Ashley Perez

Professor Shahrazad Encinias

CAS 113A

24 October 2023

Basic Outline Format

Ⅰ. Introduction

A. How can I gain the attention of the audience?

1. As a society we have certain expectations on how people are around us and what

makes them who they are. This affects how many might think that

transnationalism and your identity aren’t important to us.

B. Forecast of main points

1. Society stereotypes influence our everyday decisions and affect the way we reside

into our own culture. We don't realize that while we focus on identity we forget

that transnationalism is also a huge part that guides us on figuring out who we are.

Based on where we come from, we learn from our own experiences and how they

affect us when we move from one country to another.

C. Thesis Statement - What is my essay about?

1. While it is true that there are a variety of characteristics and factors of what makes

up identity and transnationalism, people should understand that language, gender,

expectations, and your sexuality are the most important attributes regarding

identity and transnationalism.

Ⅱ. Middle (3-5 Points)

A. Point #1 - Language plays a big part of your identity because it is the way you

express your culture and values.

1. In a documentary, “Maid in America,” Kevin Leadingham and Anayansi

Prado analyzes the language barrier three latinas faced when migrating to

the U.S.

a. Leadingham and Prado explain how these latina women were

forced to learn how to speak English, so they can adapt to

American Culture.

b. This explains identity because you are erasing a part of yourself to

fit into the rules of America, which wipes out your native

language. Your native language makes it known to people where

you are from. For example, speaking spanish has someone you’ve

never met before know that you might be somewhere from Central

America.

2. “Visibly Hidden: Language, Culture, and Identity of Central Visibly

Hidden: Language, Culture and Identity of Central Americans in Los

Angeles,” Magaly Lavandenz researched how language can heavily

impact how you choose to identify yourself as.

a. Lavandenz shows us how being required to speak a certain type of

Spanish can make you ashamed of where your inner roots are, or

where your family is from.

 b. This indicates how making someone in Central America speak

more of a “Mexican-Spanish” can affect how they might identify

themselves as. In the long run, they would believe that there are

certain “ideals” in the way you speak Spanish. When it comes to

this, they would force themselves to believe that speaking more

“Mexican” is better, in order to fit more into the community.

Central Americans are affected by this because of the accents there

are in Spanish. Not all words in the Spanish language are

pronounced the same or said the same.

c. This all connects back to Identity because Language is the main

concept that builds into your identification. You are familiarized

based on how you speak. Either than being only Spanish, English,

or even both. Language is a symbol of what makes you, you.

B. Point #2 - Your gender portrays a big part of your identity because of the social

expectations there are about women and men.

1. In “High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir,” Edgar Gomez explains to his

audience what makes someone a boy.

a. “...he is your captor, your jailor, your boss, and your master…”

b. This shows how there are always basic stereotypes of how a boy is

supposed to act and expectations that society throws at them. This

heavily affects how they are within themselves. For instance, if

you act, dress, or behave the opposite of the gender norms, you can

be considered as something other than the gender you identify as.

2. In the same book, Edgar also touches onto the idea of how your gender is

identified at birth.

a. “... a poetic sketch of what my parents should expect of their

newborn is nested under the heading What Is a Boy?”

b. This can be extremely harmful because as we grow older, we start

understanding more of the meaning of gender. This causes some of

us to feel more comfortable with ourselves and identify as a

different gender. To add onto this, if you are told growing up that

you are female/male, you are more likely to be afraid to change

your own gender identity. Moreover, this also goes in the same

concept of having a baby shower. Other people are already

assuming a baby’s gender before they are even born, and then hold

these expectations of them. To live up to others' expectations, you

start excluding certain aspects of who you are.

c. This all connects back to how gender is a major influence on how

you identify yourself. As kids we start developing our own gender

identity by observing others and the behaviors connected to certain

genders. After figuring out your gender identity, you then go

showing how you want to express yourself. That being how you

dress, your hairstyle, or your body characteristics. This is when

you start showing others who you are. Your own identity.
C. Point #3 - Expectations from society play a significant role in transnationalism

since they alter your understanding of how you must portray yourself in a country

different from your native one.

1. In the article, “Expressions of Maya Identity and Culture in Los Angeles:

Challenges and Success among Maya Youth,” Giovanni Batz expresses

how there is a major difference in how Mayans were supposed to act in

Los Angeles, compared to where they were originally from.

a. Giovanni explains how Mayans were forced to blend in by not

wearing their own style of clothing and how Mayan children

weren’t taught a part of their own culture.

b. This shows how differently your own culture is portrayed in

different countries. Mayan people were told to erase a part of

themselves to fit into an ideal society. Since Mayan parents were

ashamed of who they were, their children wouldn’t have the

chance to connect to who they were and how ideas were differently

from where they were from, to the U.S.

2. In “High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir” Edgar Gomez explains the

expectations his family had on him in Nicaragua and the U.S.

a. This is evident when Edgar shows us his experience while he was

in Nicaragua and how the expectations of how you were supposed

to act as man is portrayed by his Uncle César.

b. This comes to show how the expectations from one country to

another can affect you. Edgar did in a way accept the fact that he
 fit into the category of being machismo because he learned it from

his uncles. The expectations his family had on him in Nicaragua

influenced how he should act in the U.S.

c. This shows us how the expectations in one country can travel to

how you expect yourself to be in another country. It all also comes

down to your culture and how it is portrayed onto you.

D. Point #4 - Your sexuality establishes an essential role in who you are because of

the way you are viewed in the world.

1. In “High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir,” Edgar Gomez shows us

throughout his book his own thoughts of being gay.

a. “What did you do? I thought Immediately. You idiot…”

b. Towards the beginning of the book Edgar tried to hide the fact that

he liked boys and not girls. A lot of people who are coming to

terms with their sexuality can relate to Gomez. It is difficult at first

to accept the fact that you like people who are the same gender as

you are. This comes to play a significant part in finding a sense of

who you are. The label or no label you choose as your sexuality

builds up into the aspect of your own identity.

2. In the same book, Edgar Gomez explains the arguments he had to hear

between his mother and stepfather because of the way he expressed his

sexuality.

a. “... why she was letting me walk like that, bleach my hair, … why

are you letting your son be gay?”

 b. This shows how different parental figures can impact the shame

you have based on the gender you prefer. Many children have

trouble coming to terms and being out on who they like solely

based on their parents. Your guardians can either build that sense

of security or insecurity of your own sexuality. Some parents teach

their children between the rights and wrongs of life, and if a wrong

is liking the same gender, guilt starts forming. You erase that part

of yourself to please the needs of others.

3. In my own personal experience, I was always taught that being a part of

the LGBTQ+ community was wrong in my home.

a. My parents would always shame those who were attracted to the

same gender and spoke negatively about them.

b. This resulted in me being afraid to come out to anyone and being

myself. I always knew I was “different” from my friends when I

didn’t have any guy crushes growing up. As I developed a sense of

which gender I preferred I pushed those feelings aside so I

wouldn’t disappoint both my parents. I hid a part of who I was

because of the fear of how my parents would react and do. I would

force myself to act a certain way so they wouldn’t suspect anything

and the shame I would have would ease up when they saw I was

“the same” as my siblings.

c. This overall explains how people tend to hide their own identity

because of the different views people have based on sexuality.

 Sexuality is a huge part of the way you connect and community

with others. It is part of our human nature to identify what gender

you’re attracted to.

III. Conclusion

A. Summary of Main Points

1. Transnationalism and Identity are much more than just two words in a dictionary.

They give people a sense of belonging to who they are growing up. It is important

to maintain a connection to your motherland, to feel that pride in your own

culture.

B. Re-state Thesis

1. These four characteristics explain how they are important to us regarding identity

and transnationalism, but there are more qualities that make us who we are.

Disregarding how we are viewed by the world, our attributes should be our main

goals throughout life to figure out ourselves and how there are different

expectations in our actions depending on where we are at.

C. Clincher—ties to attention device, “Tying the Bow on the Package.”

1. As human beings, we often desire a sense of belonging and acceptance. We will

never be able to fully express ourselves if there are people who judge our every

move.

D. Final thoughts

1. It is okay to be different from someone else, it’s what makes everyone uniquely

recognizable.