Ethnic Gloss

Examples of Ethnic Glosses

The category of American Indian (or Native American), a widely used and abused ethnic gloss, actually represents an extremely diverse and complicated ethnic group consisting of well over 500 identifiable tribal units, in which individual members represent varying degrees of mixtures, resulting from intermarriages, and reflect varying acculturative orientations that effect ethnic identity. Using the label American Indian ignores the specific and unique life-ways and thoughtways of each of these different groups or tribes. This brand of gross oversimplification is also found in the label Asian American. There are at least 32 distinct Asian American ethnic and cultural groups that are typically listed under this designation; however, the differences among and between these groups are extraordinarily complex. Given the diversity of languages, norms, mores, and immigrant status, it is evident that to label these peoples as Asian American implies a level of homogeneity that is almost certainly lacking. The Hispanic ethnic gloss is a term used to designate those individuals who reside in the United States and whose cultural origins are from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and various other Latin American countries. The American essayist Richard Rodriguez (2003), for example, asserts,

African Americans or Blacks in America are considered to be individuals who can trace the origins of their ancestors to Africa. African American as a race is an illusion if one means by it a homogeneous group with common anatomical and psychological characteristics. Moreover, African Americans in America are as culturally heterogeneous as the other three groups, as reflected in social class characteristics, progeny from mixed ethnic marriages, and American Blacks who are descendants of, or originally from, the Caribbean Basin (e.g., Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica) and Central and South America.

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