Aadolescence It is a phase of many transformations for young people. It's a transitional stage into adulthood and requires attention. Racial identity is involved in this process and contributes to the maturation of adolescents. Therefore, it is important to understand and know all the aspects involved in the definition of racial identity among adolescents.
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Racial identity in adolescence
Building an idea of racial identity is not a simple task. Understanding, recognizing yourself and having a feeling of belonging can be one of the difficulties young people face in defining their racial identity, read and understand a little more.
What is racial identity?
Understanding the concept of racial identity depends on the concept of ethnic identity, which is defined as the ability people have to belong to their culture. Customs, traditions and feelings are involved in this process.
In this way, race emerges as a social imposition of white supremacy, which created a perception of superiority of white people over people of color. Given this, the concepts of racial and ethnic identity are mixed.
However, the difference is that ethnic identity seeks the well-being of specific groups, while racial identity is a classification imposed by society. Therefore, studies show that an ethnoracial identity, constructed in a consistent way, is a protective factor for young people.
How to build self-esteem based on ethnoracial identity
For this, it is necessary to establish a support network among family members, parents and teachers. In this way, it is possible to provide support for young people to discover what their ethnic group represents to them.
It is possible to provide young people with cultural knowledge, a celebration of cultural traditions and, consequently, critical development about racial differences and the nature of racism.
Benefits of building ethnoracial identity
The benefits of ethnoracial identity promote better well-being and mental health. Furthermore, this process is linked to the definition of self-identity and allows building a sense of identification of cultural values, kinship and group beliefs.
Therefore, exposing this information to young people allows the construction of a defense against prejudiced situations. Young people have the ability to identify mechanisms of oppression, deal with them and be proud of themselves.