Folk Groups Galore

Before reading the chapter on folk groups, I considered my only group to be where my family is from. My dad is Filipino so this was the word I associated with "folk groups." I now know that folk groups are much more than where your family is from. I never considered age to be a folk group but it is one of the 6 major groups in America. Everyone belongs to way more than one specific folk group.

One group being occupational. I used to work at Bath and Body Works and we were all pretty close. There was always some new story or rumor that was going on in the store that would get handed from employee to employee. There has always been the stereotype of women being the weaker sex. I cannot count how many times in my life I have heard, "It's because you are a girl." I could not do things like go out late at night while my younger brother could. Most women can be seen as romantics at heart. I am not different, the tales of love and all that mushy stuff interests me. I consider myself somewhat different than most people in my "age group." I will soon be 21 but unlike most people who are waiting for the day when they can legally drink, I am not. I see my 21st birthday as just another year I am getting older. There is a specific region in the Philippines where my dad is from, Anabu. So for the past couple of years my family on the East Coast of the United States has had an annual picnic and trip just the Anabuenians. The organization is called Anabu East Coast International (AEIC). Every year everyone gets together to talk about life in general and we eat, A LOT!!! One of things I can count on when I go to these picnics and trips is my family pretty much saying, "You're too skinny!! Kumain(eat)!"

These groups are just a sample of what groups people belong to. These groups can overlap. For example being a 20 year Filipina girl is the combination of an age and ethnic group.