Cykiert 1

Olympia Cykiert

Professor Silva

English 10H

November 8, 2018

An Exploration of Complex Identity in “Ethnic Hash”

When an individual does not perfectly fit into a social category, it can bear consequences

on identity formation. Culture is a socially constructed system of values, beliefs, ideas of what is

considered acceptable and unacceptable behavior that members of a society are taught are

“fixed” and “true” (Trumball & Pacheco). The notion of being part of a “fixed” category (that is

socially constructed) elicits a feeling of belonging and validation within an individual. In the

essay “Ethnic Hash,” by Patricia J. Williams, the speaker struggles to make sense of her diverse

and multifaceted identity—she does not belong to anywhere in particular. The speaker uses the

metaphor of food in order to exemplify her ethnic makeup and to illustrate her interracial

identity. The axis of culture and identity is one that is thought of as being seamlessly achieved.

However, as Williams expresses in her piece, if one is not part of the dominant constructed social

group, the individual often occupies a space of confusion, which in turn can impact identity

formation.

Culture is undoubtedly associated with food. Patricia Williams takes the idea of food and

explores its relationship with culture and consequently, how it manifests into a marker of

identity. When she is asked to participate in a pot-luck that will express her cultural identity, she

grapples with what food item or hors d’oeuvre will be able to encompass the multiple

dimensions of her ethnic heritage. Williams compares ethnic recipes to the census form when she

states, “Ethnic recipes throw me into the same sort of quandary as that proposed ‘interracial’ box
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on the census form: the concept seems so historically vague, so cheerfully open ended, as to be

virtually meaningless.” Williams is exemplifying how she is unable to be represented accurately

on the census form nor within an ethnic recipe. Her interracial composition and multifaceted

ethnicity is wholly unique and layered, placing her in a “quandary” or confused mental space

when considering who she is and what ethnic group she belongs to.

For Patricia Williams, her identity is one that is outside any group and absolutely distinct

to her ancestry. At first, she is not sure about her background and expresses to the reader that she

just sees herself as “black,” explaining, “As far as this world’s concerned, I’ve always thought of

myself as just black…however my categories get jumbled…it’s the little black core of me that

moves through the brave new world.” Williams is incorporating the category that others

prescribe to her, thus internalizing how she is perceived by the dominant culture. As the essay

continues, she delves deeper into the contributions of her identity and breaks free from the

perfectly boxed category of “black” into something more complex. She begins to list different

backgrounds and meals of her family and branches beyond the point of confusion into accepting

her identity as something intricate. At the end of the essay, Williams chooses a recipe “for the

Twenty-first Century”—one that is a hodge-podge of ingredients and that will allow one to,

“throw in as many exotic sounding spices and mysterious roots…use your imagination!” That is

precisely what members of society must do in order to carve out a space for individuals that

come from and encompass a variety of heritages—use their imagination. The space does not

exist within the dominant culture and therefore needs to be created, as Williams states, with

imagination.

Culture is a social construct dependent on an array of factors including race, belief,

systems and geographical placement that sometimes excludes individuals not part of its
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mainstream encompassment. The speaker in “Ethnic Hash” draws a parallel between ethnic

heritage and food. For the speaker, it is difficult to represent her full ethnic identity in one dish

since her heritage is layered and multidimensional. For someone who occupies a non-distinct

space within a culture, it is up to the individual to carve out a space for themselves that embraces

all parts of their identity, just like Patricia J. Williams has done for herself.