Identity With or Without a Hyphen!
Ali Sadr
For some time now, in many English texts, mixed American communities are no longer hyphenated. I don’t recall when this decision was made or why, but I personally preferred the hyphenated version. Since the early twentieth century, the use of mixed communities or hyphenated nationalities like Italian-American and Irish-American has become commonplace. Subsequently, especially in social and racial struggles, terms like African-American, Mexican-American, etc., also gained widespread acceptance. Over the past forty years, the term Iranian-American has gradually emerged and become normal. However, there has always been some resistance against these compound terms. Some viewed them as indicators of separation and distinction from the American community. But what was the alternative? The term “American” apparently has been reserved for people of European descent, and everyone else must define their identity in some way. In any case, many adopted this approach because they wanted to express their social and cultural identity and distinguish themselves.
The fact is that the inhabitants of this country have come from various places. Aside from the original inhabitants who arrived from Asia ten to fifteen thousand years ago, the rest migrated to this land in the past five hundred years. The main wave of immigration, however, intensified from the beginning of the last century and, as mentioned, compound terms were commonly used to classify immigrants and indicate their origins.
Now, after this lengthy introduction, let’s return to the use of a hyphen or its absence in English and emphasize the usage of this phenomenon concerning the Iranian community in America. As new immigrants who have largely migrated to the U.S. over the past forty years, we have gradually acclimated to this phenomenon. The phrase “Iranian-American” has become routine for us to express our distinct and specific identity within the host society. Does removing the hyphen indicate a dilution of identity boundaries? These are vital discussions in sociology, and I make no claims regarding my knowledge of sociology. My discussion is primarily based on my personal experience over these forty years residing in the U.S. and working directly with a good portion of the Iranian immigrant community.
In my opinion, from a cultural perspective, there exists a line between the two identities. This line is not represented as a hyphen (-), but rather as a longer spectrum. At one end of the spectrum is Iranian and at the other is American; depending on personal and social conditions, varying perspectives and worldviews, and even daily moods, we move back and forth along this spectrum. Sometimes we feel more Iranian and, at other times, more American. Some people consider themselves always closer to one end of the spectrum. I am sure we have seen individuals who are, as the saying goes, more American than Americans, or those who always identify solely as Iranian. The rest are in motion on this spectrum. Is this phenomenon primarily a concern for us, first-generation immigrants? Will it fade in the second and third generations? Will the succeeding generations gradually gravitate closer to the American pole? Perhaps, in an ideal situation, the answer would be affirmative, just as it has become the case for Italians, Germans, and Irish in America, but we are not in an ideal situation! Regarding minorities, particularly non-white minorities, this phenomenon tends to be more enduring.
Some experts have said—perhaps still say—that American society is a “melting pot,” where anyone with any identity blends in and acquires a new identity. Meanwhile, others view society as a “salad bowl,” where everyone retains their own identity, contributing their unique shape and color to form parts of the community. The realities of society have shown that the second theory is more accurate. The phenomenon that increasingly manifests every day is that minorities, from a social and political standpoint, must preserve their identity and culture. This is particularly evident in areas of social tensions and challenges, and discrimination. It appears that these challenges are not few and far between, but are becoming more and more common in this society.
America has come a long way. Major struggles over the past century have been led by immigrants, both those who came voluntarily and those who were forcibly brought, to achieve their rights. We, the new immigrants, owe it to them. This struggle still continues. One might think that after so many years, it should have become easier. But nothing is given; every day, we should strive to protect our rights and existence. In any case, we have come to this country by our own choice; we are grateful to the people who came before us and welcomed us. We have come to stay and contribute to the well-being of this country. We consider this country our home. We identify as a compound identity, regardless of where we choose to define ourselves on that line.
