What Is My Ethnicity?
 

Hi Everyone,

This is something that I have been interested in and thought about for well really my whole life. I am of mixed ethnic backgrounds. As far as I know I am of 25% Italian, 25% Finnish and 50% Irish/British Isles ancestry yet I have never been able to identify with just one of those ethnicities as I feel I leave the others out then. They have all contributed to my overall genetic make up so I do not really feel it is fair to leave one out and just identify with one over the others. Also I was born and raised in Canada so that seems to be something to consider as well. So really I know that I am a mutt, heinz 57 or whatever people like to call it but this leaves me with a feeling of emptiness in not being able to identify with any one group really. Do obviously other than being an individual myself what am I? What is my ethnicity? Or do I really even have one?

European..

European is not an ethnic group.

I agree with TheGuru, European/Mixed European. There's no need to chose to identify with only one part of your ancestry.

You're a European mutt like most white Americans and Canadians. However, if half your ancestry is British Isles and you grew up in Canada, I would presume you are most close to it since Canada is primarily French/British Isles influenced. I guess it depends on your surname as well as that's sometimes a bid deal to certain people in regards to identification.

Which culture did you grow up with?

Its up to you dude. You're your own man, and at the end of the day, you define yourself.

Though my rule of thumb is your ethnic character is really shaped where you are born and lived most of your life. Those Old World ancestral characteristics come out in some ways but at the end of the day your most likely a type of "New Worlder" which is ambiguous since its usually a mix of much.

All I can say is I feel your pain man, and sympathize with the complexity of defining yourself. My boat is/was the same.

I had thought before that yes maybe I could just call myself a European or European-Canadian since I am basically a European mutt I suppose. To complicate matters even further I have a double barreled surname as my mother kept her maiden name upon marriage to my father. Also I did not grow up with any one cultural influence. Rather I had a variety of cultural influences growing up I would say.

Since you grew up in Canada (I'm assuming in a Canadian family/environment) you are just Canadian. You probably connect to Canadians more than to any other people. If you see an Italian person, do you connect to that person at a deep level as a result of a common culture/identity?

My advice: be an individual first and a "meta-ethnicity", "ethnicity", "race/whatever archaic Coonian mumbo-jumbo" a distant whatever.

That's not really helpful. He should identify with Canada and Canadians. It's a good country with an interesting history, and a good identity to have http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/wink.gif

Hahaha. That's nice and all, but its really up to him. I was just offering my advice of course.http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/wink.gif

Yeah of course, he just said he grew up and lives in Canada, so I'm assuming he grew up in Canadian environment. It's good to look at your roots and appreciate them, but in then identity comes from your cultural connection from your upbringing.

Well yes I certainly do feel a connection to other Canadians but I do also feel some connection to an Italian or a Finn or an Irish person if I meet them to some degree because I know that some of my ancestry also came from those areas.

---------- Post added 2012-06-05 at 20:55 ----------

Yes but are Canadians an ethnic group or separate ethnicity?

Sorry but that connection is artificial. You can't feel a connection to another person of an ethnic group just because of your genes. If you grew up as an Italian or as a Finn then you can have a genuine connection, other than that, it's purely symbolic and a result of your mind.

Hes a mixture of different European cultures. So stfu.

The identity construct of Canadians, Americans, Australians, etc. has always been different than the construct of European identities. Though in the end, what makes you part of any identity is your own cultural connection.

Yes but like I asked above are Canadians an ethnic group? I don't think most people look at Canadians as being a distinct ethnicity.

I don't know how you guys view it but I do not consider American to be an ethnicity. Maybe Canadian is different?

Canadians are basically the same as Americans in this sense I think.