Author: salvatoref

Salvatore Fevola

Response 5/5

Lagnado, Lucette. The Man in the Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family’s Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World

Moving to new places is incredibly difficult- especially when the decision is forced.  While America may have the connotation of being the land of opportunity, for Leon Lagnado it was the inverse.   In the wake of the Suez Canal crisis, Leon and his family were pushed into Paris temporarily and subsequently New York. With this forced displacement came Leon’s desire to return to Egypt as he says “Ragaouna Masr: Take us back to Cairo.”

Leon had led a wonderful life in Egypt as he was affluent, and thus lived comfortably. However, not being able to take much money with him as his family left Egypt led to not only a complete local shift but a complete class shift. This would leave the Leon ““destitute, dependent on charity for himself and his family to survive.” In New York he was desperate enough that he sold ties out of a suitcase on the subway which still did not enable his family the ability to survive well. The solace that Leon found could not be in returning to his economic position as he had in Egypt, but it was trying to return to the culture he loved and missed so much.

Much like most immigrants in NY,  the Lagnados found solace in the ability to surround themselves with the culture that is familiar to them. Enclaves give a support structure to ethnic groups by allowing for an easier adjustment into the broader community by having access to a smaller community within it. For Leon he had found comfort in his religious community, enjoying the freedom of religion that America had to offer. Enclaves are a reoccurring theme in most of what we read as it allows for people to be comfortable with the major life change that comes with moving to a whole new place. Seeing people that look and act like you helps you settle down quicker.

Questions:

1. Is it valid to compare the situation that the Lagnados faced to the potential deportation of undocumented immigrants? (Having established lives and then being uprooted)
2. Should enclaves try to assimilate more with surrounding cultures, or should enclaves focus on remaining segregated into specific cultures?
3. Do you have your own enclave? If you do, do you find solace in that enclave? (The enclave doesn’t necessarily need to be ethnic.)
4. Are enclaves as prevalent around the world as they are in American Cities?

Salvatore Fevola

Response 4 of 5:

George Chauncey, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940, (New York: Basic Books, 1995), Intro and chapter 9.

in Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940, George Chauncey gives us a look into the history of the gay community through not only the lens of plain history, but by approaching the history by correcting common misconceptions that people have. Referred to as myths, he brings counters the ideas that the gay community suffered isolation, invisibility, and internalization.

The myth of Isolation comes from the idea that hostility towards the gay community would prevent a subculture from being formed as well as forcing people to live solitary lives. While hostility was a major problem, it didn’t stop gay men as, “they were able to construct spheres of relative cultural autonomy in the interstices of a city governed by hostile powers.” (Chauncey 18). Through the creation of enclaves, and communities, it became easier to overpower hostility through the pride and strength found in groups. Places like Harlem, Times Square, and Greenwich Village became places where gay people could find people within their identity fairly easily. The myth of Invisibility comes from the idea that, due to the hostility towards the gay identity, gay people wanted to keep that part of themselves hidden which made it so that straight people couldn’t recognize gay people, and not even gay people could recognize gay people. Chauncey argues against this by stating that gay men “boldly announced their presence by wearing red ties, bleached hair, and the era’s other insignia of homosexuality” (Chauncey 19). The myth of internalization states that gay men internalized society’s negative views of them and led them to reject their lives and live behind fake fronts.  Yet Chauncey counters this with a claim from doctors at the time that “inverts saw nothing wrong with their sexuality and were rather proud” (Chauncey 21).

Continue reading “Gay New York”

Salvatore Fevola

Response 3 of 5

Sarah C. Bishop, “(Un)documented immigrant media makers and the search for connection online”

The continually rising power of the internet impacts every part of the modern day culture, thus it has affected communication as it has become the most powerful and versatile form of media.  Sarah C.Bishop’s interview of  twenty-five undocumented media makers,  consisting of millennials,  shows the internet’s power and versatility  by giving voices to whoever chooses to speak.

Through the power of the internet and anonymity, “coming out” for undocumented immigrants has changed for the better. The confidence of being able to speak about personal experiences without the fear of being sent to jail or deported has been a boon for undocumented immigrants.  Instead of conventional media speaking out against a broad group of “illegal immigrants” to dehumanize them, individuals get to tell their own stories. Its easy to dehumanize a group by broadly painting them with one brush stroke, buts its difficult to do the same to individuals when they speak about their hardships in life. Continue reading “Undocumented Immigration”