Cultural Trauma and Ethnic Identity Formation Among Iranian Immigrants in the United States

Abstract

Inspired mainly by Jeffery Alexander's concept of cultural trauma and Irving Goffman's analysis of stigma, this article examines the impact of the Iranian Revolution and the ensuing hostage crisis in 1979 on the formation of ethnic identity among Iranian immigrants in the United States. These events resulted in the loss of cultural and ethnic pride, the rise of anti-Islamic religious sentiments, and the concealment of religious, national, and ethnic identity among Iranian immigrants in America. The article argues that the continuation of negative images of Iran and the equation of Islam with fundamentalism, extremism, and terrorism by American mainstream media had a central role in the construction of new ethnic identities among Iranians in exile.

Acculturation and Cultural Preferences of Second-Generation Iranians in Australia

“…During the riots not only second-and third-generation Australians with a Middle-Eastern background were targeted, many with the same racial appearance were attacked too. This sort of group victimisation has been witnessed in other countries (Mobasher, 2006). The media has on many occasions been criticised as a major culprit in promoting negative attitudes, such as refugees being undeserving and dangerous (Jakubowicz et al, 1994).…”

The Pedagogy of Visibility: Constructs and Contests of Iranianness in a Community-Organized School in a Large Southern U.S. City

“…Although many Iranian Americans are among the most educated and affluent immigrant groups in the United States, they regularly experience prejudice and discrimination (Bozorgmehr & Douglas, 2011). Because of anti-Iranian sentiment engendered by the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-1981, hostile and monolithic media representations of Iranian society and culture, and their opposition to the government policies and practices of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), many members of the Iranian American diaspora have historically opted for a strategy of ethnic and religious nondisclosure, or strategic disclosure (Bozorgmehr, 2007;Mobasher, 2006;Mobasher, 2012;Mostofi, 2003). This strategy of low visibility has contributed to the underreporting of Iranians in the U.S. Census; although the 2010 American Community Survey estimates that there are 463,552 Iranians in the United States, several Iranian American organizations believe the actual population to be much higher.…”

“…In studies that examine identity practices of Iranian Americans, a cultural politics of diaspora emerges, particularly in the signifying practices of assuming Whiteness, claiming Persianness, and/or strategic concealing of Iranianness, which includes, but is not limited to, unofficially changing one's name, altering one's appearance to appear more White, or refusing to speak Persian. Such practices have emerged as responses to the stigma and prejudice they face as Iranians in the United States, or as a means to distance themselves from the policies and politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Daha, 2011;Mobasher, 2006;Mostofi, 2003). Mobasher (2006) contends that the Iranian revolution and hostage crisis constitute a cultural trauma for Iranian Americans, primarily because they gave rise to negative representations of Iran and Islam in the United States and were linked to religious terrorism and fundamentalism.…”

“…Their views also help contextualize a repertoire of strategic self-representation and cultural practices among diasporic Iranians in response to local pressures and broader discourses about Iran. Research on the Iranian American diaspora has shown that Iranians have historically defined their cultural identities and represented themselves in ways to mitigate association with prevalent negative representations of Iran and Iranians, as well as a way to express their opposition to the incumbent government of Iran (Daha, 2011;Mobasher, 2006;Mostofi, 2003). In situating the diverse views and experiences of these actors within a larger history of negative representation and ongoing forms of discrimination experienced by Iranian Americans, the analysis draws attention to the ways in which the notions of "culture" and "community" are contested in diaspora; how community-organized educational activities are social vehicles productive of relationships and interactions across class, ideological, and religious differences; as well as what Lukose (2007) terms the "transnational politics of home, identity, and belonging in the context of migration" (p. 406).…”

Iranians in Texas: migration, politics, and ethnic identity

“…A large number of these studies focus on the psychological adjustment and well-being of Iranian women, acculturation and the extent of cultural retention among young Iranian women, attitudes of Iranian women toward intimate relations (Hanassab 1991), various modes of adaptation of Iranian immigrant fami lies (Jalali 1982), family status of Iranian immigrant women in relation to their husbands before and after migration to the United States (Abyaneh 1989), Iranian women's entrepreneurial endeavors in family-run busi nesses and in home-operated businesses (Dallalfar 1994, Mobasher 1996, changes in gender roles within the Iranian immigrant family, perceptions of gender roles among Iranian immigrant women in the United States (Mahdi 1999(Mahdi , 2001 Guided primarily by the theoretical assumptions of the assimilation ist perspective and a narrow focus on adaptation of the individual fam-ily members, particularly women, most of these studies and many more have suggested that the changes and family conflicts occurring within …”