Identity of Self From a Cultural Perspective, Essay Example

The Caucasian race is a general classification used to express and describe individuals of “white” descent. As is norm, individuals from this race are considered much more superior intellectually and even physically in terms of appearance. The following is a description of the perspective from a Caucasian female living in a small town with a high percentage of a minority group in the community.

Attitudes and beliefs towards self

The physical and cultural characteristics that are associated with her own race are much more superior. Her perception of the physical appearance of her racial or cultural group are attractive. She is confident of her physical appearance and does not see the need to alter any aspects of it (Sue, 2013). She readily embraces the traditional modes of dress and appearance that is associated with her racial group. Her white mannerisms make her particularly proud and confident especially when combined with her sense of fashion, speech patterns and goals. She has high levels of self-esteem.

Attitudes and beliefs toward members of the same racial background

Her perception of her fellow members of her racial background is similar to her perception of herself. She believes that members of her race are particularly superior intellectually. They are not plagued with many social issues such as unemployment and HIV/Aids. She is much more available emotionally towards individuals from her racial background and finds it easier to associate with them. She finds individuals from her racial background more interesting attractive.

Attitudes towards members of other dominant groups

Since in the given societal setting there are no other dominant groups mentioned, in the case where an individual from another dominant group would happen to pass by, she would admire and respect such individuals. This is owing to the fact that she believes members of other dominant groups similar to hers are much more superior in cultural, social and institutional sense (McGoldrick, 2008). They uphold high standards in her eyes. She would look to emulate certain aspects of their character and personality as she finds them attractive and respectable.

Attitudes towards members of minorities

She believes individuals from the minority that make up the high percentage of the town are inferior to her. She believes they are the true root cause of social problems such as drugs and crimes. In her opinion these social problems would not exists of the minority group existed. She finds amusement in certain aspects that define the minority group like their accent and mannerisms (Sue, 2013). In her opinion the minority group are inferior intellectually and she believes that is the reason why they find it hard to get employment. She believes that the minority group respond to problems in a violent manner and do not have amicable ways of resolving disputes. She believes that the minorities probably complain too much of oppression that does not exist. She does not believe that the minority group can be considered as generally attractive even though she might find certain members of the opposite sex within the group attractive. However, she believes that certain physical features of the females within the minority group are quite attractive and would wish to have them.

The above description of the perspective from a Caucasian female living in a small town with a high percentage of a minority group in the community, has been influenced by year and generations of political and social revolution. This has led to the subconscious ranking and definition of different races, otherwise known as the stratification of races. (Sue, 2013)