What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.
Ethnic identity is defined as a sense of belonging based on one’s ancestry, cultural heritage, values, traditions, rituals, and often language and religion. Ethnic identity is thus composed of more or less connected facets that can vary across immigrant groups and across situations.
My Mommy is German and Daddy is Japanese
More and more I realized with how I was raised by my parents, i clearly understood that I was of mixed race. I was also raised that you are what your father’s ethnicity. The other unique thing about my life is that my parents bought our family home on the border of the black community of Seattle. The schools I went to were predominantly black and the same with my friends.
My father was very active in minority affairs and advocacy. I tell all of this because I was raised to be proud of my mixed heritage and to embrace and respect diversity. I did not have much of a problem being accepted in the community that I knew as home.
I realize now that I took my life for granted. I could maneuver life in Seattle without having to explain who I identify as.
Then in 2017, I moved to Las Vegas and I was in for a rude awakening. From many ethnic groups I was assumed to be white and even when I explained that I was mixed, it was like I never explained my ethnicity. Then the comments about looking white and I would respond by saying, “just because I look white to you, does not mean that is who I identify.” I even had to deal with that from an employer listing me as white on my finger printing document. Or a person in my life telling me that I act like a white girl.
Racism feels huge here in Vegas or maybe I should be fair that it is something I have experienced on many levels from the people I know or have encountered. Possibly life would have been different if I was introduced to a different circle of people personally and professionally.
Here people don’t hold their tongues about what they feel about another race. At times I feel because of what they visually identify me as, they think I think the same way as them.
So, the question that I don’t like being asked, is about my ethnicity.
Living in Vegas has taught me so much about people. When you visually see someone, you may not really know what their ethnicity is. I have met Spanish speaking people who either look white or black. Asians, can be missed labeled and they are not happy with being misidentified.
We live in an era where we need to more careful in how we identify someone. It has become challenging to what is appropriate and acceptable to say.
I know that many would not be able to relate to this post, but I sharing my truth… I am thinking through should I ease up on getting upset on how others identify my ethnicity. It’s something to think about, right? 🤔
I wonder how many people can relate to this blog…care to share your thoughts?
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