ETHNIC COMMUNITIES, IDENTITY AND BELONGING: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY by Evanilde Bekkout, BA in Arts – Major History, Ryerson University, 2014 A Major Research Paper presented to Ryerson University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Program of Immigration and Settlement Studies Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2015 ©Evanilde Bekkout 2015 Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this major research paper. This is a true copy of the MRP, including any required final revisions. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this paper to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this paper by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my MRP may be made electronically available to the public. Evanilde Bekkout ii ETHNIC COMMUNITIES, IDENTITY AND BELONGING: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY Evanilde Bekkout Master of Arts 2015 Immigration and Settlement Studies Ryerson University Abstract This paper presents an autoethnographic analysis of identity and belonging. I describe some of my own experiences as a member of the Brazilian and Portuguese communities in order to propose that multicultural individuals need to navigate among the many identities they relate to, which make them live at the margins of cultural groups rather than limiting them to one exclusive culture. I examine the period I lived in the Brazilian community and why I do not fit there; and why I fit in the Portuguese community although I do not feel that I fully belong there. Then, I argue that a multicultural individual needs to live at the margins of cultural communities in order to move among different communities; and conclude that more work on multicultural identity is needed to understand how multicultural individuals handle belonging without identifying themselves with specific groups. The sequence of personal experiences presents a progressive development of identity and belonging culminating with an argument that this project can be enlarged into a qualitative study of identity and belonging in ethnic groups to examine multicultural identity in ethnographic studies. Key words: Identity, belonging, Brazilian and Portuguese communities, multiculturalism iii Acknowledgments Once a literature teacher said that to understand Machado de Assis, a classic writer of the Brazilian literature, one has to read between the lines of his writings to understand what he is really saying. Although I am not a classic writer, I could not have developed this project if my supervisor Dr. Vappu Tyyskä had not looked beyond the surface of an idea and discovered sufficient material to transform the idea into a palpable project. After that, she continued to guide and support me with valuable tips to transform this paper into a potential source of research to those who are interested to study more about identity and belonging among ethnic groups. Since the idea of this project started during one of my classes of the Immigration and Settlement Studies Program, I was thrilled when Dr. Amina Jamal, my Professor, accepted to be part of this project as the second reader. Finally, I would like to mention my husband, who has been patient and understanding throughout this whole process, and has never pressured me that I had dinner ready when I had to research or to write to complete a section of this paper. I am truly thankful to you all for the special ways you have contributed to make this project possible. iv Table of Contents Author’s Declaration ............................................................................................................................................ ii Abstract .................................................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 Literature Review ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Identity .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Sense of belonging .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................ 15 Autoethnography of identity and belonging ........................................................................................... 19 The Brazilian community ............................................................................................................................ 19 The Portuguese community ........................................................................................................................ 30 Discussion.......................................................................................................................................................... 36 Conclusion and future work .......................................................................................................................... 40 References ............................................................................................................................................................ 43 v Introduction My ethnic identity is usually challenged because of my accent. When I was visiting Chicago, a woman asked me where I had come from and I automatically said Canada. She did not accept my answer and we started discussing about citizenship, until I gave the answer she expected: I was born and raised in Brazil; therefore, I could not be Canadian because my mother tongue was Portuguese, not English. In many occasions when I was in Britain, people were satisfied when I said I came from Canada. They did not argue or debate about accents and citizenships; they accepted my answer without challenging it. This shows how people’s curiosity about these matters depends on the context. In Canada, identity and belonging are greatly discussed, and many people sound confused when questioned about their ethnic and cultural identities. Before going any further, it is important to say that my contact with Canadians is limited to the Great Toronto Area (GTA) and to information from books, lectures, and the media. The discussion of identities seems to have a link to the sense of belonging individuals have within their ethnic and cultural communities, independent of their actual immigrant status. According to Statistics Canada (2014, para. 2), the ethnocultural characteristics of the population are categorized according to “origins of various waves of immigrants who have settled in Canada over time,” and analyzes the Canadian population based on its generation status, which refers to “whether people are first, second or third generation or more in Canada.” The first generation refers to those who are born outside of Canada; the second generation refers to those who are born in Canada, but have at least one parent who is non-Canadian-born; and the third generation or more refers to those who are born in Canada, and their parents are also born in Canada (Statistics Canada, 1 2014). The 2011 Census shows that 22 percent of the Canadian population is first generation, which means that 78 percent are Canadian-born (Statistics Canada, 2014). Perhaps these terms first, second and third generations have something to do with my interpretation of people being confused, since I relate ethnic identity to nationality: I was born in Brazil, therefore I am Brazilian. You are born in Canada, therefore, you are Canadian. This concept made sense to me when I lived in Brazil, but since the concepts of identity and belonging are discussed under the ideology of multiculturalism in Canada, they are more complicated to grasp; hence my desire to embark on studying these concepts in depth. In multicultural cities, such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, many people are asked about their ethnic identification, which makes them aware of belonging to a specific group. Some say they belong to a minority ethnic group, others say they belong to a mainstream ethnic group, and still others say they belong to both or to neither of them (Berry & Sam, 1997). This fluctuation of identity and belonging is arguably accepted in Canada, which can be seen through the government endorsement of multiculturalism policy since 1971, which led to the creation of the Multiculturalism Act of 1985. The Act recognizes and promotes “the cultural and racial diversity of Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of all members of Canadian society to preserve, enhance and share their cultural heritage;” as well as encourages “the understanding that multiculturalism is a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity and that it provides an invaluable resource in the shaping of Canada’s future” (Government of Canada, Nov. 25, 2014,