In previous readings from I Hotel it seemed as though there was a large emphasis on issues around race. Specifically, the issue of equality and treatment of groups other than white Americans. Chapter four in particular struck me because it took a look at the lives of a few women who not only struggled with gender equality but also racial in some cases. Then there was also a short paragraph that gave a little bit of background to Olivia's story, which had to do with race, class, and gender. It said that Olivia "...returned with a Negro boyfriend. These events were not in the auspicious plans of the Wag clan..." (Yamashita 330). When I first started reading I Hotel I wrongly assumed that the work would only focus with racial problems and this chapter really suprised me when it took another look at other kinds of discrimination.
One scene in particular interested me because it showed a woman that could not identify with any one particular group and struggled with acceptance. La Nada had "...dark olive skin tone, her braided auburn hair, her Oriental eyes, all conspired to confuse" (Yamashita 334). She then had a hard time fitting in with other women because she could have identified with various groups and many women had a hard time accepting her. In hope to find a group she "...joined a white women's lib group to demand a woman's right to education and equal job opportunities, pretending that she too suffered the boredom of the suburban bedroom..." (Yamashita 334). Although she is brought into this group La Nada still will not have a true sense of identity or a "group" because she has to pretend that she is someone she isn't just to be excepted into the one group that she does successfully join. It was interesting to see how the author managed to tie racial, class, and gender into one chapter and still make it fit nicely into the rest of the story.
The issue of the "Negro boyfriend" going against the "auspicious plans of the Wang clan" is intriguing in the United States yet often isn't brought up. There exists this idea of celebrating backgrounds but never celebrating two heritages combining. The feminist movement has been divided because of the idea of race since the original movement was identified as a white middle class movement. When Olivia brought home her boyfriend racial tensions seemed to flare because he was not the race her parents desired her to be with.
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