Each garment fashion designer Surya Garg creates reminds her of her family and her Indian American heritage. One of the garments she created was inspired by Mumbai, where her mother is from.
"They've got these big, gorgeous trees, so the green is really an ode to that,” Garg said.
Now she takes pride in her roots, but she didn't always while growing up in Manhattan.
What You Need To Know
- Fashion designer Surya Garg says growing up, she was “at odds with” her Indian American heritage
- She creates clothing as an ode to celebrating her multiculturalism after years of trying to embrace both of her ethnicities
- Baruch College professor Dia Chatterjee says it's common for people to experience racial stigmas that make them embarrassed of their culture
- She recommends identifying with what is best about each culture in one's roots and educating others about them
"It was something that I very much felt always at odds with, right?" Garg said. "I was too Western when I'd go back home to India to visit my family, but then I was too South Asian, too brown for my peers."
She describes an encounter in elementary school when a classmate tried her Indian food.
"She basically made a face about it, and at school the next day told everyone, 'Oh like, Surya's mom and Surya's family made me eat stinky food,'” Garg said.
Dia Chatterjee, a psychology professor at Baruch College's Diversity and Careers Lab, says it's common for people to experience racial stigmas that make them embarrassed of their culture.
“If you lean into the shame or humiliation of public stigmas when you encounter those, right, then such internalization can make a person withdraw from taking pride in one’s heritage,” Chatterjee said.
Chatterjee said it is hard for people to accept their own multicultural identities. The American Psychological Association reports the "needs for inclusion" play a role in one's identity.
Chatterjee said to overcome self-esteem issues, she recommends identifying what's best about each culture in one's roots and educating others about them.
"Valuing and endorsing both the parts of yourself, and not being shy about engaging with others, showing them your full, authentic selves,” Chatterjee said.
Garg says her experiences growing up made her want to make people aware of the beauty in her Indian American culture. She says designing clothing with vibrant colors and lively patterns helped her love her own multiculturalism.
"You can embrace both parts of yourself, and you can love yourself as a totality, and not have to pick and choose who you want to be,” Garg said.