CMIO Model Analysis

1167 Words5 Pages
In this essay, I will be reflecting on the findings from my group’s research project, firstly, focusing on the understanding of race and ethnicities in terms of the CMIO model, and how this racial classification through the CMIO model reflects a certain type of view of who Eurasians are and how the Eurasians have become marginalised. Summary of findings Based on my group’s findings, I was able to sieve out some interesting finding that almost one-third of the respondents were not aware able to describe who Eurasians are, whereby most of them describe Eurasians based on their physical attributes and grouping the Eurasians with Europeans or associating Eurasians with foreigners . In addition, many of the respondents felt that it was only right…show more content…
They are in fact social constructs (Benjamin,1976). In fact, race and ethnicity are both something that is performative since it is not linked to any biological or genetic concept. According to Clammer (1996), ethnicity is seen as a “pre-eminent symbolic” (p.75) whereby it helps individuals to determine and negotiate their own identity, therefore, forming notion of the “self” and “others” dichotomy. This is very much true base on the respondents’ response whereby many of the respondents felt that it is only natural to place Eurasians under the “other” category as it is no other categories that the Eurasians could be placed in. According to Clammer (1996), CMIO model racial classification that reinforces the binaries between the races. This, therefore, I believe that this could be the reason why the respondents view the CMIO model as one that is strictly used for the categorising of Chinese, Malay, and Indians. This observation may be also due to the fact that the population of the Chinese, Malay and Indians is proportionally more as compared to the population of Eurasians, therefore, increasing their “invisibility” as a racial…show more content…
This is in relation to the CMIO model that is utilised to reflect the Singaporean identity. However, the limitation of the CMIO model would be that it does not consider the diversity of races in the Singapore. Hence, with regards to the CMIO model in which the Chinese, Malay, and Indians are entitled to their own group, the Eurasians were forced to become the subordinate group as their “race” is not entitled to an individual group despite being one of the four ‘founding’ races of Singapore (Benjamin,
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