People of color? How minority groups wish to be identified

On my last tutorial with Zuleika, an aspect that I’ve never noticed have been pointed out—some Chinese people might not consider themselves as people of color, I was suprised by this because in my former research, there really exsist many associations and organiations supporting this group like UAL color association, saying that their mission is to help BLAME group and use term like”people of color “. Also, in a book I read about identity, it mentioned that people’s identities are not automatically granted ‘right of way,’ but rather, are something that involves political struggle where rights and duties are fought over within society.

So I take it for granted that Chinese people should fight for their rights and consider themselves as people of color. However, after noticing this new aspect, i did some research and realized two things. One thing is, some individuals may not realize that they actually belong to underrepresented groups and that their rights are not fully protected, only coming to such an understanding when their rights are impacted. Additionally, people’s perceptions are influenced by their environment. For instance, there’s a large population of Asians, one might only feel part of a minority group when surrounded by faces of unfamiliar skin colors.

The second thing is, some individuals might not appreciate being defined by their skin color. After reading this post “Please, don’t call me BAME or BME! ” and reflecting on this aspect again, I realized that while uncovering injustices and racial disparities is crucial, it’s important during the research process to be mindful of one’s language, to maintain an inclusive perspective, and to consider how minority groups wish to be identified, rather than being stuck in one’s own way of thinking. Just like what is said in this post,”We all have an ethnicity, so it is important that we all discuss ethnicity in a way that is appropriate, inclusive and sensitive to how ethnic groups identify themselves.” This not only could lead to inconsiderate issues but also could introduce confirmation bias into the research, where one continuously selects and acknowledges information that aligns with their preconceptions, consequently reducing the diversity of the project.