Frontlines and Borders: Identity Thresholds for Latinas and Arab American Women

The Essay titled Front-lines and Borders by Laura M. Lopez and Frances S. Hasso compares Latina and Arab American women and their racial ethnic and gender identities at home and in a university setting. In 1993 interviews were conducted with eight Arab American women and seven Latina women. The essay covers many factors that might suggest an individuals identity construction such as race, class, national, cultural, and sexuality. Although  these women come from different backgrounds, they are put in the same situations that leads to oppositionality. 

Oppositionality and Identity

Oppositionality is the direct effect of confronting ones oppression. When attending these universities, Latina and Arab women were faced a racialized narrative operative on those campuses. The cause of this oppression lies within the predominantly white college community. The majority of the Latinas interviewed hail from lower income families with little to no family education within their background. Also Latinas to felt out of place whereas they don't identify themselves as white nor as a person of color, due to the dominant culture of the university and its limited definition of race. Latinas were forced to redefine and over come identity issues caused by a predominantly white environment, white racism and Eurocentric curriculum. 

Arab American “front-lines”

While Arab american women also dealt with similar identity crisis, the means by which were very different. During that time period many different factors had raised highly politically charged International events on campus. The U.S. Had declared war and the Gulf War began, the Arab - Israeli conflict and the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1994. Misrepresentations and even racism towards Arabs had commenced within classes and campus, leaving these Arab American women often silence and confused fearing the backlash of other students misrepresentations or identifying themselves as middle eastern to others.

Appearance Borders

Other Identity Issues arose from some of the Latina and Arab American women being from mixed backgrounds. One Latina women discusses being of Puerto Rican and African American decent attending a predominately black university. While filling out paper work for graduate school she had checked the box titled hispanic, then was told that she was not hispanic and should have chosen the box titled African American by her advisor, to which she explained that regardless of what she looked like on the outside her life experience had been one of latin decent. Within Arab American women group, mixed women had felt as though they still did not relate or feel comfortable even though their skin was lighter, claiming they did not feel comfortable stating they were a women of color for the fear of people would not quite understanding. While Most of the Arab American women derived from upper middle class families living in predominantly white neighborhoods it was not a question of comfort within the university but more of a question of racial understanding due to world events.

Class Borders

Latinas women also were thrusted into contact with identity constrains when returning home from college. Being from lower income, non educational backgrounds, caused a gap between them and their culture and communities. One Latina from the group, Emma  stated she received judgement from friends and family members who assume that because she had just returned from graduate school, that she automatically though she was of higher stature. Which was not the case.

Sexuality Borders

Sexuality also plays a big role within both groups of women’s identities. While Latinas are more concerned with not becoming pregnant at and early age, Arab American women are encouraged to maintain their virginity up until marriage. This was easily over seen while at home with chaperoned dating, but often over looked while at an university. Also majority of both groups stated that they were not properly informed about such issues about sexuality. Causing confusion and guilt when taking part in sexual acts out of wedlock.

Conclusion

These incredible women who came forward to interview give us an important look into the racial ethnic identities and conclude that these identities are not just natural and fixed but shaped and formed in social interaction and through social practices. Non the less these events took place within a higher place of learning. I certainly feel as though I can relate to these women, as a latino who served in the United States Army similar misrepresentations about myself and culture have surfaced. Which brings to my question

Have you ever experienced similar misrepresentations of yourself or your culture based on how you look, language you speak, or social class within the confines of an institution such as a university, place of work, or simply a place that should not condone these messages? How did you handle the situation? Did this event change the way view and/or display your culture to others?