Gloria Anzaldua
I should preface this with the fact that I'm not expecting this blog to be all that great. I've read the piece twice now, and the constant changing of languages confused me and made it more difficult to understand, but I'll give it my best go. The general consensus of the article as I saw it was exploring what it's like to be bi-racial and/or bi-cultural and the inner and outer experiences that she (the author) has been through on a personal level.
The way it seems as though the author really begins to break it down is the idea that you face multiple struggles as a bi-racial person because you have to find a way to identify and earn acceptance into every culture. One of the things she referenced early in the piece (and I can't remember it word for word), but was talking about what it's like to live in America, yet not be "white", and the whole idea that people are "accepting" of her, but not actually accepting. She's there, but she doesn't feel like she truly belongs, so to speak.
Another thing I took from it was the struggle of being involved in more than one culture, and the idea of being "sandwiched" between the systems that those cultures employ, and the struggles she faces as a result. I definitely understood the basic gist of what she was trying to say, but honestly I don't feel as though I'm confidently writing this because there are some things I need cleared up. The idea of the bi-racial and bi-cultural struggles makes perfect sense and really drives home the struggle that many people all over the world face, and for what reason? It makes no sense to me that a person should be defined by where they come from, but that's the way it is, and for many, they constantly experience an inner-struggle that many of us may never pay attention to. Personally, I can't imagine what that must be like and I think the author does a good job of painting just a small picture that gets the idea going in your head--why aren't we more accepting of people?
So many problems that are caused socially (violence, war, rape, negligence, suffering), and that's just a broad spectrum, could probably be greatly reduced if people were willing to put themselves in the shoes of others. I sympathize with the author, and yet I have no idea what she's really been through, or what anyone in her position has been through. That being said, I still feel as though it's something that is worth discussing.
I look forward to discussing it in class and trying to explain my own viewpoints on it, but hopefully also learn from the others who read it and really get a strong understanding of the idea as a whole.
I found the above video to be really interesting and recommend watching it if you have the time. In the video, the woman talks about trying to identify herself and the struggles she's faced being of mixed backgrounds.
Question: What did others who read this take from it? I know for sure I'm missing some things that I should have picked up on.
You did a really good job with the response. I think the only other thing worth mentioning is how she talks about the positive side of being biracial. She talks about how those people who are multiracial could possibly be the answer to bring races together and ultimately create racial equality.
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