Well, recently, in my course of brainstorming for ideas to write an article about, I found A LOT of ideas to blog about, you know with blogs being so informal and all. Today I am going to write about identity crisis. One more reason I love to blog is that I can control how long my posts should be,
What is identity? Trying not to use a dictionary, I define identity as something a person belongs to but also owns. It's like a balance between you owning an identity and your identity owning you. The syllabus for Advanced English in Western Australia (AUSMAT @ Sunway) touches a lot on identity, at least that was what I noticed from the past year papers. Today, I will touch on racial identity and it's complexities.
Racial identity. Is it something that defines who you are, or do you yourself define your own racial identity? Well, there's not much to talk about racial identity for most of us (in the Malaysian context). You're either Indian, Chinese, Malay, Eurasian or the ethnic groups in Sabah/Sarawak. Out of topic for a bit, have you read Harry Potter? If you haven't, then WHO ARE YOU? And you know that it was almost impossible for the so called "pure-bloods" to marry among themselves completely. They had to mix with the half-bloods and Muggle borns. This is just a literary reference, don't take it so seriously. It is almost the same with humans. Although impossible is of course an inappropriate word in the Malaysian situation, people of various ethnic groups mix and mingle with each other, and thus - interracial marriages are formed.
All's well with the earlier generations. Their own racial identities are defined very clearly indeed. You either belong to a certain ethnic group or you do not. However, did you ever think about those who come from mixed marriages? Their racial identity runs along a blurred line. They do not belong completely to either ethnic group, leaving them somewhere in the middle. With that, the need for new racial identities arise. This mainly stems from the fact that most groups will not fully accept an individual with mixed heritage as one of their own. You think this is cruel and it doesn't happen? Look at the US, read "To Kill A Mockingbird" , a novel widely acclaimed for its accurate depictions of Southern life in the 1930s. Read carefully, and you will find lines about how children of mixed marriages were segregated by the Whites and they were not accepted into the African-American community.
Here in Malaysia, the situation isn't that intense, of course. However, subtle hints still indicate that mixed-heritage individuals lack acceptance. An example, a man of race X marries a woman of race Y. Their child a mixture of both races will be likely to be lost in between. The father's side of race X will tend to view the child as one with race Y and not worthy enough to be of their own race, race X. Vice versa. Well then, ask yourself now. Have you ever seen something like this happening in your life? Surely yes, even if it was so discreet that you had to listen twice to hear the intolerance in their voices.
Where does this leave the children of mixed heritages then? Well, fret not. New racial identities are being created. Many types of creoles now exists worldwide, and we give undue credit to racial segregation for this.
P.s. I finally changed my wallpaper. For Advent, no more apple shooting.
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