Option 1: Using examples both from the short story within the reading by Yomaira Figueroa (“Story: Your Lips”) and one of the short stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (“Sugar Babies” or “Sabrina & Corina), what do you see as the role of family in accepting and embracing one’s racial and/or ethnic identities? How does communication (or lack thereof) play into the understanding one has of who they are and how they are seen by others? How do family expectations influence how the narrators see themselves?
In “Story: Your Lips” by Yomaira Figueroa, family plays an important role in shaping the protagonist’s understanding and acceptance of her racial and ethnic identity. Throughout the story, the protagonist navigates her identity as a black Puerto Rican woman, grappling with societal expectations and familial influences. She reflects on knowing she was different at the age of 5. For example, “What hit you then was the blackness. Everyone in the room was soft and honey and even las trigueñas eran claras. But you were small and brusk and brown and black and all curls and no beauty.” Communication, or the lack of, also shows the impact towards her understanding of herself. This feeling not only sheds light on the mother’s experiences but also allows the protagonist to confront her own internalized biases and challenges the silence surrounding racial issues within their family. The lack of open communication about race and ethnicity within the family has led to misunderstandings and internal conflicts for her, highlighting the importance of open dialogue in shaping one’s identity.
Similarly, in Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s “Sugar Babies,” familial expectations and communication play a central role in the narrator’s journey of self-discovery. The protagonist grapples with her family’s silence when it comes to her mothers coming and going. Her interactions with her mother warn her of an unwanted future of unhappiness and unfulfillment. Sierra expects to be silent and allow her mother to come and go from her life although it hurts her. Furthermore, in “Sabrina & Corina,” familial relationships and expectations deeply influence the protagonists’ perceptions of themselves and their ethnic identities. The bond between the two cousins serves as a source of support and understanding as they navigate the complexities of their familial history and cultural heritage. “Around eleven, the men began snoring on the couch and the little cousins had passed out like sloppy drunks on the floor. The women made funeral plans in the kitchen.”
In both stories, family expectations create a significant influence on the narrators’ perceptions of themselves and their racial/ethnic identities. Whether through explicit communication or subtle familial dynamics, the protagonists deal with the pressure to conform to norms in Hispanic culture while also asserting their own individuality. Ultimately, both authors illustrate how the role of family in accepting and embracing one’s racial and ethnic identity is complex, influenced by communication, cultural heritage, and societal expectations.
Hello Melani, I like the way you highlight in this post how most of the time, in Latino families, we don’t have our own identity as human beings and most of the time let the family’s opinion not guide or influence us in some way that we are not comfortable with. That can be connected when some individual in the family no longer cares about the family’s opinion or how they want us to be considered ‘disobedient’ just because they assign us we don’t feel free or happy in that position. Also, how you make the connection between the 2 different books but somehow they are similar just in different situations.
With that, I know in the Latino community is very difficult just trying to figure out to be in a certain race, but in ethnicity, we can talk with details. Most families and denied certain types of their cultural backgrounds just to fit in these European stereotypes and be more accepting of our Indigenous, African and Taino ancestors, some families are different to others; also more connected with that background for any reason. Like, I said in my first comment I like the bond you made making the differences between the 2 books but somehow are related.
Hi Melani, I agree with your post. The part that caught my attention the most was at the beginning of “Story: Your Lips” by Yomaira Figueroa, any factors that lead us to shape our identity and how we see ourselves. I believe one reason why parents sometimes make this ignorant mistake of not open communication about skin color and how others look, is because they want the kids to not pay attention to that because they might be against racism or they just don’t see it as important because they also weren’t taught about it in their younger years.