By grade 12 I hope to improve the amount of evidence in my writing and I need to be straight to the point giving my best examples. I could have added more evidence as it would help provide a more compelling argument as well as helping my thesis through examples. Secondly I need to get better at having just my strongest points. I tend to have some weaker evidence in my writing when I could have a stronger argument. I am proud that I chose two sources that may not seem similar from first glance. For example I didn’t choose two First Nations poems but rather I found similarities between two identities that are quite different. I did this to challenge myself and it was somewhat challenging but I got past that.

Minority Should Not Mean Inequality

Minority identities deal with many conflicts due to the fact that they are different from the majority of people. So what conflicts may arise when one has a minority identity? Alex Dang presents the conflicts he faces and the effects they have in his poem “What Kind of Asian Are You?” As he is Asian-American, he faces these himself and this has influenced his writing. The second source is a TED Talk called “50 Shades of Gay” presented by iO Tillett Wright. She speaks about the conflicts the LGBTQ community faces. These two speakers both face similar conflicts although their identities are very different. Alex Dang faces challenges and conflicts due to his race whereas iO Tillett Wright faces these due to her sexual preferences and choice of gender. Although the reasons why they face these conflicts are different: they do share common conflicts such as discrimination, feeling unaccepted, and losing parts of their identity. Both sources speak up about these conflicts to provide understanding and to help humanize these minority identities who, although different, are still human.

Both Asian-Americans and the LGBTQ community fall prey to discrimination. Alex speaks about discrimination when he says, “Let me tell you about derogatory terms and origins of words such as chink and gook,” ( Dang ). They are called names and treated as lesser just because of their race and this certainly has a hurtful effect. Even though Alex is American many people still discriminate against him because he is also Asian. He is American but people only look at his appearance and judge him because of it. The LGBTQ community feels the effects of discrimination as well. IO states, “You can legally be fired just for your sexuality,” ( Wright ). The LGBTQ community faces this type of discrimination because they do not have the same rights as everyone else. They may be different but they have the same basic needs as everyone else such as housing. This discrimination can have a lasting affect such as shame of their culture or sexuality.

As these minorities are different from what is considered normal they are often unaccepted for who they are. Whether this is due to a difference in race or a difference in what someone believes is sexually correct. Alex says, “I still feel the shame of being Asian,” ( Dang ). He does not feel accepted and is treated as though it is wrong to be Asian. He feels he has to change to be more American even though he himself is American, but those around him see him for his skin colour and race. IO grew up in a very accepting neighbourhood and with parents who encouraged her but that is not the case with everyone. She talks about people who were not as accepting when she says, “I met people who legally divorced their children for being anything other than straight.” ( Wright ). One may be fearful to express their sexuality as there are those who do not agree with them. This can cause internal conflict and make them feel isolated from others.

When one is part of a minority identity other people may start to assume things about them due to a lack of knowledge. This can lead to a loss of identity, for they are not seen as themselves but as a part of that group. This tends to lead to hurtful stereotypes as well. Alex mentions this loss of identity when he says, “Every time you confuse me with some other nationality that I might share similar features to is stripping away my individuality,” ( Dang ). He loses parts of his identity because people only see him for his culture rather than for who he is. The same is true for iO. She talks about being put into boxes. She says, “Because really, they describe nothing that we see and no one that we know and nothing that we are,” ( Wright ). When people call her gay they do not encompass everything that she is and thus she loses part of her identity.

In conclusion both of these minorities face similar conflicts due to being different. While they both have different identities they are more similar than different. Although they face these challenges they find the courage to speak up and bring awareness to these issues and hopefully create change. These differences should not lead to fear and hate but rather should be acknowledged and accepted. This way in the future a minority identity will feel accepted and not face these same conflicts.

Works Cited

Wright, Tillett. “Fifty Shades of Gay.” Ted, Ted, 2012, www.ted.com/talks/io_tillett_wright_fifty_shades_of_gay?language=en.

Dang, Alex. “Alex Dang – ‘What Kind of Asian Are You?” (NPS 2013).” YouTube, YouTube, 29 Jan. 2014, m.youtube.com/watch?v=VoP0ox_Jw_w.