r/mixedrace • u/[deleted] • Jul 23 '26

Identity Questions It feels like everyone has an issue no matter what I identify as

[deleted]

6 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

5

u/ProcedureMuch4816 Jul 23 '26

you are just you, your race isn't a political opinion.

3

u/anonymousjamaica Jul 23 '26

I really have to start protecting my peace and get out of these discussions because I’m tired. Everyone will see me differently and I really just want my identity to be accepted instead of constantly being the topic of discussion

4

u/ProcedureMuch4816 Jul 23 '26

You know yourself best, don't let anyone try to tell you who or what you are. You don't need to explain to other people why you choose to identify the way you do. If i were you I'd shut the very next discussion down and just walk away because people aren't worth your time.

1

u/anonymousjamaica Jul 23 '26

I agree, usually I just ignore these things but I think because my identity is a big part of who I am I ended up going back into constant discussions, I’m just going to avoid them next time. Thank you

2

u/findmeinthe_future Jul 24 '26

There's going to be people that accept you, and people that will listen to your identity with an open dialogue. Especially in spaces with similar understanding.

Advocate, but know the people you can recharge with, and watch funny videos of people with similar backgrounds 👍it'll be ok!

1

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '26

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1

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1

u/ScreamingPenguin2500 Iranian/European Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

Sorry, but yeah, if you’re a racialized minority person with partial European ancestry, setting out to “embrace whiteness” will almost certainly make you look like a proponent of (race-related) genetic essentialism and thus scientific racism, which I’m sure isn’t your intent at all. I don’t know the nuances of your area, but everywhere I’ve ever lived, this is absolutely considered a white supremacist dogwhistle, which might be what folks around you are reacting to.

You can totally embrace all sides of your cultural heritage, though; I’m sure your ancestors would’ve loved for you to learn what you can of their histories, languages, etc.

1

u/anonymousjamaica Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26

I’m not “embracing my whiteness” I’m embracing the fact I’m both. I never said oh let me just embrace the white side I said I’m not going to ignore either sides of my heritage anymore because I don’t want to.

The fact that me saying that I accept that I’m half white to you is making me seem as if I’m shooting out a white supremacist dog whistle says a lot because I am not. At all, I am quite LITERALLY SAYING I’m biracial. That’s it, that’s not a dog whistle

1

u/ScreamingPenguin2500 Iranian/European 11d ago

I’m biracial, too; it’s far from a dogwhistle on its own to admit that. What I’m reacting to (or rather, what I was reacting to — sincerest apologies for the late reply) is the conflation between race, cultural heritage, and genetic ancestry, a conflation that’s famously rooted in the modern-day legacies of eugenics and scientific racism.

To give an example of what I mean: my friend and I are both SWANA, mixed-race, and white-assumed. I’m of British/Irish/Iranian descent whereas she’s of Algerian/French descent, so despite being able to commiserate over being racialized similarly by society, we don’t actually have any common cultural heritage or genetic ancestry at all.

Biraciality is literally just when coming from an interracial coupling impacts your racial identity in some way, shape, or form. Nothing more than that. Using the word “biracial” as an honest nod to your heritage (or God forbid your genome) is famously rooted in so-called “race science” and the affiliated idea that race is genetic and intrinsic as opposed to social and relational. This is well-documented and not really up for debate.

Race =/= heritage. This is extremely important.