Master Status Paper

Race/Ethnicity:

As a first generation Indian American, I have dealt with many cases of judgement and non-

acceptance. I always thought that being the child of immigrant parents was amazing – until it was not. I

had two different cuisines, two different clothes, two different music/entertainment, and two different

films. However, this also meant that I also had two different groups of people constantly invalidating my

identity. I have always struggled with being able to identify myself into one culture. I have always lived

as someone who was never fully Indian neither fully American. On one hand, I would have Indian

aunties expressing their disapproval for my lack of cultural knowledge, clothes, and poor native

language skills. They would say things like “Are you wearing shorts?!” or “You are very Americanized.

You’re barely Indian.” But on the other hand, Americans never saw me as an American. I remember

being told on multiple occasions that the food I brought to school “looked gross” and “smelled funny”.

Once, I was told that “I didn’t want to sit next to you because I thought you would smell like the other

Indians.” I was even placed in ESL (English as a Second Language) classes, even though I am a native

speaker, because my teacher thought I did not know English purely based off the color of my skin. Even

though I have had troubles with my identity as a South Asian, I believe those instances led me to learn

how to grow a thick skin and learn how to intertwine both cultures of mine so I can truly express myself

as an Indian American.

Sexuality:

As a heterosexual female, I have never struggled with my sexual identity. I grew up in a home

where my very conservative Indian father would openly make insulting and homophobic remarks about

anyone who falls under the LGBTQ+ community. I was taught that, as long as my father was alive, I
wouldn’t be welcome in that family if I was anything but straight. Fortunately, I always knew I identified

as straight, so I never suffered in my house regarding my sexuality. Even though I have heard these

many hateful speeches throughout my childhood, I never agreed with my father’s beliefs. I have had

plenty of queer friends who have taught me the joys of being in the community as well as the

destructiveness and hatefulness that derives from it. I have never had to face discrimination or back-

handed jabs based on my sexuality, so I never took into the account of how much LGBTQ+ persons have

to fight for their way of life whether it be in school or having to isolate themselves from non-accepting

family members.

Gender:

My mother has always made it clear to me that I would always face difficulties as a woman.

Regardless of how smart, beautiful, or successful I may become, someone would always find a way to

undermine my achievements and take away my worth. I never truly understood her words until I had a

conversation with my father after I turned sixteen. For the first time in three years, I met my father again

as he was driving me to Texas. During the ten-hour duration of the trip, I was told that “girls should only

wear skirts and dresses”, “you should quit wrestling, it’s a boy’s sport”, and “college was a scam” and

that I should live in India with him. Ironically enough, my father pushed my brother’s higher education

and constantly pressured him into going to ivy league schools. It was clear to my that he only valued my

brother’s education because he was a male. In terms of living in India with my father, I knew that he

would either want to make me his housemaid or would want to marry me off for dowry. After having

this discussion with my father, I became saddened with the fact that my own father doesn’t view me as

an important person simply because of my gender.

Class:
 As someone from a standard American middle-class family I have never had to struggle with the

idea of not being able to afford necessities. I never had to doubt my parents’ abilities to feed me or pay

for my surgeries or pay for my education. Although I did not have designer bags or a fancy house, my

family supported me and my brother with everything else they could provide. My parents even found

new jobs and apartments to move in to so that my brother and I could learn in a better school district. I

grew up in a house that valued saving and smart financial decisions.

Age:

Even though I have not suffered from any extreme forms of ageism, I get undermined because

of my age from time to time. Sometimes when I try to correct my parents’ speech and beliefs to be more

politically correct and more socially acceptable, I often get told off saying I’m too young to understand

them. Sometimes my parents will say that my generation is too sensitive and get overly worked up

about matters that do not pertain to me. I feel like they do not listen to me just because I am younger

than them. For example, my father used the n-word multiple times while he was berating black people.

After a bad encounter with a black person. For obvious reasons, I took offence to his words and told him

that the n-word is not a word he is allowed to use, and he should not insult an entire racial group based

off stereotypes. I was then told that I do not know anything because I am too young and that he knows

better. I understand that these ageist remarks do not even only apply to the younger generations, but

the older ones as well.

Religion:

As an atheist living in a Hindu household and community, I often felt out of place when it came

to religion. I never accepted or understood the concept of God, so when I was forced to serve and pray

in my temple’s youth group, I felt resentful and even more distant from the Hindu religion. However, my

participation in the youth group led me to discover religious aspects that I resonated with. Even though I
didn’t connect with Hinduism spiritually, I connected with the culture parts of it. This being with clothes,

accessories, festivals, and many more. This in turn, allowed me to feel like a part of the Hindu

community I was so desperately trying to fit into.

Ability:

As someone who has been able-bodied for most of her life, I have never given a second thought

to how disabled persons live and manage their way through obstacles. That is until I became temporarily

disabled myself. After having surgery on my knee, I was unable to walk and was crutches bound for 3

months. I still remember feeling completely miserable on my first day back to school from my surgery.

This was not entirely due to the pain; however, it was due to the many inconveniences and frustrations

that came with the inaccessibility to items at my school. I remember that in order to get to the elevator,

I had to crutch to the other side of my high school which extended my travel time by almost ten minutes

which would have otherwise taken me two minutes (for reference the time allotted in between classes

was seven minutes). I remember slipping multiple times on the wet tile floors because my crutches had

rubber stoppers on the ends. Lastly, I remember having to use the handicap stall with the railing on the

side in order to sit myself down, but the railing looked as if had not been cleaned for years. These

inconveniences really made me gain a deeper perspective on how disabled people live their life trying to

compensate for the substandard resources they given or the lack thereof.