Abstract

This study examines the social experiences of Iranian female immigrants in schools in Toronto, Canada. Drawing on postcolonial theory and critical whiteness studies, I interrogate the ways in which ‘Oriental’ subjects are Othered among their peers, and how whiteness is established as the invisible norm. This study observes the role that having an immigrant, English-as-a-second-language (ESL) identity plays in shaping the participants’ social experiences at school. The women in this study rejected racism as a plausible cause of their social exclusion. I suggest two possible explanations for this: (1) the ‘Aryan myth’, which still heavily circulates within Iranian communities, constitutes a subtle mechanism by which white supremacy is culturally inherited by many Iranians; (2) the participants’ ability to ‘pass’ as white acted as a privilege which made race a less salient marker of difference to them. Instead, their status as the ‘Oriental Other’ was most visible when language was concerned.

摘要

本研究调查了伊朗女性移民在加拿大多伦多学校的社会经历。借鉴后殖民理论和批判性白人研究，我审视了“东方”主体在同龄人中被异化的方式，以及白人如何被确立为无形的规范。本研究观察了拥有移民、英语作为第二语言 (ESL) 身份在塑造参与者在学校的社会经历中所起的作用。这项研究中的女性拒绝将种族主义视为导致她们被社会排斥的合理原因。我对此提出了两种可能的解释：（1）仍在伊朗社区中广泛流传的“雅利安神话”构成了一种微妙的机制，许多伊朗人通过这种机制在文化上继承了白人至上主义；(2) 参与者作为白人“通过”的能力是一种特权，这使得种族对他们来说不再是差异的显着标志。相反，当涉及到语言时，他们作为“东方他者”的地位最为明显。