The WASP

Abstract

“My father is Italian and my mother is a third-generation American who never heard Italian until she got to Italy to study; I am part Italian and part American, not Italian-American” (Barolini, Umbertina 315). Tina Morosini, great-granddaughter of Calabrian immigrant Umbertina Longobardi, rages against the hyphenation of her identity. To her, the label “Italian-American” is an arbitrary claim to Italian identity based on having one or two Italian ancestors and boasted by people with little knowledge of the culture. Her dual citizenship, Italian father, and bilingual fluency entitle her to something beyond the hyphenated commonplace.

WASP, n.—A member of the American white Protestant middle or upper class descended from early European settlers in the U.S. Freq. derog. (OED)