Intersecting Factors: Race, Gender and Sexuality in Immigration Essa

The United States was founded through means of immigration; immigrants from everywhere and anywhere around the world. Who are they? How did they get here? Why did they come? Many of these questions can be answered when considering how race, gender, and sexuality affect immigration. Immigration means something to different to everyone and for some it forced, while for others, it is a choice. For some it means pursuing the â€Å"American Dream,† for others it may be breaking away from political and religious persecution, but nonetheless, it is always a test. Gender roles, relations and inequalities affect who migrates and why, how the decision is made, the impacts on migrants themselves, on sending areas and on receiving areas. While focusing on immigrant women, Erica Rand’s â€Å"Breeders on a Golf Ball: Normalizing Sex at Ellis Island,† Susan Pierce’s â€Å"Immigration and Women: Understanding the American Experience,† and Robert Foster’s à ¢â‚¬Å"The warmth of Other Suns,† will verify that race, gender and sexuality, as well as gender and social norms, have shaped the ideas of citizenship and immigration. When typed into one of the world’s largest Internet search engines, â€Å"sexuality† comes up with many results. However, no true definition of the word ‘sexuality’ is returned. Results include definitions for human sexuality, sex, and gender. So therefore, one can believe that they are all somewhat synonymous to each other, and can mean many things to many people. Overall, the collective definition of sexuality is â€Å"the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also refer to the way someone is sexually attracted to another person.† Sexuality affects how migrants adapt to the new coun... ... he would be more accepted. â€Å"People who live in this country (United States) should feel that constantly: this country survives on the fact that strangers are constantly coming to this place, stretching it a little bit, adding to it, changing it, and making it their home.(248)† While these immigrants may be seen as outcasts in their group, they are the kind of people who make the United States unique. If immigrants are to benefit from the empowering and development potential of migration, a shift to a gendered human rights approach to migration from a development perspective is needed. One’s ideas of immigration are shaped by factors including race, sexuality and gender, and gender norms. Citizenship should be open to those immigrants who work hard to obtain it and deserve it, rather than those who differ in physical appearances or have different beliefs.