My Year of Meats

One of the most significant issues Jane contends with throughout her life is her biracial identity. While this identity often leads to negative experiences, Jane learns eventually to capitalize on and appreciate her Japanese American identity.

At first, Jane feels “neither nor there” (9). Her hyphenated name makes her feel that she can never escape a cultural limbo. As a child, she isn’t completely ostracized, but is required to lose when she plays with others. She feels “half” in one world and half in the other and therefore like she doesn’t belong anywhere (9). She even goes so far as to blame her infertility on her biracial identity (152).

When Jane is hired to work for My American Wife! she sees her identity as both a curse and a blessing. She is initially grateful because she believes it’s the reason she was hired. Her ability to be a “cultural pimp” and make nice between the Japanese team and the American team makes her a valuable asset to the project (9). However, as time goes on, she feels that the higher-ups only see her value as a translator and not a creator, holding her back from her dream of directing.

It's not until almost the end of the novel that Jane learns to see her biracial identity as an asset that can propel her future.