Quote:
Originally posted by Delita_chan
I think people disown their heritage out of shame and embarrassment. I know many Hispanics who shun their heritage because Mexican and other Latin American countries are looked down on as poor and inferior.
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I agree with this. It might also link to how Western society lacks cultural relativism (def:
passing judgment or setting standards to others without thinking about the standards/values within a culture). Like how the media may paint a culture barbarically (or just show one side of a culture) and in return that notion will be embedded in society's mind. Hence many immigrants, especially young ones, are more likely to disown their own heritage especially when they see all these unfavorable images of their culture; it's a way to shed their inferiority complex.
Then there is also the beauty/class complex. In Western society and even in some non-Western society, looking "white" is the paradigm of beauty. The more you look White, the more you're up to standards and are valued in society. Hence some may try to change their physical appearance to look less like their "race".
Then again, when you observe a family of immigrants. The older generation are more likely to cling to their (old) culture and have a hard time assimilating into the new culture than the younger generation. This is because young people can be manipulated easily (environment, society/peers, etc.). Unless these young people (immigrants/or born in their new country) are being taught by their parents/grandparents about their culture, the likely hood of them associating themselves with their own heritage is slim. So in this case, it's about lack of knowledge or familiarity.
There's also the case of disowning your heritage for the fear of society disowning you because of who you are. In worst case scenario, it's going to mean choosing life or death.
As you can see, there are many factors that come into play as to why someone would disown their heritage/race/ethnicity.
