This is a rambling story about adoptees, arts, and athletics in the context of the notion of third space. By third space, I am referring to a sense of identity and place where people can intentionally live among similar others and at the same time live in contrast and in reaction to dominant social structures that otherwise marginalize them. For Asian Americans, for example, it is not the same as ethnic enclaves that attempt to recreate the homeland and it is not an effort to mimic or assimilate to the White mainstream culture. Instead, it is a fluid space in which people find common ground with like and not like minded others that defy (or transcends) traditional categories that are used to make people feel like the "other". It is a term used increasingly by ethnic/racial/cultural studies scholars in the humanities (rarely by my colleagues in the behavioral sciences).
Drawing liberally upon this notion of third space, I have come across a number of interesting websites by activists and artists that capture the power of the third space. For example, check out In Third Space which is a new e-magazine for and by transnational adoptees who are coming together to define their own identities and bring voice to their own experiences. Also, check out two emerging Asian American musicians (Kevin So and Jared Rehberg) who are creating their own sound that reflects their lives as complex and layered Asian Americans.
In a bit of six degrees of separation, I learned about In Third Space from my friend, Holly, who happens to be working on a photographic book about Korean adoptees in Minnesota (titled HERE) that I previously had mentioned. Then, I noticed that the website is maintained by Jared Rehberg, a Vietnamese adoptee. I happened to have met Jared a year or so ago when consulting with Also Known As in NYC. Jared's website has a link to Kevin So who is a Boston based singer-songerwriter. It turns out that Kevin is associates with Mary Lou Lord, another singer-songwriter originally from Boston. Now, I used to have a big crush on Mary Lou Lord back in the late 1980s when I was in college and she used to play in the subways of Boston. To bring this story full circle, Mary Lou was mentored by the musician Shawn Colvin whose former home in Austin, TX was purchased by my good friends, Tony and Kelli!
Phew...okay, so back to third spaces...or maybe to athletics...hm...how to tie this all together.
I have lived in Minnepolis since 2000 but it was not really until a couple of years ago that I started to find my social niche in the community. And through these various activities and other assorted outlets (notably my good friend, Ken), I started to play basketball with a group of 30-50 year olds. It turns out that this group started to play basketball together over 20 years ago. Originally, it began as mostly a group of local artists who (defying stereotypes) enjoyed playing ball. Amazingly, through many permutations, this group continues to play weekly.It is still mostly artists tho' a couple of us teacher types have made our way in. I was fortunate to join in this summer, despite my lack of real talent with the ball.
Now, to me, this group reflects a third space of sorts, though perhaps not in the scholarly sense. On any given Tuesday night, we have a photographer, screenwriter, actor, painter, art professor, building contractor, internet marketer/web designer, sociology professor, psychology professor, art gallery owner, poet/playwright, furniture maker, musician, school principal and more come together to play a scrappy game of basketball. We transcend occupation, social class, education, ethnicity, race, and religion and find common ground in athletics but also in humor, intellect, and good spirit. As I have gotten to know many of these fellow ballers, I have learned how much of a support network this group has become for many. It reflects a true sense of social capital in which people go out of their way to help each other out. Many of us live intentionally on the court and off in a fraternal bond that lets people drop pretension and expose honesty and intimacy.
The world is small and it seems that the more you allow the world to enter into your life, the smaller the world becomes. To me, this is a good thing and I am always excited to discover when social circles overlap, entwine, and expand. In defining our identities for ourselves on our own terms, in the context of all the demands put upon us in life, there is freedom in this new space.
Posted by richlee at January 4, 2006 02:42 PM