Ethnic Subcultures
Some people who have unique shared behaviors linked to a common racial, language, or national background identify themselves as members of a specific subculture, whereas others do not. Examples of ethnic subcultures include African Americans, Latinos/Latinas (Hispanic Americans), Asian Americans, and Native Americans. Some analysts include “white ethnics” such as Irish Americans.
Italian Americans, and Polish Americans. Others also include Anglo Americans (Caucasians). Although people in ethnic subcultures are dispersed throughout the United States, a concentration • of members of some ethnic subcultures is visible in many larger communities and cities. For example, Chinatowns, located in cities, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. arc one of the more visible ethnic subcultures in the United States. In San Francisco. over 100,000 Chinese Americans live in a twenty-four-block “city” within a city, which is the largest Chin~se community outside of Asia. Traditionally, the core values of this subculture have included loyalty to others and respect for one’s family. Obedience to parental authority, especially the father’s. is expected, and sexual restraint and control over one’s emotions in public are also highly valued. By living close to one another and clinging to their original customs and language, first-generation immigrants
can survive the abrupt changes they experience in material and nonmaterial cultural patterns. In New York City, for example, Korean Americans and Puerto Rican Americans constirute distinctive subcultures, each with its own food. music, and personal style. In San Antonio, Mexican Americans enjoy different food and music than do Puerto Rican Americans or other groups. Subcultures provide opportunities for expression of distinctive .
lifestyles, as well as sometimes helping people adapt to abrupt cultural change. Subcultures can also serve as a buffer against the discrimination experienced by many ethnic or religious groups in the United States, However. some people may be forced by economic or social disadvantage to remain in such ethnic enclaves.
