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October 4, 2013 Friday 6:23 PM EST
KIM KARDASHIAN TO OBAMA: SOLVING IDENTITY CRISIS OF GROWING UP BIRACIAL
FARMVILLE, Va., Oct. 4 -- Longwood University issued the following
news release:
Will Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's son have an identity crisis?
According to a Longwood University social work professor whose
scholarly work has focused on issues facing biracial children, the
answer to that question rests largely with how Kardashian, a reality
TV star who is Armenian, and West, a popular African American rap
artist, deal with the situation.
Like many biracial children, the boy will likely struggle with his
mixed-race heritage-and it could cause him to have low self-esteem,
said Dr. Kristen Nugent, a Longwood social work professor.
"A major cause of those common identity crises is the parents," she
said. "Too many times, parents of mixed-race children will try to
pigeon-hole their child into certain groups based on race, trying to
foster a sense of identity. That actually works against the way we
want it to-confusing the child and making them sensitive about their
background."
It seems counterintuitive-the son of two pop culture icons may face
self-esteem issues-but mixed-race children often feel excluded from
several peer groups. It happened to President Barack Obama, who was
frequently criticized for not being "black enough" during his 2008
campaign. It happened to actress Halle Berry, who felt excluded as a
child from both her black and white neighbors.
In the case of President Obama, the son of an African father and
white mother, he identified as a black teenager, but it didn't come
without struggles. In his memoir, Dreams From My Father, he outlines
his battle with low self-esteem brought on by his biracial roots: "I
kept finding the same anguish, the same doubt; a self-contempt that
neither irony nor intellect seemed able to deflect."
Nugent suggests that these feelings of self-contempt are strengthened,
not abated, by involving children and teens in groups and activities
based on race or nationality.
"It's much better to expose children to multicultural activities," she
said. "We have to avoid putting people in groups of their own identity
and instead expose them to a environment where race doesn't matter.
Parents often care more about the issue than the children, who just
want to get out and do kid things."
She added that the role of religious influence in fostering
self-esteem can't be understated, especially as children start to face
peer pressure relating to their heritage. Oftentimes that starts at
school, when teasing becomes more prevalent.
When children bring those problems home from school, oftentimes
parents can elevate the level of thinking about being biracial in a
way that will help the child. "I use Christian concepts to help
biracial children-teenagers especially-look inward and develop a sense
of positive self-identity," said Nugent, "but there are several other
religious traditions that can help. What's important is helping the
child to view themselves in a universal sense: What do you think God
thinks of you? If God didn't love you for who you are, why do you
think he made you biracial? Questions like that help children who have
low self-esteem brought on by their multiracial ethnicity see
themselves as complete people, not torn between two cultures."
October 4, 2013 Friday 6:23 PM EST
KIM KARDASHIAN TO OBAMA: SOLVING IDENTITY CRISIS OF GROWING UP BIRACIAL
FARMVILLE, Va., Oct. 4 -- Longwood University issued the following
news release:
Will Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's son have an identity crisis?
According to a Longwood University social work professor whose
scholarly work has focused on issues facing biracial children, the
answer to that question rests largely with how Kardashian, a reality
TV star who is Armenian, and West, a popular African American rap
artist, deal with the situation.
Like many biracial children, the boy will likely struggle with his
mixed-race heritage-and it could cause him to have low self-esteem,
said Dr. Kristen Nugent, a Longwood social work professor.
"A major cause of those common identity crises is the parents," she
said. "Too many times, parents of mixed-race children will try to
pigeon-hole their child into certain groups based on race, trying to
foster a sense of identity. That actually works against the way we
want it to-confusing the child and making them sensitive about their
background."
It seems counterintuitive-the son of two pop culture icons may face
self-esteem issues-but mixed-race children often feel excluded from
several peer groups. It happened to President Barack Obama, who was
frequently criticized for not being "black enough" during his 2008
campaign. It happened to actress Halle Berry, who felt excluded as a
child from both her black and white neighbors.
In the case of President Obama, the son of an African father and
white mother, he identified as a black teenager, but it didn't come
without struggles. In his memoir, Dreams From My Father, he outlines
his battle with low self-esteem brought on by his biracial roots: "I
kept finding the same anguish, the same doubt; a self-contempt that
neither irony nor intellect seemed able to deflect."
Nugent suggests that these feelings of self-contempt are strengthened,
not abated, by involving children and teens in groups and activities
based on race or nationality.
"It's much better to expose children to multicultural activities," she
said. "We have to avoid putting people in groups of their own identity
and instead expose them to a environment where race doesn't matter.
Parents often care more about the issue than the children, who just
want to get out and do kid things."
She added that the role of religious influence in fostering
self-esteem can't be understated, especially as children start to face
peer pressure relating to their heritage. Oftentimes that starts at
school, when teasing becomes more prevalent.
When children bring those problems home from school, oftentimes
parents can elevate the level of thinking about being biracial in a
way that will help the child. "I use Christian concepts to help
biracial children-teenagers especially-look inward and develop a sense
of positive self-identity," said Nugent, "but there are several other
religious traditions that can help. What's important is helping the
child to view themselves in a universal sense: What do you think God
thinks of you? If God didn't love you for who you are, why do you
think he made you biracial? Questions like that help children who have
low self-esteem brought on by their multiracial ethnicity see
themselves as complete people, not torn between two cultures."