When asked to a white person, this question is met with confusion. But for me, it’s an inquiry about my race. No one had to tell me, even as a child, that “What are you?” meant “What race are you?” I just knew. My answer used to be, “I’m mixed,” which would raise other questions about what I was mixed with and how much of it. “Mixed” was never a good enough answer.
[…]
Perhaps it’s because I don’t have that stereotypical “black girl attitude.” Maybe it’s because I don’t wear Jordans and say the N-word. Or maybe it’s because I have light skin. Whether it be a combination of every reason or just one, the message is clear: I’m not allowed to be black without a white person’s permission.
A bit of an interesting read.
I got a bit of this when I was younger. People would assume one of my parents were Asian, and when I would say, “No. Native American.” To which they’d reply, “OH. Well…. You look Asian.”
Perhaps if I’d worn a hipster headdress and some faux-buckskin in some backwards comical racial drag, they’d have believed me?
reblogged for last comment lolz
I still get this Allll the time. Funny thing is no one is generally interested in where my “white” heritage comes from. If I say mixed, people ask with what. “I’m native american, black, and white” that generally isn’t good enough either so I have to go into an in depth explanation.
It’s not uncommon for random strangers to ask my “what am I” too. strange.
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"What is stolen during work time cannot be regained by submitting to what that work has produced." (French graffiti, 2006)
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