New York is a unique city of immigrants as it has no dominating groups, but what caused New York to develop into such a diverse place and could such a city be intentionally created somewhere else today?

The second reading states that “Clothing can operate as a symbol of identity the wearer and the observer can read,” but how often are we illiterate to such a vocabulary? Additionally, it claims that it can operate as a symbol of identity, but what transforms it into a symbol of identity or not. Is it based on differences between that individual’s identity and society’s, the intent to make it an identifying marker, or maybe something else? Do these same distinctions exist by food functioning as a symbol of identity?