Intercultural Identity Positioning: Interview Discourses from Two Identity-Based Nonprofit Organizations

Abstract

This study examines interview discourses from board members/volunteers, staff, and clients in two nonprofit organizations in the U.S. Southwest. Extending cultural identity theory constructs of avowal, ascription, and salience, the study used aspects of critical discourse analysis to thematically determine what the interview discourses revealed about identity positioning, negotiation of cross-status relationships and hierarchies, and how ideologies such as Asians as the model minority and individual meritocracy were implicated. The analysis demonstrated that contradictory avowals and ascriptions impacted levels of agency, and that avowals, as well as ascriptions, acted to subjugate already marginalized clients.

Keywords:

• Cultural Identity Theory
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Identity Positions
• Interpretative Repertoires
• Intercultural Relationships

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the participating women and men for their contributions. This research is drawn from the first author's dissertation and was supported in part by Graduate Research Development Fund from Graduate and Professional Student Association at the University of New Mexico.

Notes

1. Clarke's conclusion is primarily based on national surveys and data. Due to scarce data at the local level, there might be geographical and regional differences in terms of gender and race that Clarke couldn't account for.

2. Though neither of the two NPOs in this study labeled itself as feminist, both NPOs could be considered broadly as feminist organizations that explicitly mobilized and organized women and the marginalized to achieve social change and promote social justice.

3. The staff members in this study included the managing staff and frontline or service delivery employees.

4. Three of the SEHW women producers (i.e., Dora, Emily, and Greta) expressed their preference for a translator. The interpreter translated the interview questions into Spanish. The women answered in Spanish, which the interpreter then back-translated into English.

5. In this study, we chose the label of ethnic/national identity to categorize the participants’ avowals as first-generation Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, or Filipinos living in the United States with close family members such as parents and siblings still residing in their ancestral homes in Asia. Thus, their Japanese-ness, Vietnamese-ness, or Chinese-ness, seemed to connote both ethnicity as “a sense of belonging to their culture of origin” (Phinney & Ong, 2007, p. 51) and nationality as nationals or citizens of Japan, Vietnam, or China. The U.S. law does not require a naturalized U.S. citizen to choose between one citizenship or another. Hence, a naturalized U.S. citizen may have dual nationality, which requires her or him to obey the laws of both countries (U.S. Department of State, 2010).

6. A 2009 organizational document portrayed the cultural backgrounds of SEHW production employees as, on average, having a sixth grade education, coming from low-income communities, speaking Spanish with limited English skills, and having young children. It found most women to be married but live in destabilizing homes.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yea-Wen Chen

Yea-Wen Chen is Assistant Professor at the School of Communication Studies, Ohio University, USA

Mary Jane Collier

Mary Jane Collier is Professor at the Department of Communication and Journalism, University of New Mexico, USA