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Intra-Ethnic Distinctions and Divisions: Intermediary Identification of 1.5 and Second-Generation Filipino Americans  


Abstract Category: Other Categories
Course / Degree: Sociology
Institution / University: San Diego State University, United States
Published in: 2004


Thesis Abstract / Summary:

This thesis contributes to the general understanding of second-generation identity formation, specifically its intersection with inter-generational conflicts and intra-ethnic (same-group) variations in orientations. It explores the phenomenon among 1.5 and second-generation Filipino Americans born to the post-1965 wave of Filipino immigrants. Qualitative methods were used, specifically in-depth face-to-face and e-mail exploratory interviews with 12 individuals, males and females, between the ages of 18 and 30. In addition, autobiographical essays by 1.5 and second-generation Filipino Americans were used to supplement primary data.

The literature on Filipinos in general suggests that the Philippine history, particularly the U.S. colonization, has a significant impact to the development of the cohort’s identification process. Language becomes significant in that Filipino immigrants arrive to the U.S. with already prior knowledge of the English language. Thus, they socialize their children, the 1.5 and second-generation cohort, to speak English only. In doing so, language becomes a basis for in-group distinctions and divisions: i.e., “FOBs” or “Fresh-Off-the-Boat” Filipinos are characterized by the cohort as speaking with heavy, accented English, or speaking the native languages publicly. Because of the history of racial amalgamations, moreover, Filipinos in general developed ambivalence toward racial and ethnic identification. This identity dilemma seems to be compounded by the cohort’s experience of U.S. racialization as they get older. The cohort’s racial distinctiveness living in a racialized society prohibits it from fully assimilating to the mainstream. Therefore, being “American” is increasingly associated with being white, which is impossible to attain. Those who “act white” are also stigmatized, labeling them as “white-washed” Filipinos.

In this study, the respondents chose different ethnic labels to describe themselves. “Filipino Americans” (“hyphenated”) and “Filipinos” (“national origin”, i.e., one that is a “reactive ethnicity”) were the most popular labels, followed by “Pacific Islander” or “Asian American” (“pan-ethnic”). Only one identified simply as “American” (unhyphenated American). Three of the respondents chose two labels, suggesting a situational identity. Although the respondents each identified with one or more of these manifest ethnic labels, they nonetheless share a sense of being different from both the “FOBs” (“Fresh-Off-the-Boat”), and the “white-washed” Filipinos who are generally viewed negatively. Moreover, the cohort collectively experiences “emotional transnationalism”: a feeling of emotional attachment to, or tug between, two nationalities—the Philippines and the U.S. in this case. In coping with this emotional state, 1.5 and second-generation Filipino Americans engage in what this thesis refers to as “intra-ethnic intermediary identification”—a latent process of actively and strategically positioning themselves between two extreme orientations so as to develop a positive ethnic self-image and a sense of identity or belonging. Research implications are addressed.


Thesis Keywords/Search Tags:
Intra-Ethnic Distinctions Divisions Intermediary Identity Race Ethnicity Filipino Asian 1.5 Second-Generation

This Thesis Abstract may be cited as follows:
Basa, A. C. 2004. "Intra-Ethnic Distinctions and Divisions: Intermediary Identification of 1.5 and Second-Generation Filipino Americans." M.A. Thesis, Department of Sociology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA


Submission Details: Thesis Abstract submitted by Art C. Basa, Jr. from United States on 17-Sep-2004 11:08.
Abstract has been viewed 2805 times (since 7 Mar 2010).

Art C. Basa, Jr. Contact Details: Email: acbasa@cox.net



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