My Socialization and Social Forces Analysis

Intersectionality and Identity Through the Sociological Theories: A Female Chinese American's Perspective Your Name Subject and Section Professor’s Name Date Introduction Analyzing social development also means understanding the potential factors of individuals’ identity formation. Here, the role of nationality, ethnicity, gender, and social class as part of the subject’s intersectional identity comes into play. For an Asian American female with Chinese heritage like me, who came to the United States at the age of five, all these contribute to the process of assimilation into a new culture as well as retaining the cultural identity. The worst experience of living in a lower social class adds further layers to personal development as it significantly affects the view of the world and potential. Although many significant events in human history helped to influence social identity formation and individual development, two of them can be the most influential. The first deals with special educational needs observed in childhood in America through the lens of a child from a low-income family and the issues of equity in distributing educational resources and opportunities in schools for learners from different social backgrounds. The second essential experience relates to gender stereotyping, particularly within the cultural community as well as the larger American society. These lessons can be understood in understanding how personal goals and freedoms intersect with oppressive societal systems to determine one's character. In examining these experiences, it is helpful to look at them through the lens of Marxist, W. E. B DuBois, and Goffman’s sociological concepts. When understanding intersectional identity about social forces, one can draw on two of the founders of sociology, namely, Karl Marx and W.E.B. DuBois. Marx's theory on the class conflict between the bourgeois and the proletariat provides a perspective into class and economic differences that inform intersectionality (Øversveen & Kelly, 2022). Consequently, DuBois’s idea of double consciousness examines the internalization of oppression, which is significant to intersectionality (Meer, 2019). Erving Goffman's dramaturgical analysis also offers insights into how individuals navigate and manage their identities in various social settings (Gilmore, 2014; Ranci, 2021). This paper aims to examine the relationship between class and race concerning Marx and DuBois' theories while also considering Goffman's concepts to establish how these factors influenced the social progress and construction of individuals' identity First Experience: The Educational Challenges and Class Mobility Being in a public school with little funding, limited use of new technologies, and large classrooms, all since the school was in a low-income area, had disadvantages. A particular case in point is when the students failed to accomplish the scientific assignments because there were no proper lab facilities or necessary lab equipment. While students in wealthier schools got well-equipped laboratory halls and could carry out practical experiments independently, some students in my school relied only on head knowledge and limited live demonstrations of teachers. Not only did it negatively affect academic achievement, it also fostered feelings of loss among the learners who were conscious of the good things that students in better-endowed schools received. A Marxist interpretation of this experience is the most appropriate, as it underlines the critical role of class struggle in education. According to Campbell (2022), Marxism was based on conflict theory. To quote, it was mentioned in this study that “…conflict theory usually assumes four things: (1) that social life involves clashes of interest, (2) that clashes of interest involve zero-sum outcomes where one side’s gain is the other’s loss, (3) that dominant groups gain at the expense of others, and (4) that radical change is the only way to reduce the power of dominant groups.” Based on this, Marx interpreted that society is divided into two main classes—the bourgeoisie, the class of monarchs who possess the means of production, and the proletariat, or the class of people who work for wages. These classes are guided by the capitalist system, which only seeks to maximize profits (Øversveen & Kelly, 2022). In education, this means that schools in wealthier districts, financed by the wealthier populace and higher property taxes, have more resources, while schools in poorer districts, financed by lower taxes, have fewer resources to meet even the fundamental requirements of education. This economic duality enhances class disparity as students from the lower class take inferior education, hence being relegated to the proletariat. Pervasive poverty in the school, the absence of educational materials, and limited opportunities highlight the harms of a capitalist society in which resources are not distributed fairly and socioeconomic structures limit students' potential. Personally, this setting fostered an oriental feeling of subservience and a more acute conscious awareness of social and economic stratification. Being constantly confronted with the differences in socioeconomic status of my peers, the daily schooling experience turned into a negotiation between the desire for academic success and the understanding of social justice that provided me with information on why it was impossible to achieve this desire. Such a realization can be demoralizing and may lead to students experiencing low morale because they perceive such inequalities as a personal misfortune rather than systematic maladroitness. Next, analyzing social differences using W. E. B. DuBois's double consciousness adds an understanding of the inner conflict experienced in this perspective. According to Meer (2019), double consciousness is a psychological strain within subordinate populations living in a society that is oppressive to them, where they are compelled to accommodate both how the subjugators see them and how they see themselves. The author also quoted DuBois in his original passage from the "Strivings," where the latter said, “We who are dark can see America in a way that Americans cannot.” This is because DuBois’ concept of double consciousness was initially from the social injustices inflicted against African Americans. This also applies to an Asian American female in a lower-income school. Specifically, this might show up as the desire to fit in with the cultural norms of the home country and the prejudices and discriminations that exist in American society, which only immigrants like me can see. This issue was intensified by cultural bilingualism, which is the ability to navigate and adapt to two distinct cultural identities and languages (Kroll & McClain, 2013). To elaborate, my identity crisis was further heightened by the fact that I was born and raised in China initially, which makes switching between the two even more challenging. The cultural imperative to succeed academically due to expectations regarding Asian students overlapped with the lack of resources and support in the school, resulting in a constant dichotomy between pride and oppression. This duality most often made the students feel as if they were alone because the support systems and cultural sensitivity common to other well-endowed schools were nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, they had to deal with their issues as and when they arose. Second Experience: Navigating Gender Expectations and Identity Another important social issue was the pressure arising from the expectations of the cultural community and the entire American society concerning gender expectations. Most Chinese immigrant parents had traditional views on women's role in the family and they, most of the time, follow the traditional family type. They expected women to be docile and engage in housework and upholds the traits of toxic masculinity (Wade, 2021; Zurndorfer, 2014; Poling, 2019). This went against the grain of the comparatively liberal view on relations between men and women embraced by most Americans at the time. One of the most vivid instances of this culture war occurred during my high school, where female students were required to dress and act precisely in a way that adhered to cultural gender norms during a cultural event. While the boys were expected to be outgoing and be able to take responsibility in public and leadership areas, the other girls and I were seen...