This often involves significant changes in language, dress, dietary habits, and social interactions. The primary goal of assimilation is to achieve social acceptance and economic success in the new environment, thereby becoming an integral part of the host society.
At its core, assimilation encompasses a profound shift in cultural identity. Those undergoing the process move away from the practices and traditions of their original culture in favor of those embraced by the dominant culture. Assimilation is not solely a one-sided transformation; it can be bidirectional, with both the immigrants and the host culture experiencing changes as they interact and influence each other. Many forms of assimilation exist, including structural assimilation, which involves becoming part of the economic and social structures of the host society; cultural assimilation, made by the adoption of language, religion, and customs; marital assimilation through intercultural marriages; and behavioral assimilation, where individuals adopt the behaviors and habits of the dominant culture.
Assimilation is a complex and often disputable process, as it raises questions related to cultural preservation, identity, discrimination, and the challenge of balancing multiple cultural influences. The extent and nature of assimilation depend on various factors, such as individual choices, societal attitudes, government policies, and the specific context of the immigrant or minority group’s experience. It is an important subject of study in sociology, anthropology, and multicultural studies, and it continues to be a topic of ongoing discussion and research in diverse multicultural societies worldwide.
How Long Has it Occurred?
Dating back to the 19th century, Native Americans were one of the first people who were forced to assimilate into their American Culture as white settlers expanded westward.
“Native Tribes and Whites could not live together peacefully.”
Keating, Jessica. The Assimilation, Removal, and Elimination of Native Americans, mcgrath.nd.edu/assets/390540/expert_guide_on_the_assimilation_removal_and_elimination_of_native_americans.pdf. Accessed 28 Oct. 2023.
The United States government and the president at the time, Andrew Jackson, did not want Native Tribes on their new land because Anglo-American culture and Native American culture would clash. Native Americans were not going to give up their traditions in order to be accepted by American society, making problems arise. Therefore, Andrew Jackson forcefully removed them despite Native Americans winning rights to their land in the Supreme Court, creating the “Trail of Tears.” In the trail of tears, thousands of Natives died as they walked to their new territory in present-day Oklahoma. Taking away their land was the first step towards eliminating their culture.
Massacring Natives was the second step towards eliminating their culture. With Native Americans and Anglo-Americans in close proximity, violence was often inflicted upon one another. Tribes believed they were protecting their land, but Americans believed they were protecting their people. Due to the United States being more advanced, the army massacred thousands of Natives, including women, children, and the elderly.
The removal of Natives from their land, and the mass killings of them coming from the United States showed them that their culture was not welcome. For them to live in peace, Natives needed to assimilate.
Beginning in the late 19th century, Native American boarding schools were created to teach kids to leave behind their old traditions and learn mainstream American culture. Kids were forced to speak English, leave behind their traditional clothing, and even cut their hair off. If a child was heard speaking their native language, they were punished. They were taught that America’s culture was the best way to live life. Most Native children were ultimately ashamed to practice their culture due to these schools.
The Dawes Act was also implemented by the US government to Americanize Native families. In this act, Natives were granted land allotments by the government to break up Native reservations. Natives were given vast acres of land to encourage them to adopt Anglo-American agriculture, hoping that this would make natives drop their “Indian-ness” little by little, making them assimilate.
Who is Affected Today?
LGBTQ+ Communities
Although Americans are fighting every day for LGBTQ+ peace, indifference towards queer communities remains ongoing, causing assimilation. Three major components regarding assimilation in LGBTQ+ communities are:
1
Heteronormativity
The presumption and privileging of gender conformity, heterosexuality, and nuclear families over all other “deviant” forms of gender expression, sexuality, and families.
When an individual’s appearance, behavior, interests, and self-concept comply with the standards and expectations attributed to their biological sex or from masculine and feminine normalizations.
When immigrants move to a new, unfamiliar country, they stress about how they will fit in with their indifferent culture. In America, there are about 44.8 million immigrants overall. Because of this, the United States is known as a “melting pot.” Instead, of all the unique cultures from other countries co-existing with one another, there is homogeneity and “like-mindedness” in society.
Education
Immigrants from third-world countries are generally uneducated due to the inaccessibility of resources. When coming to America, immigrant parents enroll their children in school, where they can become educated meanwhile learn about social customs. This access to higher education helps children learn about the history of America and adopt their primary values. With this, children will not be exposed to their traditional culture as frequently as American culture, making the assimilation process go faster.
Language
Through social contact, such as conversations with Americans, immigrants think to themselves, “A common language is indispensable for the most intimate association of the group.” Therefore, learning English is the first step to becoming “Americanized.” Many immigrants who do not speak English are susceptible to criticism by others. They face frequent harassment with comments like, “Go back to your country!” or “Speak English!” If they learn English, they will not be marginalized for speaking a different language than the norm in America. According to the Pew Research Center, about 50% of the Hispanic population speaks English, showing that numbers are rising due to assimilation.
Names
In order for Immigrant parents’ children not to face discrimination for having a different culture, parents assimilate their names, leaving behind cultural names. Studies show that when parents spent more time in America, they were more likely to give their children “Americanized” names. Immigrants do this in fear that they will not have a successful life in the future if they sound “foreign.” Their names helped with the process of assimilation in America because children with less-foreign-sounding names completed more years of school earned higher wages, and were less likely to be unemployed compared to children with foreign-sounding names.
Who Supports Assimilation?
Xenophobic individuals want everyone to think, look, and act the same. They want no uniqueness in the world.
Xenophobia: dislike, hatred, or fear of outsiders. This can manifest as hostility towards immigrants, but it can also be manifested as hatred towards others of another tribe, culture, or religion.
Xenophobia does not only include immigrant culture, but it can also be based on judgments about appearances or behaviors. Xenophobic individuals play a part in the assimilation process due to the indifference of “outsiders.” This indifference is shown in a variety of means such as microaggressions, discrimination, immigration policies, or violence. With microaggressions, subtle comments emphasize how different another individual is from the norm. This can make people feel like they do not belong due to their differences, making them feel like they need to change or be “normal” to become accepted. Xenophobic individuals tend to discriminate toward those who are outside of their “normal” standards. For example, during a job hiring process, they will turn someone down because they have a non-heterosexuality, or they are a different race from them. Also, harsh immigration policies can be put in place because individuals do not want immigrants to indoctrinate their culture in America for fear of losing it. Therefore, they try to take out immigrants by any means. Lastly, xenophobia can resort to violence due to their hatred of individuals who are different. We can see this occur through statistics because, in 2022, there were 11,634 hate crime incidents. About 60% of them are due to race, 17% due to religion, and 17% due to sexual orientation. Xenophobic individuals show this behavior because they want unique individuals to feel bad about themselves so they will assimilate to what they perceive as “normal.”
How are Individuals Affected?
Identity:
The author,Gloria Anzaldua, analyzes the difficulties in “Chicano” identity in her book, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” She dives into her personal experiences, where she was constantly demanded to learn how to speak English for her to have a successful life in the future. She was reprimanded by the education system for being connected to her Mexican roots by correcting her teacher on the pronunciation of her name or speaking Spanish at recess. She uses this to illustrate the brawl between Spanish and English within her identity while living in America because Spanish was looked down upon, but she wanted to be proud of her culture. She did not want to get rid of her English accent to assimilate into America’s culture.
Adding on, she straddles the border of America and Mexico, never feeling like she truly belongs anywhere since she is a mix of both cultures, making her identity “Chicana.” Being Chicana, she was too “American” to fit in with people in Mexico, yet she was too “Mexican” to fully assimilate into American culture. Ultimately, she was alienated, not knowing who she truly was.
Income:
Assimilation does not always affect individuals negatively. Assimilation can enhance immigrants’ income and economic by assimilating into American culture.
One of the primary ways where assimilation increases income is by providing immigrants with access to better job opportunities. As immigrants become proficient in the host country’s language, they can communicate more effectively, understand job requirements, and navigate the labor market more skillfully. This, in turn, allows them to access a broader range of employment options, often including higher-skilled and better-paying positions.
Education and training are essential for assimilating. Immigrants who embrace the culture of America often engage more actively in education development. As they gain access to educational opportunities and work toward obtaining relevant qualifications, their earning potential increases. Educational attainment is closely linked to income, and assimilation paves the way for immigrants to secure higher-paying jobs that demand specialized skills or expertise.
Furthermore, assimilation aids immigrants in building social networks and connections within the host society. These networks can be instrumental in job search and career advancement, often leading to higher-paying positions. Social integration not only enhances immigrants’ understanding of the labor market but also provides access to valuable information and opportunities for economic growth.
Works Cited
Abramitzky, Ran. “What History Tells Us about Assimilation of Immigrants.” Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), Apr. 2017, siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/what-history-tells-us-about-assimilation-immigrants.
Allen, James P., and Eugene Turner. “Spatial patterns of immigrant assimilation.” The Professional Geographer 48.2 (1996): 140-155.
Anzaldua, Gloria. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” Fifty Great Essays. Boston: Pearson, 2011.
“Assimilation and Language.” Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project, Pew Research Center, 20 Mar. 2004, www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2004/03/19/assimilation-and-language/.
“Chapter 3: Boarding Schools: Native Words, Native Warriors.” Native Words, Native Warriors – National Museum of the American Indian, americanindian.si.edu/nk360/code-talkers/boarding-schools/#:~:text=Indian%20boarding%20schools%20were%20founded,the%20government%20or%20Christian%20missionaries. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.
“Dawes Act (1887).” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/dawes-act. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.
Frost, David M, and Ilan H Meyer. “Internalized Homophobia and Relationship Quality among Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals.” Journal of counseling psychology vol. 56,1 (2009): 97-109. doi:10.1037/a0012844
Gordon, Milton M. “Assimilation in America: Theory and Reality.” Daedalus, vol. 90, no. 2, 1961, pp. 263–85. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20026656. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.
Herek, Gregory M., et al. “Correlates of internalized homophobia in a community sample of lesbians and gay men.” Journal-Gay and Lesbian Medical Association 2 (1998): 17-26.
Hu, Wei-Yin. “Immigrant earnings assimilation: estimates from longitudinal data.” American Economic Review 90.2 (2000): 368-372.
Keating, Jessica. The Assimilation, Removal, and Elimination of Native Americans, mcgrath.nd.edu/assets/390540/expert_guide_on_the_assimilation_removal_and_elimination_of_native_americans.pdf. Accessed 28 Oct. 2023.
Pollitt, Amanda M et al. “Heteronormativity in the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Young People.” Journal of homosexuality vol. 68,3 (2021): 522-544. doi:10.1080/00918369.2019.1656032
“Xenophobia: Meaning, Signs, Examples, and Stopping It.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/xenophobia. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.
