’s life. 

  While the art of White Privilege and those who believe that race does not matter is a problem in modern society, stereotypes are an even larger issue. Stereotypes put labels on people about how they should act or live their lives based on their gender, personality, race and many other parts of a person’s identity. In his book Difference and Pathology: Stereotypes of Sexuality, Race, and Madness, cultural and literary historian Sander Gilman examines the necessity of stereotypes that everyone creates and cannot function without them. In the book’s introduction he completely explains the concept of stereotypes (1985), “The creation of stereotypes is a concomitant of the process by which all human beings become individuals. Its beginnings lie in the earliest stages of our development.”(pp. 17) We begin creating stereotypes during our childhood in response to our anxieties over our loss of control over the world as we become more and more distinguished with it. Children begin adjusting their mental image of people and objects so that they can be “good” even if they are “bad”. As adults, we continue to create stereotypes when we feel threatened and it is our way of dealing with our every changing perception of the world. Of course we do not always use stereotypes to momentarily sate fear. This is when we cross the line of the difference between the “fear” and the individual and are constantly aggressive towards the real people that are stereotypically related to the fear. Now think about American history. In early America, Africans were brought over to be sold into slavery. In order to sate their fear of these unknown, black creatures Americans created negative stereotypes that would still shape societies view on African-Americans 300 years later. 

  An e-journal created by the Department of Women’s Studies at the University at Albany called Transcending Silence, reconstructs the history of one of the most well known African American stereotypes, The Mammy. The author, Jennifer Kowalski regards American history’s selective remembering of the histories of both women and non-white minorities are not worth mentioning for future generations unless they were included in something related to white men, “The less powerful groups of society, based on class, race, gender, and sexuality, have been forced to cope with the history which has been written for them.”(Kowalski 2009) The word, Mammy first appeared in a travel journal in 1810 in association with a slave woman caring for white children. 

The Mammy was always portrayed with a signature wide grin and huge, white teeth. She represented constant contentment and a comedic spirit, that served as a symbol to slave owners that maltreatment was not necessary to stay in control. Usually obese with an ample bosom and large rear, which defied beauty standards of the time, showing that she would be no threat to white women and could not tempt husbands. The Mammy stereotype is still used in media today, "The Pine-Sol Lady" or Tyler Perry's “Madea" are both not easily recognized representations of Mammy. 

  When we challenge the concept that in society, stereotypes and categories prevent people from becoming the best they can be, but we must remember that also categories, stereotypes, and the whole concept of race, is not one hundred percent negative. Race as a whole, is a social construct meaning, it is completely fiction. While scientifically there is no strong correlation between race and our genetic makeup,  the social construct of race affects every aspect of American life that has real consequences and effects. Race shapes the way we see ourselves and others and is conceptually unstable. In his book, A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America, multiculturalism scholar, Ronald Takaaki dramatically retells our nation’s history from the eyes of the minority. In the book, race is a social construct only created by the defined power of the dominant social group. This powerful group sets the terms of race with the basis of biology. If you were black, you were biologically less than a white person. This color line was drawn so the white population could maintain control over the freed black population after they completed their indentured servitude. Although the entire concept of race is made up just to separate people into similar groups, the culture and history that comes from races is completely real and once again is apart of the formation of our identity. 

  Despite the fact that science has disproven the thought that race actually made people genetically different from one another, still theorists, (racists), argue that the inferiority of some countries, Africa for example, has almost been underdeveloped for centuries while other nations rose up. These theorists clearly missed the history lesson that most of the world was poor up until the 18th century with the start of the industrial and agricultural revolutions. Africa could have potentially rose up at some point in history, but slave trade, abuse of power by other nations, and over use of resources by said nations kept Africa from rising up in the past. Another theory is that the proven scientific differences in physical characteristics such as skull and bone structure, and muscle fibers, prove that race is not a social construct. These are just parts of genetic ancestry tracing back to where people originally came from and evolved to survive their environments.  

  Today we are fortunate to live in a society where you can decide who you want to be based on what you believe, as long as it is not illegal of course, and have your own individual identity. In this country the government does not dictate any choice in your life. So in a society that believes in individual freedom and rights, why should we be forced to be in these contained categories of our ethnicity? We should not and will not. We as a complete and whole society must recognize that yes we have cultural differences. Yes, we all look different, act different, and feel differently on various topics. But, we must remember that we are all members of one race: The Human Race. 

  

                                                                                               Reference Page 

Charmaraman, L., & Grossman, J. M. (2010). Importance of race-ethnicity: An exploration of Asian, Black, Latino, and Multiracial adolescent identity. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(2), 144�"151.

Concepts of Identity. n.d. Retrieved from:

Gilman, S.L. (1985). Difference and pathology: stereotypes of sexuality, race, and madness.( 16-17). New York, NY: Cornell University Press. 

Identity. Online Etymology Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Identity: Key Concepts | The Critical Media Project. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Kowalski, J. (2009). Stereotypes of History: Reconstructing truth and the black Mammy. 

Transcending Silence. Retrieved from:

Takaki, R. (1993). A Different Mirror: A history of multicultural America. New York,NY: Little, Brown and Company.  

Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories. New York: Cambridge University Press.