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I don't think this is something anyone else can give you the answer to. I'm sorry some people have made you feel you do not belong - personally, I don't think anyone should be made to feel that way regardless of the situation. But how you define yourself and what ethnicity you identify most with is really something you need to discover on your own. No one here can tell you "what you are".
My main motivation posting this thread is to figure out if I can claim my ethnicity, be "proud" of it and feel like I'm 100% part of this group even if I don't share all my ancestry with this ethnic group. Unlile what A LOT of people seem to think when they say (disgusting) words like "full blood"
My main motivation posting this thread is to figure out if I can claim my ethnicity, be "proud" of it and feel like I'm 100% part of this group even if I don't share all my ancestry with this ethnic group. Unlile what A LOT of people seem to think when they say (disgusting) words like "full blood"
No one can tell you how or what to feel. If you feel a part of an ethnic group, you are entitled to feel that way regardless of what other people say. My sister-in-law is adopted but her adopted family had strong Pennsylvania Dutch culturally influences so she considers this her heritage, even if she genetically may not be German/Pennsylvania Dutch at all. She was raised with those influences and therefore it's her right to identify with this group of people. Anyone who tells her otherwise is being insensitive and presumptuous in my opinion.
But I think what ovcatto was saying is just that you equally don't have to define yourself in just one way. I am American. I am also Italian-American. I am also German-American, and British-American - with Norwegian ancestors. I am all of these things. Some people choose to be none of them and just identify as American, without acknowledging any ethnicity or heritage. They are entitled to do so. I would encourage you to define yourself how it feels right to you, not to go looking for an ethnicity to define you, and definitely not to go looking for other people to give you the answers on how you "should" be defining yourself.
So I was born in my country, I speak the language, it is my only culture, I only hold the citizenship of my country and it is in my family for at least 4 generations. So I guess I can say that this is my only ethnic group even if I have remote french, italian, greek and even "exotic" ancestry like hungarian roma. And even if I don't have blue eyes, unlike what everybody I know seem to view as a "must-have" to "truly" belong to my ethnicity... (I hate nordicism)
So I was born in my country, I speak the language, it is my only culture, I only hold the citizenship of my country and it is in my family for at least 4 generations. So I guess I can say that this is my only ethnic group even if I have remote french, italian, greek and even "exotic" ancestry like hungarian roma. And even if I don't have blue eyes, unlike what everybody I know seem to view as a "must-have" to "truly" belong to my ethnicity... (I hate nordicism)
Thank you very much for you answers
You are defiantly the ethnicity you want to be. I am like you... kind of..
I am 100 % Swedish. I have hazel eyes, a more olive skin tone and medium brown hair. My family on both sides have been in Sweden for as long as they have been able to research. I think on my moms side we went back around 400 years. On my dads side they were not able to go back that far but at least 2-300 years. When people see me they think I am Italian, or some other Mediterranean country. I and my mom are the only once in my family who are a tad darker than the rest in the family.
Obviously I identify myself as a Swede ethnically and culturally , however, many times people question me and don't want to believe me when I tell them Im Swedish. It is sort of like somebody is taking your identity away from you.
Meanwhile I have one friend, tall, blond with blue eyes and she is half middle eastern. So you can't judge by somebodies looks alone.
You are defiantly the ethnicity you want to be. I am like you... kind of..
I am 100 % Swedish. I have hazel eyes, a more olive skin tone and medium brown hair. My family on both sides have been in Sweden for as long as they have been able to research. I think on my moms side we went back around 400 years. On my dads side they were not able to go back that far but at least 2-300 years. When people see me they think I am Italian, or some other Mediterranean country. I and my mom are the only once in my family who are a tad darker than the rest in the family.
Obviously I identify myself as a Swede ethnically and culturally , however, many times people question me and don't want to believe me when I tell them Im Swedish. It is sort of like somebody is taking your identity away from you.
Meanwhile I have one friend, tall, blond with blue eyes and she is half middle eastern. So you can't judge by somebodies looks alone.
Thank you for sharing your experience. My situation is pretty similar. I hope you don't struggle as much as I do about it
Ethnicity is a self-determined identity based on culture. One part of culture that defines an ethnicity is the idea of sharing a common origin, a founding myth. This is where people confuse ethnicity for genetics.
However, the 'common origin' component is not the end all and be all of ethnicity.
For example, The Anglo-Saxon ethnicity considers their origin to be with with the settlement of Britain by members of continental Germanic tribes led by two chieftains, Hengist and Horsa, in the 5th century. However, the people who preceded the Angles and Saxons joined the ethnic fold, and in the intervening centuries, many people have come to Britain and become ethnically Anglo-Saxon as well.
All these people share history, language, institutions, and the founding myth (common origin).
Ethnicity is a self-determined identity based on culture. One part of culture that defines an ethnicity is the idea of sharing a common origin, a founding myth. This is where people confuse ethnicity for genetics.
However, the 'common origin' component is not the end all and be all of ethnicity.
For example, The Anglo-Saxon ethnicity considers their origin to be with with the settlement of Britain by members of continental Germanic tribes led by two chieftains, Hengist and Horsa, in the 5th century. However, the people who preceded the Angles and Saxons joined the ethnic fold, and in the intervening centuries, many people have come to Britain and become ethnically Anglo-Saxon as well.
All these people share history, language, institutions, and the founding myth (common origin).
So if a common origin is part of the definition of an ethnicity, does that mean that I can't consider myself part of my ethnicity because of that ?
Good morning/evening/afternon everyone. I am sorry to "pollute" this forum with all my questions (I promise I'll try to calm down after this thread) but I would like to know what you think.
In your opinion, what makes an ethnicity ? The results of a dna test (only genes) ? The whole ancestry composition of the person (and not just what's inherited genetically) ? The time the person has lived in a particular location ? The culture ? The self-identification ? The nationality ?
To illustrate my question with an example : is a danish citizen, with 100% scandinavian dna but remote african ancestries who don't show up in The genes be considered a "full-blood 100%" danish ?
So let me know what you think an thank you for your answers
Personally, I think the country where you were born and grew up is part of your culture but not your ethnicity.
For me ethnicity is where your parents, grandparents are originally from.
About DNA, I think anyone has different ancestors so at the end it will be really hard to base your ethnicity on dna.
Personally, I think the country where you were born and grew up is part of your culture but not your ethnicity.
For me ethnicity is where your parents, grandparents are originally from.
About DNA, I think anyone has different ancestors so at the end it will be really hard to base your ethnicity on dna.
How many generations in a country does someone need to belong to an ethnicity then ?
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