Bi-Racial Essay, Research Paper

Table Of Contentss

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I. Cover Page? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1

II. Table of Contentss? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2

III. Report? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 3

IV. Glossary? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 12

V. Works Cited? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 13

Bi-Racial Children

It? s 3rd class. I? m tardily for school, and my female parent had to walk me in to category so that my instructor would cognize the ground for my tardiness. My ma opens the door to my category room, and there is a stillness of silence. Everyone? s eyes are fixed on my female parent and me. She tells the instructor why I was late, gives me a kiss adieu and leaves for work. As I sit down at my place, all of my alleged friends start to name me names and badger me. The pupils badger me non because I was late, but because my female parent is white.

Situations like this are difficult for a immature kid to cover with. These type of state of affairss are what bi-racial kids trade with every twenty-four hours. The term bi-racial means a kid? s heritage is made up of two civilizations or cultural groups. In this paper I will compare the advantages and disadvantages of holding double heritage. I will besides state about the most frequently misconstrued jobs the public perceives about a bi-racial kid, with black and white heritage. These kids encounter issues such as: Grasping self construct or individuality and credence of their personal visual aspect.

Double heritage is most frequently looked at as different, good or bad. Sometimes people holding double heritage are seen as castawaies of society. These are merely little things that have to make with holding double heritage. One advantage of holding both a black and white parent is that the kid learns to look at both civilizations every bit. This is an plus since all people need to populate in a multi-racial universe. From this the kid can organize a span between the two civilizations. Furthermore, if the kid was raised by both parents, the kid can easy separate the different features of both civilizations. By the kid cognizing these different features, it is found that a bi-racial kid finds it easier to hold close friends, a fellow or girlfriend, who is white or black, than a monoracial kid.

On the other manus, immature people with double heritage have been noted more likely to describe experiences of racism than those with two black parents ( Tizard and Phoenix 166 ) . In the British society, holding double heritage could be seen as a definite advantage because of the penetration to both civilizations ; nevertheless, in a society such as ours, where one civilization is seen as less powerful and inferior in society, people with double heritage are sometimes stray and rejected by both civilizations ( Tizard and Phoenix 67 ) . It is found that people who are miscegenetic1 and that see themselves as black are most frequently criticized by black people ( Spencer 36 ) . Bing a bi-racial kid is harder as a kid because kids engage in name-calling and other cruel behaviours. Besides, merely because grownups may be better than kids in the intervention of bi-racial people, this does non wipe out the memory of the maltreatment as a kid. Furthermore, this sometimes creates a sensitiveness to some of the other signifiers of maltreatment or bias that bi-racial people experience from inkinesss or Whites ( Spencer 36 ) .

Some different schemes of covering with racism on striplings have been disregarding the beginning, undertaking the state of affairs straight, re-explaining maltreatment and uniting different schemes. Children involved in a survey were asked what sort of state of affairss with racism they were involved in, and how they confronted each one. Ignoring racist incidents was a scheme used by all of the immature people. It was used most frequently. One peculiar pupil go toing a predominately white school commented on the favoritism:

? I seem to merely accept the fact that it is traveling to go on sometimes, you have merely got to larn to seek to disregard it. ?

Ignoring the state of affairss was besides used in potentially unsafe state of affairss. Some bi-racial striplings commented on how the country they are turning up in is unsmooth. They reported how some people have been beaten up. Others have preferred to undertake the job straight. One state of affairs given by a bi-racial stripling was:

? Me and my friends were walking past person and they said? Oh you black this, ? and you think, well, I can? t ignore that, and you say? Shut up you, blah? , but in some state of affairss you might merely travel, good, I? m by myself, I? ll ignore that ( Tizard and Phoenix 110 ) . ?

This scheme was non used that frequently though. One miss who was merely eight at the clip of her covering with racism told about her history. She said that she had an statement with one of her friends, and the word got out and the whole school was naming her names such as: choice and mix, assorted approvals, strain and? Your pa comes from the jungle? . She said it upset her a batch, but as she thought about she told her ego? Well I? m a spot of both, so in a manner I? m better than you, I? thousand black and I? m white, and I can? t of all time be racialist, so I thought of that and I merely truly took no notice of it. ? ( Tizard and Phoenix 110-111 ) . This manner of covering with racism are normally beyond the rational capacity of a little kid, but as seen above this eight twelvemonth old miss was able to carry through it.

The last manner that was used most frequently was the combination method. One male child chose to utilize different methods with people of different societal degrees, intending people more or less popular than himself. He quoted:

? If there is person who personality-wise is really much lower than I am, if they are really stupid, and if they call me something, I find it more violative than person who a batch more people respond to. I suppose because if I have a spell at person who is of lower personality, I offend less people ( Tizard and Phoenix 116 ) . ?

Having a broad scope of schemes seemed to assist the immature people feel that they had some control.

Those immature people that used merely the technique of disregarding or undertaking the state of affairs in some instances appeared to experience helpless at times.

The public frequently perceives bi-racial kids as holding a double heritage, to hold problem in hold oning self construct of a personal individuality. A kid holding double heritage can profit from this because he will hold more first-hand experience in covering with both civilizations. There are many factors that influence a bi-racial kid? s individuality. Some of the factors that contribute to a bi-racial kid? s individuality are: A bad or good relationship with one parent influences the race in which the kid identifies the most with and the visual aspect of the kid besides has an influence ( Tizard and Phoenix 162 ) . Of class, parents can act upon their kids to which race he/she relates most with. Most immature people say that their parents? positions on race and racism hadn? T influenced them in any manner. A batch of times immature people tend to tilt towards their female parent instead than their male parent on the topic of race and racism. Most of the immature people said that their male parents were thought to travel on excessively much about racism. Some of the immature people said that they did non even listen to their male parent because they disagreed with his positions. One miss who did non hold with her male parent went on to state:

? Yes, good, my pa can be a spot negative, I find him being a small spot racialist against white people. I? ve learned non to be like that, but to seek and handle people the same whatever the colour they are ( Tizard and Phoenix 125 ) . ?

In a study done on the Internet, a bi-racial individual who was raised by two black parents wrote in about his upbringing.

? In my childhood, I was forced to deny my white heritage and merely claim my Black individuality. ?

Whether a bi-racial kid chooses to associate more toward the black, white or possibly neither side, most frequently, the kid still in most instances has no jobs with cognizing his ego individuality. A adolescent bi-racial miss that had been brought up by white non-racist people was asked by her black male parent:

? Are you black, or are you white? ? Her reply to this was, ? I? m neither, I? m like a cup of tea, ? ( Tizard and Phoenix 55 ) .

Besides today bi-racial people have a more positive mentality on there individuality than in the yesteryear. Furthermore, 86 per cent of immature people from mixed-parentage have quoted that they did non desire to be merely another colour ( Tizard and Phoenix 55 ) . Appearance is found to be a big influence on a immature individual? s attitude on their individuality. In a survey, on 50 immature people, that Tizard and Phoenix conducted, they asked if any of the immature people would alter their visual aspect. Two-thirdss of the immature people said that there was, but none of them wished to be fairer. One miss wished to be darker like her African female parent. Most of the wants were to lose weight. However, 10 per centum of the male childs and misss wanted more consecutive and longer hair, another miss wanted green eyes. From the survey taken merely a little part were dissatisfied with their visual aspect.

Here in the U.S. we are seeing more and more interracial matrimonies every twenty-four hours. This is a consequence of the societal interactions between cultural groups going more frequent. The 1990 Census reported at least 900,000 bi-racial married twosomes in the U.S. The Census Bureau besides counted 65,000 black/white interracial matrimonies in 1970 and 218,000 in 1989. This is an addition of 300 % in less than 20 old ages ( Matusov May 22, 1997 ) .

In a survey done in 1992, there was an estimated one million bi-racial and adolescent kids in the USA ( Gibbs and Hines 223 ) . Black and white bi-racial people normally have no job placing themselves, but they normally pick one of these two picks. They try to prolong a balance with both civilizations or take one civilization and ignore the other. Bi-racial people that try to prolong a balance between both civilizations see themselves as bi-racial and see nil incorrect with this, but those that try to take one civilization and ignore the other largely do this because of upbringing or schooling.

A kid? s upbringing has a batch to make with it because, if a kid was brought up about largely the black or white side of the household, the kid will most likely tilt to the side that he/she was largely about. Besides, if the kid was in a school that was predominately white, the kid would associate more toward the white side of his/her heritage. Likewise, if the kid went to a predominately black school, he/she would associate more toward the black portion of his/her heritage.

There is a batch more to be said and learned about the advantages and disadvantages of holding double heritage and the jobs encountered by a bi-racial kid, such as: hold oning self construct or individuality and credence of their personal visual aspect. By larning more about this subject, we as a people will turn to understand each other more.

Glossary

1. Miscegenetic- Characteristic of holding parents from different races.

68a

Cashmore, Ellis Dictionary of Race and Cultural Relations. Routledge, 1994

Comer, James P. Beyond Black and White. Nelson, Foster & A ; Scott: Toronto, 1972

Dodd, Carley H. Cross-cultural Communication. Dodd, 1977

Gabriel, John Children Turning Up. American Elsevier Publishing Company, 1968

Gibbs, J. and A. Hines. Racially Assorted People in America. Sage, 1992

Matusov, Eugene. Biracial Children? s Identity Problem. Online. Internet. 22 May 1997

Available File transfer protocol: www.ematusov.com/cd170

Payne, Anthony and Paul Sutton. Modern Caribbean Politics. John Hopkins University Press, 1993

Rowan, Carl T. Breaking Barriers: A Memoir. Little, Brown & A ; Company, 1991

Spencer, Jon Michael. The New Colored People. New York University Press, 1997

Tizard, Barbara, and Ann Phoenix. Black, White or Mixed Race? . Routledge, 1993