MY SOCIOCULTURAL IDENTITY

My Sociocultural Identity
Maria Penilla
California State University, Dominguez Hills

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My Sociocultural Identity
I have learned so much about myself by exploring my own sociocultural identity. I have
become aware that invisibility erases identity, and visibility affirms reality. As an early childhood
educator, I want all my students to feel visible. The biggest impact as a pre-K educator will be
that I will have the power to eliminate bias. Young children need a loving caring adult who will
help them understand all the difference they see around them.
I am a female, a mother, Mexican American, catholic, and from a middle class family.
One of the identities that have granted me some privilege has been my language. I am bilingual. I
can speak Spanish and English. For example, when I have gone to a job interview most of the
time I end up getting the job because Im bilingual. They always ask me if Im bilingual, and
when I say yes they immediately hire me. On the other hand, one of my social identities that
have made my life harder has been my ethnicity. Both of my parents were born in Mexico. I was
born in the United States, so I consider myself a Mexican American. Derman-Sparks& Edwards
stated (2010)And all of us still carry inaccurate and negative messages even if we no longer
believe they are true that can keep us from seeing each person as a unique, whole person fully
deserving of our respect (p.23). I have been mistreated based on my ethnicity. For example, Ten
years ago I was working in G-stage (a clothing store for women), when I friendly approached a
white American Customer and said, Excuse me sir, but you cant be in the fitting room because
the women feel uncomfortable. He angrily replied, Well guess what I am not in the fitting
room. I calmly replied, I am sorry sir, but you are sitting inside the chair thats inside the fitting
room. I politely excused myself, and as I walked away he shouted, you stupid Mexican girl.
He approached me and said, If you dont like your job you should quit and go back to Mexico

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and stop stealing our jobs. According to him he said Mexican people are rude and arrogant, so
he was going to spit in my face. He was stereotyping me. I was just following the rules of the
store, but since I was Hispanic he addressed me differently. He was angry because he was against
immigration, but he didnt have a right to insult me. He felt that an immigrant had no rights to
boss him around in his own country.
One of my most negative educational experiences regarding my sociocultural identity has
been my gender. When I was in the fourth grade, I used to love playing soccer. During recess
time most of the boys would play soccer. The girls usually played in the playground with their
dolls. One day I decided to ask a one of the boys if I could play with them. He said no because
girls cant play soccer. I was mad, so I decided to tell my teacher. My teacher told me that I was a
girl, and that girls dont suppose to play with boys because they are rough. She said that I was a
young lady and that I had to behave like one. When I went back to the recess, some girls were
calling me tomboy because I wanted to do boy stuff. I felt confused and hurt. I began to believe
that it was wrong for me to play soccer. I wished my teacher would have addressed this issue
differently. Great ways to address issues like those are by using a culture circle. Its a great way
for children to reflect and think about social justice. Souto-Manning (2013) stated the children
started realizing how gender had affected their experiences in a variety of settings. So, while
there was no big take to the streets action, the children enacted change in their own behaviors,
words, actions, and interaction (p.71). I believe that if we had discussed my issue, many
children would have question themselves and realized that girls can play soccer.
I never explored the four goals of anti-bias in my classroom as a student.
Most of my experiences have made me feel inferior to others. As an anti-bias teacher I
want all my students to feel proud of his or her roots and differences. Derman-Sparks& Edwards

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(2010) pointed out In an anti-bias classroom, children learn to be proud of themselves and of
their families, to respect human difference, to recognize bias, and to speak up for what is right
(p.1).