Living In Between Two Cultures
Written by Isabel Vasquez, RD, LDN
I'm a second generation American. My dad’s parents immigrated to New York from Puerto Rico and my mom’s parents immigrated to New York from the Dominican Republic. Instead of mashed potatoes, I grew up on mangu. Dominican spaghetti was my norm and to this day I’m still not a big fan of Italian spaghetti.
Can I be honest? I’ve definitely struggled with not feeling Latina enough. And I’ve also struggled with not quite feeling American enough (I think that by that, I mean I knew I’d never be white). I’m sure I’m not alone in this. As children or grandchildren of immigrants, we can feel like we’re living in between two cultures. We may not feel fully understood by our white friends, but we also may not have called another country home. According to surveys conducted by Pew Research, about 60% of second generation Hispanics consider themselves to be “typical Americans”, but most of this population still has a “strong sense of identity with their ancestral roots.” I’d definitely consider myself to fall under both of those categories.
“A part of existing between these two cultures means balancing the different beauty ideals and eating expectations.”
It makes sense that this would spill over into our feelings towards our bodies. A part of existing between these two cultures means balancing the different beauty ideals and eating expectations. We’re being fed different messages from each side and feel stuck in the middle. Our family is telling us to eat more, while diet culture tells us to eat less. Spanish TV idealizes voluptuous bodies with flat tummies while diet culture idealizes thin, toned bodies. This can certainly contribute to disordered eating patterns and body image struggles. We may feel insufficient if we can’t live up to either ideal, which most of us can’t!
Simply by being, you are enough.
I just want you to know you’re not alone. Even if you live in or grew up in an area with little diversity, there are plenty of other Latinas feeling this way. You are not alone. If you need further reassurance, this NPR podcast episode explores “racial impostor syndrome”. You are “Latina enough”. You are “American enough”. Your body is enough. Simply by being, you are enough. It makes sense if we feel like we don’t fit in. We are surrounded by a lot of messaging that naturally leads to that kind of feeling. In this NPR article about imposter syndrome, psychologist Andrea Salazar-Nuñez explains, “For people of color and especially women of color, impostor syndrome is ... influenced by the messaging that we've received from day one.” AND that doesn't make us any less worthy. We are worthy. That is not contingent on our body size, shape, or color. You are uniquely you. Your body is unique. It wasn’t made to fit the Latin or Eurocentric mold society created. It was made to fit YOUR unique mold.
For more from me, click here to get my free intro to intuitive eating.
Click here to sign up for my pay-what-you-can virtual Zumba classes!
