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Intersectionality plays a key role not only in identifying oneself as a person; but between different cultures, religions, and backgrounds; it can influence gender identity. It can affect one’s role in the home, in politics, as well as society overall.

First off, the pressures of a multicultural society can often lead one to conform to social “norms” but it can also have the opposite effect of leading people to rebel against what is expected. And weather an individual or even a community as a whole wants to think of itself as free of predisposed bias, there will always be expectations that are broken. It is all in human nature to categorize people, even in the slightest of way, but ultimately the individual is a strong entity that can vary despite social pressure. For example, as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims; there are no gays in Iran. However biology and personal experience say otherwise. Homosexuality is a big variable in society. Many cultures and religions look down upon it. Therefore it is a generally accepted stereotype that highly religious people can never be gay. And yet there are many people who go against the pressures of their friends and families to live their life simultaneously defining themselves as devoutly religious and homosexual.

The differences in people and cultures can also manifest in more subtle ways. A hobby, style, preference, or way of speaking can be completely accepted in a society as a whole, but can be considered foreign to men or women of a certain race. A community may have stereotypes that say that women and men of a certain race like different things from one another and from other races. This would involve mild forms of both sexism and racism. Especially in such a mixed society like the US, the individual should be taken into more consideration than the race, religion, or background.

A person’s morals and values can also define who they are, and can differ between certain cultures. What it is to be feminine is one example, because women have differing roles often depending on their family traditions. Some cultures are defined by modesty in women, while others respect an outward, dominant type of woman. Women themselves can identify themselves with their femininity. In certain cultures the veil that women wear is a symbol of feminine beauty. It is something that makes people judge them by their personality rather than their looks. But some view it as if it is hiding something to be ashamed of. There is nothing wrong with using clothing to express femininity. If that were so, then in the US, maybe all women would just never wear dresses, as it is a typical feminine piece of clothing, and could be seen as a sign of oppression. Too often, personal choice is confused and mixed with cultural phobia, as it can be a sign of culture and religion. After the 9/11 attacks, one woman named Izdihar El-Hilal, a native of Syria who now lives in Pittsburg said, “This is my choice. I am not oppressed.” Veils or turbans are often looked upon with fear and cultural separation. But simply because one wears clothes that are different does not mean they are radically religious or terrorists. On the exact contrary, these symbols often actually have a sign of peace and modesty for the ones who wear them. Expression is ultimately defined by those who choose it and not by onlookers.

This cultural expression can have the same effect on the opposite end of the spectrum. In the US as well as other countries, there are many controversial advertisements that some say objectify women. Often they are described as inappropriate, showing too much skin, etc. But the same can be said about these ads as the veils that other women wear. The models who pose to show off their bodies can argue that it is a form of art. Some passionately say that their body is a temple to be revered. They show it off as art and pride what they have. However, this can, for some, again lead to social pressures to look just like the models. This doesn’t go to say that blatant expression in this form should be considered immoral, but rather that all bodies should be appreciated, and it is the owner’s choice to decide how to show it.

San Francisco, September 20 – SF TEAM TIBET gathered along with Tibetans and supporters outside the Cow Palace arena today to protest the celebrations  commemorating the 60th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party’s rule in China.

Tibetans and supporters gathered attention by shouting slogans of freedom and human rights for Tibetans in Tibet and carrying banners that read “60 years of brutality, 60 years of genocide, 60 years is too long, Shame of China”.

“The Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to extinguish the Tibetan people’s desire for freedom and self determination has not succeeded, even after six decades of illegal occupation, with the recent uprising in Tibet in March 2008 as a vivid example of the CCP’s failed policies and their continued lack of legitimacy.” Said Yangchen Lhamo of Students for a Free Tibet.

SFRTYC declared that this event was unjust and celebrations should not be held due to the mere factor that many Tibetans are still being brutally murdered in Tibet since the rule of the communist party in Tibet.

The advertisement for this event states that the CCP has “striven towards the construction of this country and have made great progress in many aspects, such as improving the quality of people’s lives.”

However, Tsering Dorjee, President of SF Regional Tibetan Youth Congress said, “This celebration simply congratulates the Chinese government in their failure to uphold the Tibetan people’s freedom and basic human rights”.

SFTEAM TIBET has scheduled another demonstration on Oct 1^st at Union Square in San Francisco to raise awareness of the Tibetan people’s struggle against the Chinese Communist Regime since its rule over Tibet.

SF TEAM TIBET is a coalition of five Bay Area organizations joined in hands to raise awareness of China’s atrocities in occupied Tibet.

San Francisco Regional Tibetan Youth Congress

Gloria Anzaldua’s La Consciencia de la mestiza: Towards  a New Consciousness focuses on the position of those with a combination of Spanish, Native American, African, and Anglo roots. She describes the uncomfortable position of both men and women labeled “mestiza” and the need for a mestiza consciousness fixed with the concept of being inclusive and having acceptance. Anzaldua addresses the need to require equality between both males and females with the need to redefine, or at the very least create a new perception of what masculinity could be with the new consciousness.

The transition process to create this new definition must start with the acceptance of all the wrongs, rights and all the in between tensions and contradictions that mark the “identity” of those who fall in this position of “ambiguity” that Anzaldua shares. She States that this must also start with recognizing the past and the present injustices inflicted upon such “identities”. ‘

“We can no longer blame you [oppressors], nor disown the white parts, the male parts, the pathological parts, the queer parts, the vulnerable parts.”

The future will definitely be more integrative, with more people having a direct contact with multiple races and cultures. However, there will always be a place for isolationism, voluntary or forced. Living in a monoculture (or having a monoculture identity) is no necessarily a bad thing, but being aware of it is definitely necessary.

As i contemplate my own definition for the word freedom, i pause. I think of all the ‘freedom’ i have received in my life and the opportunities that not many in Tibet could ever achieve. I think about my roots and where i came from, how i got here and.. I pause. The poor conditions i might have to live with… I pause. The freedom of speech that i would have never known.. i pause. The constant struggle of assimilating with the China’s oppression of Tibet… I pause… The sadness i would have felt in not being able to pray to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama… I pause…The The treacherous Himalayas i might have had to cross. I pause… The life i would have never known.

BUT I KNOW

I know i have the freedom to speak when i can, i know i have the privilege of being able to pause when i please. I know i have the freedom of religion that my constitution protects. I know i can write my thoughts and share them with the world.

I might have never known the life i would have led but i do know the life i currently have. In this life i carry the power to speak, breath, write, and carry the freedom my people in Tibet desire and deserve as any other human being in this world.

I refuse to be a victim. I am a survivor and i still remember. I am Tibetan. I will survive!