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Ashley Perez

Professor Shahrazad Encinias

CAS 113A

28 October 2023

Exploring Identity and Transnationalism in an Internalized World

As a society, we have certain expectations about people around us and what makes them

who they are. This affects how many might think that transnationalism and identity isn’t

important to individuals. Society's stereotypes influence everyday decisions and affect the way

people reside in their own culture. While we focus on identity, people forget that

transnationalism is also a huge part of figuring out who we are. Based on where we come from,

we learn from our own experiences and how that affects our journey when we move from one

country to another. While it is true that there are a variety of characteristics and factors that make

up identity and transnationalism, people should understand that language, gender, sexuality, and

expectations are the most important attributes regarding identity and transnationalism.

A huge part that defines our identity is language because it is the way people express

their culture and values. In a documentary, “Maid in America,” Kevin Leadingham and Anayansi

Prado analyzed the language barrier three Latinas faced when migrating to the U.S. Leadingham

and Prado explain how three Latina women were forced to learn how to speak English so they

could adapt to American culture. This shows how some people are obligated to adapt to

American standards, losing their native language. People’s native language makes it known to

people where you are from. For example, if you speak Spanish, someone you’ve never met
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before might know that you're somewhere from Central America. In the article, “Visibly Hidden:

Language, Culture, and Identity of Central Visibly Hidden: Language, Culture, and Identity of

Central Americans in Los Angeles," Magaly Lavandenz researched how language can heavily

impact how you choose to identify yourself. Lavandenz shows us how being required to speak a

certain type of Spanish can make you ashamed of where your inner roots are or where your

family is from. This indicates how making someone in Central America speak more

"Mexican-Spanish" affects how they might identify themselves. They would believe that there

are certain “ideals” in the way you speak Spanish and that speaking more “Mexican” is better to

fit more into the community. Central Americans are specifically affected by this because of the

accents there are in Spanish. Not all words in the Spanish language are pronounced the same or

said the same. This all connects back on how language is the main concept that builds up your

identification. You can be recognized based on the language you speak.

In addition to this, gender is also a big part of your identity because of the social

expectations there are about women and men. In “High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir,” Edgar

Gomez explains to his audience what makes someone a boy. On page 4, “...he is your captor,

your jailor, your boss, and your master…” shows how there are always basic stereotypes of how

a boy is supposed to act and expectations that society throws at them. This heavily affects how

they are within themselves. For instance, if you act, dress, or behave outside of the gender

norms, you can be considered something other than the gender you identify as. In the same book,

Gomez also touches on the idea of how your gender is identified at birth. On page 4 “... a poetic

sketch of what my parents should expect of their newborn is nested under the heading What Is a

Boy?” demonstrates how this can be extremely harmful because, as we grow older, we start
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understanding more about the meaning of gender. This causes some of us to feel more

comfortable with ourselves and identify as a different gender. To add to this, if people are told

growing up that they are female or male, they are more likely to be afraid to change their own

gender identity. To live up to others' expectations, people start excluding certain aspects of who

they are. As kids, we start developing our own gender identity by observing others and the

behaviors connected to certain genders. After figuring out what gender identity you are, you then

show how you want to express yourself. That can mean the way you dress, your hairstyle, or

characteristics of your body. This is when you start showing others who you are.

Furthermore, your sexuality plays an essential role in who you are because of the way

you are viewed in the world. Gomez shows us throughout his book his experience on being gay.

On page 43, “... I wasn’t gay. I just hated women. Thank God,” proves how it is difficult for

people who feel attracted to the same gender to accept this about themselves. The label or no

label you choose as your sexuality builds up on the aspect of your own identity. In addition to

this, Gomez also explains the arguments he had to hear between his mother and stepfather

because of the way he expressed his sexuality. On page 193, “Why she was letting me walk like

that, bleach my hair, … why are you letting your son be gay?” indicates how different parental

figures can impact the shame people have based on the gender they prefer to date. Many children

have trouble coming to terms and deciding who they like because of their parents. Your

guardians can either build that sense of security or insecurity about your sexuality. Some parents

teach their children the rights and wrongs of life, and if a wrong is liking the same gender, guilt

starts forming. You can erase that part of yourself to please the needs of others. In my personal

experience, I was always taught that being a part of the LGBTQ+ community was wrong in my
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home. My parents would always shame those who were attracted to the same gender and speak

negatively about them. This resulted in me being afraid to come out to anyone and being myself.

I always knew I was “different” from my friends when I didn’t have any guy crushes growing

up. As I developed a sense of which gender I preferred, I pushed those feelings aside so I

wouldn’t disappoint both my parents. I hid a part of who I was because of the fear of how my

parents would react and do. I would force myself to act a certain way so they wouldn’t suspect

anything, and the shame I would have would ease up when they saw I was “the same '' as my

siblings. This overall explains how people tend to hide their own identity because of the different

views people have based on sexuality. Sexuality is a huge part of the way you connect and

interact with others. It is part of our human nature to identify what gender you’re attracted to.

Lastly, expectations from society play a significant role in transnationalism since they

alter your understanding of how you must portray yourself in a country different from your

native one. In the article “Expressions of Maya Identity and Culture in Los Angeles: Challenges

and Success among Maya Youth,” Giovanni Batz expresses how there is a major difference in

how Mayans were supposed to act in Los Angeles compared to where they were originally from.

Giovanni explains how Mayans were forced to blend in by not wearing their style of clothing and

how Mayan children weren’t taught a part of their own culture. This shows how differently your

own culture is portrayed in different countries. Indigenous people were told to erase a part of

themselves to fit into an ideal society. Since indigenous parents were ashamed of who they were,

their children wouldn’t have the chance to connect to who they were and how ideas were

different from where they were from in the U.S. Adding on to this, Gomez explains the

expectations his family had on him in Nicaragua and the U.S. This is evident when Gomez
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shows us his experience while he was in Nicaragua and how the expectations of how you were

supposed to act as a man are portrayed by his uncle César. This exposes the idea of how

expectations from one country to another can affect you. Gomez did, in a way, accept the fact

that he fit into the category of being machismo because he learned it from his uncles. The

expectations his family had of him in Nicaragua influenced how he should act in the U.S. This

shows how expectations in one country can translate to how you expect yourself to be in another

country. It all also comes down to your culture and how it is portrayed to you.

In conclusion, transnationalism and identity are much more than just two words in a

dictionary. They give people a sense of belonging to who they are growing up. It is important to

maintain a connection to your motherland, to feel that pride in your own culture. These four

characteristics explain how they are important in regards to identity and transnationalism, but

more qualities make us who we are. Disregarding how we are viewed by the world, our attributes

should be our main goals throughout life to figure out ourselves and how there are different

expectations in our actions depending on where we are at. As human beings, we often desire a

sense of belonging and acceptance. We will never be able to fully express ourselves if there are

people who judge our every move. It is okay to be different from someone else, it’s what makes

everyone uniquely recognizable.

Works Cited

Batz, Giovanni. “Expressions of Maya Identity and Culture in Los Angeles: Challenges and

Success among Maya Youth.” Repositories.lib.utexas.edu, 2010,

https://doi.org/10.15781/T2SB3XF2R

Gomez, Edgar. High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir. First Soft Skull edition., Soft Skull, 2022.

Lavadenz, Magaly. “Visibly Hidden: Language, Culture and Identity of Central Visibly Hidden:

Language, Culture and Identity of Central Americans in Los Angeles Americans in Los

Angeles.” Education Faculty Works School of Education, 2008

https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=education_fa

Leadingham, Kevin, and Anayansi Prado. Maid in America. Impacto Films, 2004