Redefining Identity through Assimilation

Redefining Identity through Assimilation

Assimilation is a process whereby a group of minority individuals is absorbed or assimilated into the culture of the majority or dominant group. Minority groups are numerous, including women, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and minority races in countries with a majority of a different race, like Asian Americans or African Americans in America. Therefore, assimilation is an extreme form of acculturation (Shaw-Taylor & McCall, 2020). Acculturation is the cultural modification of a specific group whereby the individuals in the said group either forcefully or voluntarily adopt, acquire, and adjust to a new cultural environment due to voluntarily or forcefully being placed in that environment. One of the main reasons for assimilation is so that the individuals from the minority group can fully benefit from the privileges that the majority or native group benefits from and not be treated any differently (Rosenblum & Travis, 1996). Hire our assignment writing services in case your assignment is devastating you.

Immigrant’s Perspective for Assimilation

From the perspective of an immigrant, the process of assimilation involves taking up the traits of the new country’s culture, and in some instances, it involves assimilation to the extent that the immigrants become socially indistinguishable from other members of the society (Villarreal & Tamborini, 2018). Considering that the main challenges immigrants face include language barriers, lack of employment opportunities, prejudice, and lack of housing, being assimilated helps reduce these challenges. In addition, being well assimilated into a foreign country’s culture increases the chances of one gaining citizenship. For example, in 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act granted approximately three million individuals legal status primarily because of their ability to assimilate into America’s culture (Patlolla, 2018).

However, immigrant assimilation comes with its disadvantages, the main one being the loss of one’s culture. Assimilation dictates that sameness is one of the mandatory requirements for it to work; therefore, it works to limit alternative perspectives. The abandonment of one’s cultural identity comes with challenges and may leave one feeling lost if they feel that they do not fit in the new cultural environment (Bhugra & Becker, 2005). People who migrate experience multiple stresses like loss of social support systems, loss of religious customs, changes in identity, and loss of cultural norms.

These stresses adversely impact the mental well-being of these individuals, which consequently explains the increased rate of mental illnesses among immigrant groups (Bhugra & Becker, 2005). For example, an immigrant family from Saudi Arabia to Las Vegas may have difficulty assimilating into the new culture. Essentially, Saudi Arabia is a conservative country, while Las Vegas is the opposite of conservative; therefore, not assimilating would make the family isolated. Contrastingly, suppose the family was to assimilate into the new environment and abandon their culture successfully. In that case, there is a high likelihood that their family and friends back in Saudi Arabia would not take it well and could bring about a conflict in the family.

Non- immigrant’s Perspective For Assimilation

As a non-immigrant, one advantage of immigrants’ assimilation is the significant boost that immigrants bring to a country (Lewis & Peri, 2015). For example, according to a study published by New American Economy, immigrants or children of immigrants founded approximately 44% of companies named on the 2018 Fortune 500 List. In addition, immigrants own 60% of all gas stations, 53% of all grocery stores, 38% of all restaurants, 58% of all dry cleaners, and 45% of all nail salons in America. All these businesses create more business opportunities, even for the natives. Moreover, immigrants also make up a significant percentage of America’s labor force (Lewis & Peri, 2015).

Nevertheless, there are negative impacts of the successful assimilation of immigrants to non-immigrants. When there is a surge in the immigrant population, the economy can be negatively affected. For example, real wages could potentially be adversely impacted. An increase in the supply of unskilled labor gives employers the chance to employ immigrants with lower wages than employing native skilled workers (Patlolla, 2018). Further, immigration also brings about structural unemployment. Structural unemployment is when employers dismiss native employees to hire unskilled immigrants and pay them lower wages.

Assimilation Influence on Immigrants’ Identity

By choosing to assimilate, immigrants redefine their identity by changing numerous crucial elements that have helped shape their identities, such as cultural norms, religious norms, and social behaviors. As mentioned before, assimilation involves shedding one’s cultural identity and getting absorbed in a new environment’s culture. Most of the aspects that one has to change in this case include values and norms. For example, many Hindu women in India wear sarees and cover their hair. These dresses are part of their cultural identity and a religious statement. However, suppose an Indian family immigrated to America or the United Kingdom (countries that are more secular than religious). In that case, assimilation into the new culture leads to these women changing their clothing. They change into the Western mode of dressing to fit in. In addition, identity is also defined by where and how one spends most of their time. The environment in India is very different compared to that of America; therefore, one’s identity will also be reshaped due to a change in environmental exposure.

References

Bhugra, D., & Becker, M. A. (2005). Migration, cultural bereavement and cultural identity. World Psychiatry, 4(1), 18.

Lewis, E., & Peri, G. (2015). Immigration and the Economy of Cities and Regions. In Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics (Vol. 5, pp. 625-685). Elsevier.

Patlolla, R. (2018). The Effect of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 on the Wages and Employment of Native Workers.

Rosenblum, K. E., & Travis, T. M. C. (1996). The meaning of difference. American constructions of race, sex and gender, social class, and sexual orientation. New York.

Shaw-Taylor, Y., & McCall, L. (2020). Immigration, Assimilation, and Border Security. Bernan Press.

Villarreal, A., & Tamborini, C. R. (2018). Immigrants’ economic assimilation: Evidence from longitudinal earnings records. American Sociological Review, 83(4), 686-715.

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Assignment: Redefining Identity Through Assimilation
In this course, you have explored how individual racial and ethnic identities develop. You discovered that social processes influence racial and ethnic identities. They are also influenced by customs and language familiar to your culture. This week, you examined how an immigrant may redefine his identity when he moves to a new country with a culture different from his home country.

Redefining Identity through Assimilation

When an immigrant moves to a new country, he may or may not assimilate into the new culture. If he chooses to assimilate, he disconnects from his original culture and adopts the customs, language, and other characteristics of his adopted culture. If he does not assimilate, he stays separate from the new culture and maintains his native customs, language, and the other characteristics of his culture. The article “The Pressure to Cover” and the Asian Nation web article provide a more in-depth description of assimilation.

The choice to assimilate or not to assimilate determines whether or not an immigrant maintains or redefines his identity. In this Assignment, non-immigrants refer to those who are native to the country to which an immigrant relocates. In the assigned readings, you will consider different viewpoints related to assimilation and redefining identity.