Being an international student was very scary in the beginning. Being an international student who grew up in Russia, even more so.
Thinking twice about everything you write and say just so no one notices that your English isn’t as good as a native speaker’s. Being scared to say you’re from Russia because “everyone thinks all Russians support the war.” This was my reality, maybe still is, but I’m definitely working on it.
Let’s look at the required conditions for Stereotype/Identity Threat:
- Membership in a stereotyped group — Russian.
- Knowledge of stereotypes about one’s group — yes, the stereotype that all Russians support the war.
- Heightened salience of group membership — every time I introduce myself or speak, I feel extra aware that I’m Russian.
- Identification with the performance domain — doing well in school and expressing myself clearly matters a lot to me.
These factors make me worry unconsciously whenever I have to talk about this matter. And this is just one example – everyone experiences something similar for different reasons. I’m also Jewish, and my mom is Armenian, so it’s fantastic to come from these very different backgrounds. But alongside that comes the burden of sometimes having to explain myself and break stereotypes over and over again
Has this all impacted my performance, my confidence? Of course! Worrying about these things limits you a lot. Let’s return to my example of being culturally raised in Russian culture: you meet someone you’ve never seen before, start talking about interests and experiences, and find yourself avoiding some crucial topics because they are tied to Russia.
Hopefully, with globalization and broader, more diverse information, people will start paying more attention to the other side of every issue. Every implicit bias could be challenged by a counter-argument, and people would live in a more diverse informational space.