Date of Award
Fall 12-2023
Degree Name
Master of Arts (AM/MA)
Degree Type
Thesis
Abstract
The identity formation of Filipino Americans has captured scholarly interest due to their unique characteristics and identity attachments. Studies of children of Filipino immigrants are largely focused on individuals from diverse areas and do not explore whether different social environments influence a diversity of identity perspectives. Using data from interviews with 40 children of Filipino immigrants from across the U.S., I examine whether and how their understandings of their identities are shaped by setting. I find that participants’ local contexts, particularly local racial/ethnic demographics during childhood, shape their perceptions of their identities relative to other groups and prevailing categorization schemes. In environments with limited coethnic/copanethnic representation, participants sought shared or accepted identity through bonds with “similar” groups, internalization of peers’ racial/ethnic appraisals, and comparisons of self to local majority groups. In childhood local contexts that provided coethnic exposure, participants were able to foreground their ethnic identities while maintaining a sense of connectedness and belonging among peers. These findings highlight how those grouped under the same label can hold vastly different perspectives on identity, shaped significantly by local settings during formative years. They also reflect how views on identity can shift within a single individual as they move between different environments.
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
Cynthia Feliciano
Committee Members
Caitlyn Collins, Patrick Ishizuka
Recommended Citation
Hijara, Cilka Mayumi, "“Safe People and Safe Spaces:” Filipino American Identity Formation in Response to Local Social Contexts" (2023). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2978.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/2978