One of the things I've found most interesting throughout all of our readings is the struggle that every Asian American goes through when attempting to conform to American societal norms. We read in Shirley Lim's article about the internal struggle Asian immigrants went through when trying to appear American without compromising their ethnic roots and heritage. America has always had an ingrained fear of otherness and change. This is a clear motivator as to why immigrants would adopt American pastimes and beliefs, but is it the only reason? I believe that too much emphasis is put on that contributor when really there are multiple reasons why immigrants began to “conform” to American culture.
Have you ever noticed that after hanging around a certain friend consistently for say, a week, you begin to pick up some of their mannerisms and quirks? Its because you see it so often when in their presence that your subconscious begins to take up their mannerisms and then you being reflecting them yourself. I think that this had a lot to do with the reason Asian immigrants wanted to conform to the societal norms. With such an overwhelming presence, American culture couldn’t be ignored. Older immigrants tried to uphold and carry on cultural practices from their homes, but it became harder and harder as immigrants became more attuned to the surrounding culture.
Although the pressures of American citizens’ judgment of immigrant otherness was a huge factor in desires for assimilation, I think that the natural conformation to the surrounding culture is often overlooked. Maybe the truth of the matter is that some immigrants began to immigrate more naturally than others by simply “waiting it out” while others more actively tried to conform to the societal norms. What tactic would you take? Actively trying to change of sitting back and letting it happen? Or a mixture of the two? I don’t think I could ever make the distinction personally, but could you?
My parents came to the United States in their late teens and I think they had to face the issue of how much they should assimilate and whether to conform to the American ideals or not. But I think the bigger dilemma was how they were going to raise their kids. Both my sister and I attended a bilingual education preschool. Until we began school, however, we didn't speak a word of English. Then when we got to grade school we took Chinese lessons after school. I think my parents managed to give us a pretty good balance of both cultures. My mom cooked Asian dishes most of the time, but we also ventured into other cuisines. Like the stereotype Asian, I played piano, but I also did gymnastics and played volleyball and took art classes. To this day I have a good grasp on my Chinese culture and its traditions, and I can still speak Cantonese pretty much fluently. I feel like I have also adapted the right amount of the American culture to say that I am truly Asian American. So to somewhat answer your answer, I think a mixture of both is a good way to go; both putting yourself out there and trying to assimilate, but also sitting back and staying true to your own culture.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kirsten's idea that too much emphasis is put on that contributor when really there are multiple reasons why immigrants began to "conform" to American culture.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned in the article, Older immigrants tried to uphold and carry on cultural practices from their homes, but it became harder and harder as immigrants became more attuned to the surrounding culture. For example, a very interesting phenomenon is that in many Asian American family which, The dialogue with children and their parents, the parents speak Chinese but is more a child to answer in English. The language gap is great, not to mention more The culture.
More important question is, since the selected groups of immigrants may have been that the presence of yearning and longing for American culture. As Kristen said, they are waiting to be Americanized. Even if they (older) heart has insisted that their children may not inherit their choice.