Gary McDonogh. Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.

ethnicity acceptable to American diversity). Festivals, movies (whether

Godfather I

(1974) or

Joy Luck Club

(1993)), museums, web-sites and touristoriented services also

convert former ghettos into images of American success, despite the popula tions that

may still be packed into cramped apartments or sweatshops on upper floors.

ee also:

assimilation; class; immigration; suburbs and edge cities

Further reading

Gan, H. (1982)

The Urban Villagers,

New York: The Free Press.

Chen, H. (1989)

Chinatown No More,

Ithaca: Cornell.

GARY McDONOGH

CINDY WONG

ethnic food

While assimilationist pressures have told

immigrants

to learn English, support American

economic and political culture and give up

leftist

politics, animal sacrifice and political

allegiances abroad, other traits have been enshrined as “acceptable” markers of ethnic

difference—costumes for school pageants, religious festivals and

parades

and, above all,

food

. Even on the universalist holiday of Thanksgiving, stuffings for the turkey and side

dishes reflect regional and national heritages, which can also be celebrated at school and

urban festivals. Some once-ethnic foods—hot dogs,

pizza,

tacos and kebabs, among

others—have crossed over into a heterogeneous American cuisine. But family recipes,

ethnic restaurants and

neighborhoods

and

cookbooks

also celebrate diversity and even

cosmopolitan knowledge in the food-conscious late twentieth and early twenty-first

centuries.

Ethnic cuisine, in fact, implies an American standard, usually defined on the basis o

regional variations on Anglo staples of meat, bread and potatoes, salads and vegetables,

etc. Some ethnic cuisines have gone far beyond their own groups in altering this standard.

Italian foods like spaghetti and lasagna are staples of even Asian households. While

Mexicans

often face prejudice as immigrants, tacos are part of fast-food culture at home

and in drive-ins.

Other cuisines have demanded ingredients, markets and restaurants that provide

economic stakes for immigrant populations as well as opportunities for “crossover.”

While

Chinese

cuisines once adapted to American norms and palates, the growth o

Asian populations after the 1960s supported more critical clienteles for specialties like

dim sum, and other varieties of Chinese cuisine, as well as Korean, Vietnamese and

Japanese food. Moreover, these restaurants and the markets that supply homes and

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture 396

usinesses serve as places of employment, economic stakes and social centers for ethnic

communities.

The price of ethnic food varies. Japanese food, for example, often demands high-end

prices (given ingredients in sushi and sashimi). High-

restige foods move beyond the

label of ethnicity—especially French and Northern Italian cuisine. Meanwhile, other

cuisines, especially those of Africa, remain exotic.

Fashion also comes into play as Americans treat food as adventure as well as comfort.

Fads have established Spanish, Thai, Mediterranean and, in the late 1990s, Latin

American cuisine, as alternatives in trendy restaurants and cookbooks. In many cases,

these claim an authenticity beyond the ethnic group established in the US.

The American melting-

ot has also created fusion food. Some were produced outside

of the US—Cuban Chinese immigrants, for example, pioneered fusion. French with Thai

(and other Asian) cuisine,

Pacific Rim

cuisine and new American chefs have taken

ethnic dishes as building blocks for culinary renovation shocking to ancestral countries.

Hence ethnicity in food, as in other areas of American life, is both a heritage and a

starting point in shaping identities, interactions and markets.

Further reading

Smith, J. (1990)

The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes You Should

Have Gotten from Your Grandmother,

New York: William Morrow.

GARY McDONOGH

CINDY WONG

ethnicity

race and ethnicity

ethnic slurs

Underlying generations of ethnic and racial separation in America is a complex mixture

of competition, envy and suspicion of the “other.” Ethnic slurs have been and continue to

be used to define and enforce cultural boundaries in the United States.

The number and variety of ethnic slurs and racial epithets in American culture indicate

the extraordinary importance placed on group distinctions. The legacy of American

slavery includes the use of labels to categorize and dehumanize

African Americans,

and

the effect of other ethnic slurs is similar, though not as virulent. The message to the

Entries A-Z 397

individual at whom a slur or epithet is directed is that whatever else you may think you

are or have worked to become you are nothing more than a “wop”

(Italian American)

a “nigger” (African American), and you will be treated as such.

Treatment runs the gamut from whispered slurs and subtle snubs to beatings and

murder. These words, even when they are used in jest, change a person into an object and

a target.

The use of ethnic slurs in American

comedy

became a complex and controversial topic

in the late twentieth century. Comedians instinctively play on social animosities and

fears, and few topics have the explosive charge of ethnic and racial identity. Godfrey

Cambridge, Dick

Gregory

and Richard

Pryor

used racial epithets and stereotypes in

their stand-up comedy routines, first to African American audiences in the 1960s and

then, in modified form, to national audiences. Comedy including ethnic slurs, when

erformed by a member of the group that is usually targeted by the slur can have the

effect of bolstering group identity and defusing the power of the slur. On the other hand,

comedic or any other use of slurs that gets a wide audience has the side-effect of keeping

slurs in circulation, and, it may be argued, giving them the acceptability of use by those

who might be most offended. Nonetheless, the most heavily weighted ethnic slur in

American culture was used as the title of Dick Gregory’s 1964 autobiography and by the

1990s rap group “NWA—Niggaz With Attitude.” At the same time, it became part o

street language in cities between young African American men as a label and a greeting.

Other ethnically oriented comedians also have played with slurs in their comedy

routines—for example, Alan King and Jackie Mason among

Jewish

comedians and the

Italian American comedian Pat Cooper.

As much as slurs have been burlesqued and defused, they retain their power. Among

other kinds of slurs and insults, they are recognized in American constitutional law as

“fighting words” immune from the free-speech protections of the 1 st Amendment. In

spite of their currency slurs have been rejected by the educated

middle class

. After the

civil-rights

movement and the heightening of ethnic identification, it was considered

impolite or “incorrect” to depersonalize a group or individual with a slur. A reaction

against the norm of incorrectness began in the late 1980s, when conservative

commentators included the ban against ethic slurs among other proscribed behaviors in

their critique of

political correctness

Further reading

Esman, M.J. (1994)

Ethnic Politics,

Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Gregory D. (1994)

Nïgger: An Autobiography,

New York: Dutton.

FRANK ANECHIARIGO

ethnic studies

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture 398

literature, race and ethnicity

etiquette

Class

and status anxiety in an apparently egalitarian society have created ample

opportunity for social advisors to judge correct behavior, especially with regard to formal

ritual occasions like

weddings

and funerals. At the same time, etiquette as a social code

of the elite was also identified with

assimilation

through

mass media,

ermitting a series

of published social arbiters to flourish from generation to generation. Emily Post’s 1920s

tiquette,

for example, drew on the cachet of old money to advise on problems dealing

with servants, accents and travel, as well as special occasions. Amy Vanderbilt, with

another established name, took on a similar role for the postwar

middle class

While many

baby boomers

rejected such stylized behaviors as inauthentic in the

1960s, the uncertainties of multicultural lives as well as ongoing life crises have produced

new figures for millennial behavior. These again cater to individuals without

family

guidance or education in such social traditions. Miss Manners (Judith Martin) in her

columns and books adapts an ironic Victorian voice to current questions of shifting

gender,

family and ethnic conjunctions; Martha

Stewart,

while focused on style,

conveys guidance in living for the leisured middle class. Etiquette has also been

conveyed by mass media as part of the portrayals of class, as well as explorations o

character, issues of

marriage,

bereavement, etc.

There are, of course, class and ethnic differences in behavior, ranging from

expectations of participants in ritual events to issues of loudness, assertiveness or

resentations of self in social situations that continuously divide multicultural and

intergenerational gatherings. In such a setting, formality (derived from European models)

may constitute a neutral ground or an additional layer of repression or exclusion.

Further reading

Martin, J. (1982)

Miss Manner’s Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior,

New York:

Atheneum.

Post, E. (1997)

Etiquette,

16th edn, New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

Vanderbilt, A. (1957)

Complete Guide to Etiquette,

Garden City: Doubleday.

GARY McDONOGH

Evangelical Christians

Entries A-Z 399

Christian Right; Methodists; religion; Southern Baptists

Everly Brothers

b. 1937 (I.Donald)

b. 1939 (Philip)

I.Donald and Philip Everly were born in Kentucky to parents who soon left the coal-

mining region to work in

radio

stations. The brothers signed to Cadence Records in 1957

when they released their biggest hit, “Bye Bye Love” (1958). Appearing at

Nashville’s

Grand Ol’ Opry,

they brought rockabilly-influenced acoustic guitar rhythms and folk-

like vocal harmonies to a

country

stage; they were the first act to perform there using

drums. Also known for “Wake Up Little Susie” (1958) and “Cathy’s Clown” (1958), the

Everly Brothers influenced numerous popular performers and songwriters, including

Simon and Garfunkel,

the Mamas & the Papas, Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Byrds.

EDWARD MILLER

evolution

biology; scientific creationism

exercise

physical fitness

exotic dancing/strip clubs

American striptease, with its roots in nineteenth-century French striptease, came to

prominence in the mid-1920s when burlesque

theater

began to feature it as a way to

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture 400

attract audiences.

By the 1930s, when both G-string-clad chorus girls and

police

raids on clubs where

they performed were common, striptease artists would combine skits and musical

erformance with elaborate costumes in order to avoid prosecution. Great striptease

artists of this period included Gyspy Rose Lee and Ann Corio. Later on, exotic dancers

turned showgirls in

Las Vegas’

hotels and casinos had begun performing elaborately

choreographed and costumed shows.

Dancers in many strip clubs perform stage shows (known colloquially as “air-

dancing”) as well as “table dances,” in which the dancer performs on a small, more

private stage for individual patrons. In the 1990s, clubs in many states began to offer “lap

dances,” in which a nude or semi-nude dancer performed gyrations while sitting on the

lap of the fully clothed patron. Depending on the clubs where they dance, strippers may

work exclusively for tips, receive a minimal “shift pay,” or even be required to pay the

club for time spent on stage. In the 1990s, dancers at

San Francisco’s

Lusty Lady

became the first group of exotic dancers to form a

union,

and this movement to unionize

is now growing throughout the country.

Several American movies have focused on strippers, including

Gypsy

(1962, 1993),

based on the life of Gypsy Rose Lee,

Showgirls

(1995) and

Striptease

(1996), starring

Demi Moore, who received a fee of $12 million for her role in the film. Striptease and

urlesque have also served as inspiration for mainstream dancers and choreographers,

most notably Bob Fosse, whose

jazz

choreography drew extensively on the burlesque

tradition.

Exotic dancing came under renewed scrutiny in late 1990s

New York

City, where

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani successfully lobbied for legislation to prevent strip clubs and

other adult establishments from operating within 500 feet of residences, schools, day-care

centers and places of worship. This trend has resulted in a return to shows more in the

burlesque tradition, with both more substance and more clothing.

SUSAN SCOTTO

expatriates

While

immigration

has been a central theme of American life, some Americans also

choose to emigrate, becoming Americans abroad or in exile. In the late twentieth and

early twenty-first centuries, this expatriate population has increased and diversified.

According to government statistics, approximately 1,590,000 US citizens lived abroad in

1959. Two-thirds of this group were members and dependents of the US armed forces. In

1997 the numbers had increased to approximately 3.3 million civilians, including only

200,000 military personnel. These figures, in fact, only represent expatriates who are

officially registered at US embassies and consulates globally. It is estimated that an

Entries A-Z 401

additional 1.5–2 million citizens live outside of the US.

The majority of US expatriates are employees and dependents of US companies or

multi-national corporations with strong ties to North America. The expatriate population

also includes teachers, students, research scholars, missionaries and writers.

Retirees,

either returning to their homelands or seeking cheaper living (which has created gated

American colonies in Mexico), also become

de facto

expatriates. In the

Vietnam

era,

Canada

and Scandinavia were seen as havens for protestors or those avoiding the

draft;

the

Soviet Union,

China

and

Cuba

have all appealed to small groups on ideological

grounds. For protestors, and for some very wealthy citizens, renunciation of citizenship

has been a part of this movement; others retain their ties whether or not they return to the

US with any consistency.

Despite reductions in benefits packages during the past few decades, the expatriate life

is in many respects a privileged existence. Housing and education allowances,

tax

exemptions, travel opportunities and the chance to learn about a different culture hold

significant appeal for many. Despite global communication and transportation and a trend

towards localization in hiring practices, American expatriates continue to be a significant

presence in such places as London, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Tokyo, Paris and Toronto.

Literary and historical representations of expatriates are sparse, although they may

figure more in movies set in foreign locales—either as hero/ heroines or “interpreter” o

local customs. Early expatriates such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,

Washington Irving and Nathaniel Hawthorne nonetheless recorded their experiences in

Europe, and American students studied at European universities throughout the

eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Missionaries and merchants were the most common

nineteenth-century expatriates living in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

The best-known American expatriates are the self-exiled artists and writers in Paris

etween the First World War and the Second World War. Ernest Hemingway Gertrude

Stein, Anais Nin, John Dos Passos, F.Scott Fitzgerald and Henry Miller wrote about the

tensions inherent in the expatriate existence; Josephine Baker and James Baldwin saw

Paris from a different racial perspective. Questions of identity, disillusionment with one’s

home environment and the search for an intellectual, spiritual and geographical home are

recurrent themes in later quests further afield based on religious search

(South Asia),

racial identity (Africa as a “homeland” for

African Americans

) or identification with

“nature” and the primitive.

Although these seekers seem to share little common ground with late twentieth century

traders, language instructors, exchange students and consular employees, all share an

experience of dislocation that has been examined in postcolonial and women’s

history,

sociology, anthropology

and human-resources management. By being outside the US,

they test the limits and interpretations of American society—whether its global reach or

the possibility of escaping it altogether.

ee also:

American images abroad

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture 402

Further reading

Pizer, D. (1996)

American Expatriate Writing and the Paris Moment,

Baton Rouge:

Louisiana State University.

Osland, J.S. (1995)

The Adventure of Working Abroad,

San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

STACILEE FORD

fairs

Like their ancestral European celebrations, American fairs have combined leisure,

commerce and politics. State fairs annually showcase

agriculture,

commerce, industry

natural resources, and domestic/folk skills alongside generous dosages of entertainment

and Midway curiosities. This color and excitement has made them frequent settings for

films and musicals. Other fairs may represent local/county celebrations, or bring together

ethnic groups, streets or religious congregations. The image of the fair, in turn, has been

extended to less celebratory settings like “job fairs” or “college admissions fairs.”

ee also:

worlds’ fairs

GARY McDONOGH

family

The concept of “family” is complex. Diverse experiences of family depend on age,

gender, ethnicity socio-economic status, sexual orientation and religious affiliation.

Throughout American history competing interest groups have tried to provide the

definitive explanation of the concept of family and influence social policy.

The US Census Bureau defines family as two or more people living together, related

y blood, marriage, or adoption. What this statistical concept fails to convey is the

Entries A-Z 403

complex ways people join together to support each other through the raising of children,

the division of economic resources, and the love and nurturing that are key to family life.

Thus, both the structure and function of what constitutes a family are aspects of debate.

Politicians often invoke the concept of family to advance political agendas. A

“family-

values”

platform is conservative, envisioning two parents with

children

—a nuclear

family The husband is the wage-earner and the wife a full-time homemaker. “Family

values” often presuppose the

Christian Right

ideology and opposition to abortion. A

more liberal perspective focuses on the affective ties between members, their

commitment to each other, and planning parenthood. Either concept relies on an ideal

type of family that rarely matches the reality of individual experience.

The US Census statistics indicate changes in family structure over time. Since 1970,

delays in

marriage

and an increase in

divorce

rates have contributed to reducing the

number of people living in family households. Divorce is common, with 50 percent of all

marriages ending in divorce. The number of single women raising children has doubled.

“Blended” families due to remarriage create complex step-

arenting relationships.

Women are also joining the workforce at an unprecedented rate.

The degree of autonomy families exercise in disciplining and educating their children

is also changing. Stricter definitions of

child abuse

sometimes necessitate outside

intervention. The surge of interest in home schooling represents a move away from

outside influences.

Many options for affinity-

ased family relationships exist. Spouses or partners, despite

raising children, may live apart due to job demands. Others live in committed

relationships without children and still consider themselves “family.” Members o

religious groups, especially within the

African American

culture, often refer to each

other using familial terms such as “mother,” “sister,” or “brother” when no blood or

marriage relationship exists, but where there is a supportive relationship.

“Are you family?” can be asked by a gay or lesbian person to inquire about sexual

orientation. Homosexuals, when rejected by their family of origin, often turn to a chosen

social network to act as family members. Efforts are under way in many states to

recognize same-sex marriages. Some municipalities and businesses recognize partnership

relationships through the provision of domesticpartner benefits. Religious organizations

are divided about supporting such unions.

The concept of family is a complex, multilayered construction. A person may hold

different working definitions of the concept depending on the context.

ee also

: gender and sexuality

Further reading

Carter, B. and McGoldrick, M. (eds) (1989)

The Changing Family Life Cycle,

Cambridge, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

JENNIFER CAMPBELL

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture 404

family restaurants

Categorized less by their

food

(generally bland mainstream American) than by their use.

Family restaurants tolerate and promote the presence and activities of

children

with

special treats, spaces, games and rewards, as well as budget prices. This normative image

family

allows for some variation among chains (

McDonald’s

and other fast-food

restaurants with sit-down space) and restaurants with servers—Friendly’s, Howard

Johnsons (with motels for travelers), Chili’s, diners, etc.

Neighborhood

and ethnic

restaurants, however, also do strong family business—

pizza,

tacos,

barbeque

and dim

sum have crossed over from their

ethnic enclaves

to allow for large and creative familiar

groupings.

GARY McDONOGH

CINDY WONG

family room

The living room, like the earlier parlor, often presents a

home’s

formal visage to visitors.

Behind the

kitchen

or down the stairs, however, another space in the postwar American

home has fostered informal domesticity, conveyed as well in names like “rumpus” or

“recreation” room. In this family room, worn furniture, recreational equipment and the

debris of

children

and

pets

have defined informality Collective events from

television

and popcorn to

teenage

dances to adult parties with bars and pool tables have identified

this space with flexibility memorabilia and comfort, private yet central values for the

family and home.

GARY McDONOGH

family values

Political rhetoric, a term especially but not (unfortunately) exclusively associated with

conservatives. The term elevates models of the

middleclass,

two-

arent monogamous

heterosexual family as mores for all social issues, without recognizing the multiplicity o

Entries A-Z 405