Christine's story
Victor first introduced us to Christine when we bumped into them in Chinatown. Sensing that both Christine and Victor were very different, I jumped at the opportunity and was really elated when Christine agreed to our interview.
Background
Christine was born in Chinatown, San Francisco and is now living in Daly City. She has two older brothers who are in their thirties which makes Christine the ‘baby of the family’. She considers herself 2nd generation Chinese American because she was born and raised in America.
On identity
According to Christine, ‘logically I am Chinese American because I was born here but I still retain some of my cultural ideals and values, though I believe that I am Americanized’.
The Chinese side
She celebrates Chinese New Year and speaks to her family in the “Toi San” dialect. Family is very important to Christine and one of the reasons she chose Berkeley, other than its reputation, was to be close to her family so that she can still return back during the weekends to ‘yam cha’ with her grandmother.
The American side
She cannot conform to the Stereotypical portrayal of Chinese women. Sometimes her parents would ask her to be more ‘like a women’ to ‘cook, do your own laundry’ but Christine cannot perceive herself as the submissive Chinese women. There is the competitive American side of Christine where she wants to be the best she can be, and not let gender limit her opportunities. She could relate to joy luck club because of the generation gap portrayed. Though her parents are in general supportive, her mum’s desire for her is to ‘marry a good men’. However, for someone like Christine who is so dynamic and bright, I seriously doubt she would ever content with the role of a docile ‘tai tai’ (‘rich man wife’ )
On multiple identities
Christine first and fore most identify herself as an American. It is only upon other people’s initiation that she would bring up her Chinese identity. Growing up as a Chinese American, Christine did not face significant difficulties except for her high school years. She regrets how sometimes she would play into the stereotype of the smart but passive Chinese student. In retrospect, she feels that there is so much more to her than that, which her friends in high school back then were not able to understand.
Unlike some of our other interviewees, Christine does not perceive herself to be a ‘qiao’ between China and America. She does not foresee herself shuttling between both countries because for Christine, America is where is she grew up, where she has her contacts and there is definitely “more opportunities in America”
Sociological perspective on identity
Perhaps because of her sociological background, Christine appears to be someone who has given thoughts to issue of identity. She was well informed and aware of academic terms like ‘model minority’ and her sharing of the importance of issues like identity really gave us encouragement to continue our cause.
Researching on identity is challenging because there would always be questions on our methodology. How do we strike a balance between randomness of the sample yet simultaneously be able to spot and infer some trend? Nevertheless, Christine also feels that sometimes the process is as important as the outcome. By thinking about complex issues like identity, one can learn more about his/her background and this academic venture could help shed light on other matters like model minority. To come up with an alternative perspective and in the process find means of coping with it is how we can value-add to our project.
Janice
Background
Christine was born in Chinatown, San Francisco and is now living in Daly City. She has two older brothers who are in their thirties which makes Christine the ‘baby of the family’. She considers herself 2nd generation Chinese American because she was born and raised in America.
On identity
According to Christine, ‘logically I am Chinese American because I was born here but I still retain some of my cultural ideals and values, though I believe that I am Americanized’.
The Chinese side
She celebrates Chinese New Year and speaks to her family in the “Toi San” dialect. Family is very important to Christine and one of the reasons she chose Berkeley, other than its reputation, was to be close to her family so that she can still return back during the weekends to ‘yam cha’ with her grandmother.
The American side
She cannot conform to the Stereotypical portrayal of Chinese women. Sometimes her parents would ask her to be more ‘like a women’ to ‘cook, do your own laundry’ but Christine cannot perceive herself as the submissive Chinese women. There is the competitive American side of Christine where she wants to be the best she can be, and not let gender limit her opportunities. She could relate to joy luck club because of the generation gap portrayed. Though her parents are in general supportive, her mum’s desire for her is to ‘marry a good men’. However, for someone like Christine who is so dynamic and bright, I seriously doubt she would ever content with the role of a docile ‘tai tai’ (‘rich man wife’ )
On multiple identities
Christine first and fore most identify herself as an American. It is only upon other people’s initiation that she would bring up her Chinese identity. Growing up as a Chinese American, Christine did not face significant difficulties except for her high school years. She regrets how sometimes she would play into the stereotype of the smart but passive Chinese student. In retrospect, she feels that there is so much more to her than that, which her friends in high school back then were not able to understand.
Unlike some of our other interviewees, Christine does not perceive herself to be a ‘qiao’ between China and America. She does not foresee herself shuttling between both countries because for Christine, America is where is she grew up, where she has her contacts and there is definitely “more opportunities in America”
Sociological perspective on identity
Perhaps because of her sociological background, Christine appears to be someone who has given thoughts to issue of identity. She was well informed and aware of academic terms like ‘model minority’ and her sharing of the importance of issues like identity really gave us encouragement to continue our cause.
Researching on identity is challenging because there would always be questions on our methodology. How do we strike a balance between randomness of the sample yet simultaneously be able to spot and infer some trend? Nevertheless, Christine also feels that sometimes the process is as important as the outcome. By thinking about complex issues like identity, one can learn more about his/her background and this academic venture could help shed light on other matters like model minority. To come up with an alternative perspective and in the process find means of coping with it is how we can value-add to our project.
Janice
posted by Stuffy | 10:27 AM
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