Mestizo Identity

In “Mestizo Identity,” Linda Alcoff discussed mixed-raced people in the United

States. She uses the term Mestizo, who are people of different racial groups. What I

understood from the reading was that she thinks that mixed- raced people may be

rejected by the dominant race as impure and are seen as inferior, but are also rejected by

the oppressed group because of their privileges to the dominant race. Alcoff mentioned

that acceptance into a community is tied to your racial identification and there are

benefits and opportunities according to your racial identity affecting your social status.

Being in between the two forces the person to have to pick one or the other, which

she mentions it creates alienation because they may feel like they have no historical

identity. They should be recognized for their mixed-raced so they can feel like they

belong somewhere. They should not have to give up one of their identity components.

She also mentioned how in the United States the alternative to racial purity is

assimilation, but that tends to be restricted to whites. She thinks that there should be a

development of a positive reconstruction of mixed-race identity.

I agree with Alcoff on how mixed-raced people should not have to leave out a

part of identity just to be able to fit in with another group. It should not be seen as

shameful and they should not be alienated for their race. How or what should mixed-

raced people do to not be seen as a lack of