Family: A Cultural Background Of My Family

My family is originally from Afghanistan but I was born in Pakistan and raised in the United States. Growing up, I have always had trouble identifying myself to one particular ethnic group or race. The closest term in the lexicon of our racial language in the U.S. that I would be able to relate to is “Arab”—on the basis of having the same religion but not the same culture. Afghanistan is neither considered an Arab country nor can it be considered Asian. Being a third cultured kid, I have always sensed myself to be in the middle—ironically enough, Afghanistan is located in Central Asia. I did not notice this “middleness” in my life being problematic until I began filling out medical forms and college applications. I was asked to specify my race, …show more content…
I believe I have a stronger ethnic background than I do a racial. However, growing up in Arizona with an olive skin tone, my peers, teachers and even strangers always made the assumption that I was Hispanic. One instance of this scenario is when I was shopping with my family at Kohl’s, a Spanish speaking lady came up to me asking me a question but in Spanish because instead of asking if I spoke Spanish or not, she automatically made the assumption that I did based on my skin and hair color. I said I have a stronger ethnic background because being at home for me was a different world than being at school. At home, I followed the traditional Afghan ways of my parents and I spoke another language. My mom cooked traditional Afghani meals the majority of the time being that we had such a big family, we could not afford to eat out all the time. My familial structure remained the same unlike modern American families where the mom is in charge. Furthermore, the reason I do not have a strong racial background is partially due to my appearance—I do not possess the stereotypical features that would identify me in one specific category. My ethnicity as a part of my identity ties in religion, which is something very important to my Muslim parents, however, I consider myself to be agnostic. Although I do not believe veiling to be a sign of oppression for Muslim women, for me personally, having strict guidelines on dress code feels like patriarchal oppression. “Men cannot control themselves, so they make women veil” (Read, Bartkowski, 2000, 192). I agree with this statement personally because I should not have to consider the way I dress by the actions or opinions of men but rather be able to choose