What 'ethnic group (s)' do I belong to? Does the idea even make sense in my case?

[SobreTodo]

Ethnicity is a cultural based concept

[RudyOD]

This reminds me how we tend to group immigrants by country of origin (because, of course, it is easier and less complicated), despite the fact that in their home countries, many of these people we call "Indians" or "Russians" or "Iranians" or wtv, may see themselves not within the national identity, but within a very distinct ethnic one that may or may not have historic tension with the other ethnicities -from their country- that they are being clumped together with.

I myself had trouble, while growing up, with ethnic identity (though, I think, for the most part we all do) due to the various origins of my ancestry, plus not being able to identify with others that were supposedto be like me. I am Mexican by birth, but grew up in California. In my hometown in Mexico, my dad's side of the family is considered 'foreign' or 'not from there' despite the fact that have been living there since the 70's. My dad's side immigrated from Nicaragua, and within a Nicaraguan context they are French-Nicaraguan and it is their French name I carry. My grandparents, aunts/uncles and cousins still visit Nicaragua frequently. My mom's side is a mix of Eastern European + Japanese on my grandpa's side, and strongly mestizo (Native American + Spanish) on my grandma's side. Both sides have a long historic presence in Mexico's northwest (Sinaloa and Sonora).

Despite my rich ancestry, in the U.S. I am simply 'Mexican' or 'Chicano' (the second of which I don't personally identify with). Growing up though, the only Mexicans with which I culturally identified with were my family and family friends -all from the Sinaloa and Sonora states. In the U.S., my sister and I were constantly told that we weren't 'truly' Mexican (this, mostly from Mexicans born and raised in the U.S.) or not Mexican 'enough'. We have never rejected our Mexican roots, and have always been proudly Sinaloense/Sinaloan, but such rejection by the broader (this was in middle school/high school and college) Mexican community, led us to seek out different more multicultural friendships. For the most part, that translated to her having majority white friends, and it is white-American (Californian) culture where she feels most comfortable in. For me, it was/has been Asians, and in the U.S., Asian American spaces, along with multicultural ones, is where I feel at home. In fact, when we first immigrated to the U.S. when I was 6 years old, we moved in with my aunt's husband's family, a multigenerational Chinese-Filipino household, and it is within that environment that I spent my first years in America.

Thinking outside the blur of ethnicity and nationality, I say that if you picture yourself abroad and imagine someone asking "What are you?"...your first answer (outside the smartass response of 'human' or 'earthling') to that, is probably your main identity. For me it is American, more specifically, Californian. Due to my family, I would add Sinaloense as well.

[RudyOD]

Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed

Ah. I think there's a technical term for people who feel the way you do. Is this accurate in how you feel?



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Culture_Kid

Seems to be a fair bit of British Australians like that, I believe. Born in the UK but lived out 99% of their lives in Australia.

This.

I came across a Third Culture Kid myspace group in high school, and had never before come across a group of people with whom I connected with so easily. People that tend to see themselves more like global citizens than anything else.