Culturally Correct: Identity Construction by Bengali Immigrants in the San
Francisco Bay Area
Abstract: In this paper, I present an empirical analysis of the cultural activities of a
particular group of upper-middle class immigrants of color. I apply the notion of boundary
work to immigrants in the multi-faceted context of the San Francisco bay area where they
might give salience to differing and contradictory criteria for status depending on the
multiple cultural repertoires available to draw from. Based on participant observation and
in-depth interviews, I find that Bengali immigrants, in the face of racialization and internal
differentiation, construct immigrant cultural capital by fusing “tolerant” multi-cultural
(Bryson, 1999) and “exclusive” ethnic cultural capital (Carter, 2003). I argue that
segmented assimilation, currently, the most influential theory on immigrant identity, fails
to elucidate how racial formation in the U.S. impacts upon highly skilled, non-white
immigrants who identify ethnically but are not based in an ethnic enclave. My findings
display that scholars of immigrant identity need to acknowledge the role of
multidimensional cultural capital in adaptation and identification processes. The findings
also confirm that cultural capital is infinitely more complex for immigrants with a sub-
ethnic identity who navigate different worlds in the new context.
Keywords: Immigrant identity, internal ethnicity, cultural capital, boundary work, Bengali-
Americans
Introduction
In this paper, I present an empirical analysis of the cultural activities of a
particular group of upper-middle class immigrants of color. Bengali immigrants in my
sample are Hindus from the state of West Bengal in India and have been living in the US
for the last 20-30 years. While dealing with the making of these immigrants into American
citizens, I focus on human agency in manipulating different categories and norms of
belonging. Yet it is hard to deny that ethnic identity is often a reaction to an ascribed racial
identity that is not of one’s own choosing (Waters 1999). Immigrant cultural practices and
beliefs are generated out of negotiating the often ambivalent and contested relations with
hegemonic forces that determine social inclusion (Ong, 1999). Moreover, since racial
identification carries class implications, the ways in which immigrants react and respond to
their ascribed racial identities varies according to social class backgrounds. Immigrants in
1
Page 1 of 22 
Convention