“Dim the lights people, it’s time to dance.”
Photo: jjlook on Flickr
Recently, The Tyee featured articles that address the idea of identity amongst young Canadians and immigrants. Originally published in Schema Magazine, the authors discuss how it feels to be asked, “But Where Are You Really From?” As I read their stories, I found myself nodding along in agreement. As a 1.5 generation Canadian, I’m all too familiar with what Tahira Ebrahim calls “the dance.” In my experience, “the dance” usually starts with the question:
“What are you?”
Since I consider myself to be a patient person, I simply answer that I’m Canadian, knowing full well that a follow-up question is coming. But like Billie-Ann Woo mentions in her story, I am often faced with the fact that, for some people, “I’m Canadian” is not a sufficient answer.
“No,” they’ll say. “What are you?”
Each time I’m asked to explain myself, I find myself wondering what exactly we expect a Canadian to be. Like the authors, depending on what I think the intentions are behind the question, I will either stick with “I’m Canadian” and further dance the dance, or explain that my heritage is Italian, but I was born and raised in Vancouver.
I decided to bring this discussion to my coworkers. Our program staff is a mix of first and second generation Canadians, as well as immigrants, and each of our reactions to the question is a very personal thing.
“For the most part, I would say people ask me this question out of curiosity; maybe because almost everyone in Vancouver comes from an immigrant family or are immigrants themselves,” says Ana Marie Caday. Ana Marie is a Mentoring Coordinator at our program, and came to Canada from the Philippines in 2000. “I often ask this question myself. If someone mentions phrases like ‘back home’ or ‘where I’m from,’ I ask them where back home is,” says Ana Marie. “It helps me appreciate the diversity of our city.”
“I do it with our clients all the time,” says Veronica Heringer-Ames. Veronica is a Mentoring Outreach Consultant at our program, and came to Canada from Brazil in 2006. “I like to hear their stories and learn more about their cultures. However, I do my best to not assume that I know everything about their home countries while we are chatting, and if I don’t know something, I ask. We live in a very multicultural world and we are all very proud of our cultural backgrounds. If you ask in the right way, we’ll happily tell you our stories.”
In my case, while visiting Italy for the first time last summer, I became aware of just how Canadian I am. On the flip-side, I often feel very Italian while in Vancouver. The authors of “But Where Are You Really From” all come from various cultural backgrounds, with some being born in Canada, and some having immigrated here, but the commonality in their writing that resonates with me the most is that, when it comes to cultural identity, it’s not a matter of either / or, like Craig Takeuchi writes. It can be and. If the authors of this article, my coworkers and myself are any indication, young Canadians are choosing to define ourselves based on our own individually diverse backgrounds, and there is nothing insufficient about that.
Click here to read But Where Are You Really From? and When It’s Wrong To Be A Good Sport.
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