Blog 7 Being Adopted: The Effect on Identity Development within Adolescence

Title: Being Adopted: The Effect on Identity Development within Adolescence

Topic: Self, Other, Ethnicity, Rites of Passage, Identity Signals

Sources:

·      -Erikson, E.H. (1970). "Identity crisis" in perspective. In E.H. Erikson, Life history and the historical moment. New York: Norton, 1975.

·      “The Importance of Your Child’s Cultural and Racial Heritage”. The Adoptive Parent Preparation Manual

·      "Adoption and the Stages of Development-Table of Contents." Child      Welfare Information Gateway. Web.      <http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_stages/index.cfm>.

·      McGinnis, Hollee, Susan Livingston Smith, Scott D. Ryan, and      Jeanne A.      Howard
. : Beyond Culture Camp: Promoting Healthy Identity      Formation in Adoption. New York NY: Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2009 November. Print.

·      Nickman, Steven L., Alvin A. Rosenfeld, Paul Fine, James C. MacIntyre, Daniel J. Pilowsky, Ruth-Arlene Howe, Andre Derdeyn, Mayu Bonoan Gonzales, Linda Forsythe, and Sally A. Sveda. "Children in Adoptive Families: Overview and Update." Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 44.10 (2005): 987-95. Print.

·      Sofia Poetsch, Personal Interview

·      Johnson, Dana E. "Adoption and the Effect on Children's Development." Early Human Development 39.54 (2002). Print.

·      "The Effects of Adoption on Children." LIVESTRONG.COM. Web. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/80940-effects-adoption-children/>.

·      "The Adopted Child | American Academy of Child & Adolescent      Psychiatry." American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.      Web.      <http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/the_adopted_child>.

·      Miller, Margi, and Nancy Ward. With Eyes Wide Open: A Workbook for Parents Adopting International Children. St. Paul, MN: Children's      Home Society of Minnesota, 2001. Print.

Relation:

Robbins claims that “individuals strive to arrive at some identity/destination” (133), and thinks that the importance of self truly relies on social identities. What happens when someone struggles to find their identity and their sense of who they are in the world? Many adopted children must face this issue as the develop through adolescence as they learn about themselves. I looked at multiple different articles and personal experience from my younger sister to see the difficulties faced as adopted children discover their identity.

Description:

The period of Adolescence is thought to span from around nine years old to 25 years old due to brain development. It is the most stressful and difficult time for a child no matter what situation. Adolescence is meant to be a time to develop and secure one’s identity, however, finding out about becoming adopted can add even more stress factors to a child as they develop through this period. During the beginning of adolescence and the center back to egocentrism the adopted child will start to question and develop their identity. Personal identity deals with questions that arise about us. Many of these questions are familiar ones: What am I? Where did I come from? What will happen to me in the future? What am I expected to do? We often speak of personal identity as what defines a person. Identity in this sense consists roughly of what makes you unique as an individual and different from others. Having to deal with the idea of losing ones birthparents and trying to discover an identity would be overwhelming for anyone. But for a person who concretely knows his or her ancestry and biological history many questions of identity are answered but for a child who has been adopted the issue of identity is very complex and for internationally adopted children it is even more confusing. One consequence is the adopted child can start to define their identity by what they know they are not in compared to their family. This viewpoint has been studied by Harold D. Grotevant and is called “reactive identity disorder”.  It is difficult because the child feels as if they have no one to look up to and discover their identity since role models are very important during adolescence.

The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute did studies in 2009 focusing on promoting healthy identity formation in adoption. This is the largest case study to date that looks at identity development and its consequences seen in adults who were adopted as children. Four hundred and eighty six adopted adults completed an online survey while many others shared their personal stories. The main findings of the study are laid out in these points: adoption is an increasingly significant aspect of identity as the child ages; discrimination because of adoption is a reality; transracial adoptees consider or want to be white or the same race as adoptive parents; and positive identity development is most facilitated by getting to experience travel to their native country or have role models of their same race/ethnicity. The Adoption Institute also gives some recommendations to help the process of connection with both cultures because they are a part of both. Although some adoptions try to match children with parents who have similar physical features, temperament, and intelligence to “attempt to make the adoption invisible” the adoption institute does not think this method is the correct way to deal with the problem.

I became first interested in this topic as my family prepared to adopt my younger sister, Sofia, when I was about ten years old. The adoption agency our family worked with required that each of us learned and studied about what the child would go through and how to help transition and answer their questions as they matured. We were each given a giant binder with a booklet called “With Eyes Wide Open” that was meant to be a workbook for parents adopting international children, full of articles by different professionals and personal interviews with adopted children to help with the process and integration of my sister into our family. My parents also constantly went to different seminars so they were further informed and could better prepared to help my sister. The binder also had tons of information on my sister’s native country, Guatemala. When she wanted to learn about where she came from she had accessible information that was specific to her. My family now has added photos from our visits with her and Guatemala so she can look at them whenever she wants. This topic of development and difficulties faced touches many people: the Adoption Institute’s 1997 Public Opinion Benchmark survey found that 58% of Americans know someone who has been adopted, has adopted a child or has relinquished a child for adoption and that number has only grown.

Commentary/Analysis:

 The adolescent child’s primary task is to establish a secure sense of self identity which can lead them in their adult life. Identity is composed of many aspects like race, life experiences, gender, and even biogenetic information and this information is processed to help a person develop their identity. The issues of identity development in children adopted from different countries and cultures are even more difficult. On top of that the loss of both parents as a result of adoption allows for feelings of abandonment and loss throughout adolescence that can even carry on to adult life.  Adopted youth must understand and learn that for some reason their birth parent couldn’t care for them at the time, this adds even more conflict when developing their identity. The feeling of loss is just one of the difficulties adopted children face, in addition to that the development of identity during adolescence is a very complex and difficult path for the adopted child that can greatly affect their future life. Adolescence is one of the most difficult struggles for any child, adopted or not, growing up.

Blog 5 What is Magic?

Title: What is Magic?

Topic: Magic

Sources: Anthro- Robbins,  Tanya M. Luhrmann, Herbal Store

Relation: “Modern Magic is based on the assumption that the mind and thought can affect matter without the thinkers action,” claims Robbins. Magic has constantly been in societies but has taken many forms. It can be the kind with witches, it can be person’s emotions like love, and it can even be an explanation for the unknown. The anthropologist Luhrmann joined different witches covens and groups made up of middle class people in England to discover what magic was to them. Luhrmann found the group focused on good health, natural life, reading tarot cards, and healing with herbs. This was their idea of magic in the “New Age” ideology.

Description: This past week I went to Humboldt Herbals in Eureka to look at some of the herbs they claim to help heal sickness and pain, which could be viewed as a form of magic. I spoke with one of the sales associates and she said that she completely believes that the herbs help with some type of earth magic. She gave me a pamphlet explaining how these herbs can help. It states “before the advent of antibiotics, it was not unusual for an experienced medical professional to slather honey on a wound to prevent infection and hasten healing. In the mid-1940's, antibiotics became available for the treatment of infections and herbal treatments were displaced from use.” One example of a magical healer is honey. Many published reports described the healing properties of honey in rapidly clearing infection from wounds with no adverse effects to slow the healing process. It is also suggested “honey has an antimicrobial action against a certain spectrum of bacteria and fungi and may actively promote healing.” This is just one form of magic and honey has and still is viewed to have magically properties to help heal.

Commentary/Analysis: People seem to use magic to solve all issues and use it to give an explanation for the unknown. It seems to give a simple answer to all problems even though it normally make people question more things. One question magic brings up is “What causes love?” another could be about healing potions. To cultures in other society magic is part of the afterlife and people are even constantly afraid of “dark magic”. No matter what form every person has their own idea of magic and what it is and does.

Blog 3 From Brick Oven to the Freezer Aisle

Title: From Brick Oven to the Freezer Aisle

Topic: Modernity, Consumerism, Tradition, Progress, Globalization, Localization

Source: Fire and Brick Bistro in Eureka, Live from New York Pizza, Safeway, Cultural Anthro by Robbins, online research

Relation: In the 21st century, pizza has become a globally accessible dish mainly due to Italian immigrants moving to new areas in the past 200 years. The US was the largest recipient of Italian immigrants globally. In 1850, about 4,000 Italians were reported in the US, but by 1880 the population had increased to 44,000 and by 1900 it was recorded to be around half a million. During 1850 to 1930 in particular, many Italians who came to America settled on the East Coast and opened stores and restaurants showcasing food from their homeland. Pizza now can be found anywhere in the US and in almost all other countries. The LA Times even covered the topic of pizza and how it has been globalized. Just like how pizza is a fast food in the US companies like Pizza Hut and Dominoes also emerged in Urban Indian Areas and has reached almost all major cities in India by 2010. To localize this food some pizza places serve pizzas with Indian-style toppings like Tandoori Chicken. Pizzas available in India range from localized basic variants available in neighborhood bakeries to gourmet pizzas with imported ingredients available at specialty Italian restaurants just like in the US, even here by HSU.

Description: When you enter the restaurant, Brick and Fire Bistro, the warm glow of the flames from the wood brick oven behind the bar welcomes you in. The blood orange walls are covered in photos of Naples and other Italian towns so the guests feel like they are eating in a true Italian bistro not in Northern California. Brick and Fire stated on their website that they stick to authentic Italian and Mediterranean cuisine and since they were the only restaurant that had a wood brick oven like the way pizza was originally made in Italy I had to test them out. I wanted to know what was the closest you could get to authentic Italian food being around 5000 miles away. I ordered the margarita pizza and was very happy with the result. Brick and Fire used authentic Italian pizza ingredients dough made daily, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil leaves, roasted tomatoes, freshly made tomatoes sauce, and even pine nuts. I asked the server how they picked the pizzas for the menu and was told that the pizzas recipes come from the chef’s grandmother who lived in a small town in Italy called Orvieto. This pizza was one of the most simple combinations but is an Italian tradition since the beginning of pizza. Since I had seen one version of pizza being brought over from Italy and staying authentic I wanted to also look at other modern pizza options so I went to a pizza place on the Arcata Plaza, Live From New York Pizza, and went to look at the options Safeway offers. Safeway pizza seemed to be the most changed from the original Italian pizza. Safeway was a great example how even though pizza has been globalized from Italian pizza then gets localized to fit with the society its now in. A majority of Americans do not eat “real” Italian pizza they eat American pizza like Pizza Hut and Round Table Pizza that works as a fast food and is very cheep so it meets low income consumers needs. Live From New York Pizza is local great option, it’s pizza was a similar style to most pizza in New York City which branched off from Italian pizza. Three different places in the area, each had different versions of pizza all because of globalization and how a product must change to work within its market.

Analysis: Globalization is defined as the elimination of barriers to trade, communication, and cultural exchange. The theory behind globalization is that worldwide openness will promote the inherent wealth of all nations. This goes along side the idea Robbins states that “economic development is based on these assumptions: economic growth and development are the solution to national as well as global problems; global economic integration will contribute to solving global ecological and social problems; and foreign assistance to undeveloped countries will help benefit them” (Robbins 43). It seems most anthropologists think that learning and understanding others cultures because globalization can help promote progress globally. While investigating how much this small area can change and localize a product first started almost five thousand miles away it seems hard to not agree that everyone could benefit from learning about a new culture or trying to understand the history of something that has originated somewhere else. 

The Art of Barbecuing

Blog 1

Title: The Art of Barbecuing

Topic: Food, Ethnocentricism, Social Norms

Source: Birthday party barbecue in Half Moon bay at close family friends house- 7 people there ages 19-40

·      Group of close family friends

·      1/28/12 Saturday afternoon

·      Very sunny

Relation: It is a key part of American society, a right of passage for every American child, eating at a barbecue. Whether at a baseball game, or a hot summer day by the pool, or even just making a family meal, eating burgers and hot dogs has remained the classic for every barbecue. One of the most important factor of barbecuing is what you are cooking your food on, “a grill can be seen as part of the American dream, my father was in constant competition with the other men in the neighborhood on who could throw the best barbecue and make the best food with their original recipes,” said Janet Skeens. A grill is what every “America man” has to have; it is a representation of stereotypical masculinity in American society and it seems to bring family and friends together creating a tighter community. Things like tailgating football games and having annual 4^th of July barbecues have become important American traditions. Barbecuing is one of the most common food customs in American culture and because of this I found myself wondering; what made other countries not like American food more compared to others? Why isn’t American food a global standard if we are so globalized? Then I started to think of what other countries have food that is known as a countries specific food. Even though many other countries obviously grill food it must be different then the way many Americans would grill a certain food item. While in Paris this summer I heard multiple groups of American tourists in restaurants asking if they could get a hamburger, even when it was not on the menu. Some adults in one of the groups loudly complained about the restaurant’s servers, they even made very inappropriate comments on how the waiters smelled. This group was soon asked to leave but I couldn’t believe the behavior I had seen from adults, I was so embarrassed to be an American. That was just the first instance, later on four different occasions, I saw waiters send Americans away at the restaurants because they have no time to be bothered with rude tourists. I wondered if this behavior from both sides was a common thing. This example shows ethnocentrism from the two groups; ethnocentrism is “thinking one's own group's ways or common practices are superior to others" or "judging other groups as inferior to one's own in comparison to everything". This example shines a bad light on both groups because they are both fitting into the stereotypical “fat rude American family ” and the “stuck up Parisian waiter” personas. Doctor Ken Barger from Indiana University in Indianapolis explains ethnocentrism by looking at the words meanings “ Ethnic refers to cultural heritage, and centrism refers to the central starting point... so ethnocentrism basically refers to judging other groups from our own cultural point of view.” But I digress, even though other cultures may see our love of hamburgers and greasy grilled foods as a gross obsession, the act of barbecuing is about much more than just the greasy food. Barbecuing with friends and family creates a bond between all the people working together on the grill, this is the same bond humans in hunter gather groups made while they provided and ate meals together. Barbecuing brings families and friends closer and helps maintain strong relationships. During hunter gather times it meant the group would take care and provide food for each other, they were a community. Even though the food being made has changed drastically since the hunter gather times to present day the bond formed while making a meal together is the same. 

Description: After not feeling sun for what felt like months, I stood on the 4^th story deck of my godmother’s house in Half Moon Bay soaking in the warm rays. My godmother’s girlfriend yelled to me from the street to run down and help bring in the groceries. Three trips later, the eight over following paper bags were on the counter top and the food items inside them were being put away quickly. Only 4 hours until we started to barbecue, the countdown began. Have you ever thought about the build up and hours before barbecuing, to me the time before we start can be just as important as grilling the food, people arrive you still prepare a lot of the food before hand, any last min shopping. First you have to buy all the food- pick your grocery store option, where will you get certain food, will you get things based on the season? Then, if you are like “36% of the Texas population on any weekend” (Texas travel website) you end up going to a fast food place or pizza to add an appetizer to the bbq feast. The second big step is prepping the food; this normally involves multiple people if you want diversity in your food. Everyone has their own way they like to grill so each member of the group has to put in their two cents, my godmother, Christie, wanted her burger still bleeding; her girlfriend, Janet, only wanted sausage if it was burnt; my boyfriend, Jack, wanted to put steak seasoning on his burger then use a special additional burner that he brought himself; everyone continued to add suggestions throughout the grilling. It was finally getting close to barbecuing time! The 4-burner grill was heating up to around 450 degrees and 7 plates filled with food were standing by. We piled everything on to the grill, everyone kept rearranging the food on the grill, each person trying to take control and put their food on the best grill spot. We then started to switch off jobs of turning and flipping the meat but all stayed within at least 10 ft of the grill. I had never noticed how people seemed to “hunt” their food. We all seemed to swarm around the grill keeping our food in eye site but still waiting patiently. I couldn’t even help doing it. Finally, after an hour and some random snacking off the grill, we were ready to eat. Now here’s how I realized how close barbecuing made our group and I’m sure it could be the same for any type of cooking or baking with a group of people. We passed the food back and forth making sure everyone’s plates were full, and then all together took the first bite. After a few seconds sounds of pleasure filled the kitchen; everyone started raving about the food, complimenting each other on the great meal we had all made together. As I talked about before, grilling can be stereotypically seen as a male ritual in American society but I view it much more as an American norm that promotes unity and allows a community (even if just a group of friends) to create something together. Barbecuing can even be referred to as a form of art, a creation of a beautiful thing, by creating such a positive moment with a group of people that care about each other, where everyone has contributed and is enjoying something. Those moments seem to be very hard to come by these days.

Commentary/Analysis: While reviewing my research the first thing that really stood out to me was how much stereotypes played a role in my observations. I had the stereotype of a “fat American family” and the “rude Parisian waiter” already in my head when I watched the interaction between the people in Paris. In fact, after seeing that I tried to look specifically for rude Parisian to fill the stereotype I had heard. I had even heard rumors that some of the locals would not respond to anything unless it was spoken in perfect French. I realized that when you look for something in the world it’s normally really easy to spot, so I started to stereotype almost every French person I saw. After I left Paris and traveled to Amsterdam I realized how stupid I was to ruin my time in Paris by just focusing on a stereotype. I then changed my view the rest for the trip but found it was still hard to look past stereotypes that I have learned from the states because many stereotypes have become jokes and commonly said things in American society. Comedians like Dave Chappelle and Russell Peters do a great job of calling out society on creating these stereotypes of cultures and people but they also seem to promote them. There is a lot of controversy on whether these comedians seem to help or hurt modern day racism. Americans that believe in ethnocentricism are probably some of the people that are convincing and telling people ridiculous stereotypes about other cultures because they view that American society is superior to other societies and cultures. Negative stereotypes seem to do nothing but cause issues between people. But it seems no matter what people are constantly adding and changing their society and how cultures are viewed and people view them selves. Comparing the negative issues concerning stereotypes and the positive influences and bond building benefits of barbecuing mark a clear winner because barbecuing even breaks stereotypes. It is part of American culture and creates a great bond.

Works Sited

Janet Skeens, Personal Interview on 1/28/12

Texas travel website- http://www.visithoustontexas.com/visitors/fast_facts/

Doctor Ken Barger from Indiana University Indianapolis