Rhetorical situation

Sender

The sender of the article “Losing Whiteness When You Lose Your Father” is Corina Zappia, an American author. Zappia is a writer of mixed ethnicity, with her mother being from the Philippines and her father of Italian and Hungarian descent: “ ‘My mother is from the Philippines.’ You don’t tell them that your father’s side is Italian and Hungarian. You know this is not what they want to know” (ll. 3-4). 

Because of her appearance and the way people see her, Zappia perceives herself more as Asian: “You perceive yourself as Asian because that’s how most people perceive you, but maybe you look more half-half” (ll. 9-11). Despite her more traditionally Asian look, Zappia maintains some of her father’s features, like “his wavy hair, his down-turned eyebrows, his short legs” (ll. 117-118). 

Zappia has also witnessed and inherited traditions from both her parents. When she mentions her ...