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kianamai — Multiracial Identity
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Published: 2017-03-23 04:43:08 +0000 UTC; Views: 59320; Favourites: 2488; Downloads: 76
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EDIT: Hey! I made a kind of extension of this comic on tumblr using a little dog cat named Puppittykianamaiart.tumblr.com/post/16…
Being mixed race is an interesting experience and the experience definitely shapes who you think you are. Because I arguably look more black, despite being 50/50, and it's easier for people to categorize me as such (African American), I just kinda accepted that over time. I started identifying myself as just African American. But that's not who I am. I'm mixed. Both of these things at the same time. Also I'm not even African. I'm Jamaican/Afro-Caribbean. NOT ALL BLACK PEOPLE ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN FYI.
But even when I tried accepting that identity, it didn't feel right. I grew up in Hawaii with primarily Japanese traditions and a Japanese American way of life. So I always thought I identified with being Japanese more than anything. But because I didn't look the part, it was never really okay with other people. Same thing on the other side. I don't "sound black" or have black features other than my hair and skin tone (which is also debatable).
The world is so set on being black and white and people having to fit into specific categories. Apparently, it wasn't until 2000 Census that multiracial people could fill in more than one category for race. I remember that always being stressful during SAT tests. Having to either pick Asian or Black. Anyways, I think it's important that you don't have these black and white stereotypes of people and how they're supposed to be whether it comes to race or gender or sexuality or occupation or anything. All people are different. Yes certain stereotypes exist for a reason but don't be surprised when people don't fit them.
Also just... like don't tell multiracial people the kind of things mentioned in the comic^^^ One, it perpetuates a lot of racially charged stereotypes. And two, it just fucks with us lol. It messes with our sense of belonging and identity and for the most part we'll just take it because it happens all the time and what are we gonna do, y'know? Don't try to categorize us. We just are what we are and that's all we can be
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Comments: 653
I'm multiracial but I'm light skinned so everyone just goes "well you're just a white chick check your privilege you mayonnaise bitch"
I don't really think too much about where I fit in society or about how I am in a 'majority' (I hate checking 'white' on those boxes you mentioned for census forms, I'm NOT just some anomalous white person even if people see me that way) but it is pretty rude when people assume that just because you look a certain way you don't deserve respect or acceptance.
I think the coolest thing would be if you introduced yourself/your heritage and people were just like "Wow cool, what's that like? I'm (introduction of their heritage)" instead of "Well you're just white / just black / just asian / just this / just that/ I know better than you because I can judge you based on stereotypes of what I think x color people are supposed to look like" but no one cares about manners or politeness any more and they certainly don't care about anyone's feelings but their own so that's just how it is. I literally bring up how my dad comes from another country all the time and yet still "no you're just another damned jar of mayo" and if I try to tell them that's racist for them to call me, they call me a nazi, because I'm light enough to just be white, and you can't be racist to white people (':
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I'm sorry you have to deal with these stereotypes but I think the issue you're touching on is a little different. Regarding privilege and all that.
America in general definitely favors people with lighter skin. And that doesn't mean that they have to be white necessarily. There are a lot of white passing multiracial people and then there's people, like myself, who while still brown, have more privilege than those with much darker skin. I think it's important to recognize this. In this case, it's not quite racism since it doesn't have to do with race, but it is shadism/colorism.
It sucks that people just assume what race you are, I know it hurts. I just encourage you to recognize that racism and colorism intersect. It's hard to accept that you have privilege since all people have different things in the world going against them no matter who they are, but in certain instances, you may have some things going for you that others might not.
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Privilege like being told I'm not what I really am? Privilege like being treated differently by people of my actual race because I am not dark enough? Privilege like being told I get better treatment because I'm lighter when it's really the opposite? Maybe privilege doesn't really exist. If it does, well I sure wish I actually was treated as well as you think I must be getting treated.
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Obviously it's a case to case basis. I definitely don't feel privileged sometimes for the same reasons you've stated. And it's valid to be upset at this. It is frustrating. And that's what this comic is about. It's about being othered within (what's supposed to be) our own communities.
But that doesn't erase the fact that we do have certain privileges.
As a whole, systematically, our society values lighter skin and those who do have lighter skin tend to benefit more. Whether it be through depictions in media, makeup products being made for our skin tones, getting a job or perpetuated stereotypes.
There's a stigma against those with darker skin. It's the reason, for example, why the "black" actors and celebrities we tend to see are usually mixed.
So absolutely, people get shit no matter what race they are or what skin color they have by different people. But this is on a basic level (which I'm not saying is good) rather than a systematic whole. And then you also have to take into account intersectionality which can get messy. Different people have different privileges for different things although it does suck to come to terms with it, it is an important step forward in empathy and understanding
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I think your pretty kila I've been told im Hispanic even tho I have very Caucasian/white skin I'm also a decent of native Americans got irsh to but that's all as far as I know my aunt once said but I during hear Cleary we have some African to remember hearing German to but I'm not sure about that but I'm certain about the first 3
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I have a friend who is Mexican. Just Mexican. But he's stopped a lot by people guessing his background. He takes it as a joke, lightheartedly, and I admire him for it.
And for all purposes, I look Eastern European, but I'm still proud of my quarter-Asian part. I can relate to your feeling of "not being Japanese/black enough" (or just Asian for me) for other people's criteria. I feel like I'm silently told I shouldn't pursue that part of me, and its sad.
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Is it weird that it rubs me the wrong way to just categorize myself as white? I do take pride in my mixed heritage, as everyone should, so it feels wrong to use just one label for myself. I am ashamed that we feel the need to categorize people at all, instead of just looking at the person in front of us. The one behind their eyes, their skin, their parents. I will never understand the kind of superficial, shitty people brown skinned friends have to deal with, but by dating the sweetest mixed fellow alive, I've had but a taste. I've been asked several questions by my own parents. Such as "Does he identify as a black person?" "It's funny that both of our daughters are dating black people. Do you like black people?" and shit like that. I know they don't mean harm, but I am noticing I get really tense when they're around each other. I am afraid someone will dare try to call out to us and say something about how immoral and strange we are. How brave we are. I think I'm getting an idea of the kind of societal fear many people go through that I usually don't.
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i get that (kind of), do to my weird accent which came out of nowere since both my parents speak only fluent spanish and i don't have any foreign relatves that i ever spoke to, i have been made fun of and been called several nationalities, i've been called russian, paraguayan, chilean, mexican, cuban and spanish, ffs i was born and raised in my own country and never left it
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I think this is true for most sterotypes. I've been told I'm not a tomboy cuz I'm too pretty in a dress (rarely wear them tho). Not an artist cuz I cant draw etc. I tell them I'm my own version of furry/otaku/girl/ME. I'm proud of it too. It maybe chessey but you are you there for the only type you fit is YOU~
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It's sadly true, I'm a mix of several races, and I constantly get that whole "You don't look _______." I also hate when people assume that I am something I'm not just because of how I look and then are surprised when I don't fit into the stereotype of what they assumed I was.
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I don't see race, I just see behavior and cultural upbringing. Alot of my family wonder why I like white guys when I'm black(one cousin thinks blacks should only be with blacks because 'the white man yada yada yada'), but I always tell them I don't see color and I go out with guys I like. And it's not that I dislike black people, I just dislike people who act ghetto, hood, and gangsta since I don't really like that stereotype and I feel they could be so much more. I've met plenty of black guys I liked, and I'd dislike a ghetto white boy just as much as a black guy. I judge people based on who they are and how they act, not on skin color or racial stereotypes, unless I feel they perpetuate the negative stereotypes of their race. Everyone tells me I don't act black, and I correct them and say I don't act ghetto. There is a difference.
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As someone who is Dominican (as in Dominica, not the Dominican Republic)/Caucasian, I feel this so hard. I grew up in two very different cultures and if that wasn't enough to fuck up and complicate my identity, I have problems with this from my own family.
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I didn't even know what I was until I was a teenager. Turns out I'm a little Russian, Scottish, French, German, Polish, English and Jewish but apparently my last name has Irish roots. I live in Australia, an extremely mulit-cultural country, so it's not surprising for people to be extremely mixed. The funniest part is my father. His parents were mostly German and English, but HE looks Italian! He has soft, curly black hair and an olive skin tone but also has Aboriginal looking features, such as large lips, thick bushy eyebrows, a slightly darker skin tone then most German and English and a wide nose. We laugh about it occasionally, and i have been asked if I am part Italian as well! Funnily enough thats not one of the many European backgrounds I come from.
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I have the same problem. Im native american, caucasion/cajun and maybe french? But due to my skin tone people dont believe in part native american. My brother (who has a different mom) calls me cracker for how pale i am. (And hes more tan than i am) i get it. Im pale. I dont go outside as much as you do, ok? It just makes me feel like i dont belong, really. Personally im glad you brought this up, because i feel people focus more on appearance/color than actual ancestry and blood. It just really bothers me.
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Why call people African American in the first place? What's wrong with referring to someone as just Black?
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I think it has to do with no acknowledgement of individual culture, only skin color. There's just such a wide variety of heritages descending from the race that the attempt to be more specific ends up doing more harm than good. I'm super white, but even that is English, French, Irish, Swedish, German, and some Native American. It's easier to be more specific if people ask. Few people in their right mind would assume a Caucasian person to be exclusively English, so I don't refer to blacks as being African-American or Hispanics as Mexicans etc.
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Yeah, people sure do love to label what they personally think others should be; and odds are they don't have alot of 'education' or extensive knowledge to begin with to actually label as such. Hate to use such a reference, but it's kind of like breeds of animals. People 'know' what they are but they don't specifically know what they are-example is miscalling a 'boxer' a pit and then there are people who think that all who speak 'Spanish' come from Mexico-why? I have no idea, but that does say that there are alot of people who don't have all the necessary knowledge to make such accurate judgments
Sorry to hear that your being 'labeled'/'classified' as 'it's one or the other'. One can only hope that education and accepting that there are 'mix' races in the world. It really shouldn't be new to people that not every body is '100%' white, or black, or whatever color under the sun...like school is forgetting that the United States does have that other name it acquire way back when= 'melting pot'. That and it all boils down to, it shouldn't matter or affect other people what your background is. At least you know what you are
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And then if you happen to be 3+ thanks to the culture hot-pot that America intends to be, you confuse the F**k out of racists and they default to "Mutt".
When I was old enough to understand/define what racism was, this fact made it that much more ridiculous a concept for me. And after all is said and done, What do you expect to happen? Should we just... stop being who we are?? Just forget where we come from and how we were raised? Make multiracial people stick to one side of their gene pool? Honestly.
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same instead I'm African American and Spanish they call me way to white to be AA (African American)
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Sometimes I wish I could stand up infront of the entire world and say "FUCK YOU! I'M BIRACIAL AND I AM FUCKING PROUD OF IT SO DON'T CALL ME WHAT YOU THINK I SHOULD BE OR WHAT YOU WANT ME TO BE BITCH." then just step down and walk off
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Man, you preaching to the choir. I felt like that for most of my childhood XD
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The world has many paths to choose hopefully the world chooses the right one
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I have the same issue, I'm mostly Finnish and Native. But people always say I'm not because I'm white. Mind you I'm more Finnish then Native. But still. I'm also a little Irish and Scottish lol.
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Oh man that really sucks, I'm really sorry that people do that to you :c
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AS A MIXED PERSON I HEAVILY RELATE TO THIS.
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you are you - and no one can tell you who you are except you - unless you tell's you youre not you and that you is someone else - which isnt you because only you know you and how you do you
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I don't think you should regret posting this; if this is something that bothers you you have every right to vent about it. If people get pissy that's their problem
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Multiracial high five!
African American / Italian
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That sounds pretty damn annoying.
I often just don't bother telling people I'm half hispanic because it doesn't have anything to do with them and they just think I'm being some teenager using whatever excuse to sound special. I imagine with your situation it'd be a thousand times worse. I'm sorry you have to go through that.
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Although I haven't experienced this myself (being a Caucasian mutt), my roommate explained to me how strangers have reacted to her mixed appearance: it's practically spot-on to what you've illustrated here. Brilliant comic, and, like your description, well worth posting on dA!
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BUT WHO GIVES A SHIT
i mean u do and u should
but why should anyone else care ??? ???
also "you don't sound black" ok
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No matter what people say, you're a gorgeous human being <3
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Honestly, I just see you as a human being.
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i can't say i have this problem. i was born and raised in America, but truthfully, my background is... most of Europe, Germany, Britain and Ireland taking up most of it. but despite that, i don't seem to get much. however, i've seen my friends have this problem, and it honestly pisses me off. why should race matter? the person is that person, no one else. it doesn't concern you. why should you care?
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have people really said that kind of stuff to you? if so thats really messed up and Im sorry..
Im not personally biracial per say but it still annoys me when people treat others different just because they dont fit into a certain standard, its wrong and it needs to stop.
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Oh yeah for sure haha. No need to be sorry~
I agree
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I say sorry too much, just a habit XD
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Oh my god dude I feel you, maybe not on the same level but I'm White/Hispanic (Mexican) and I look WAY more white than any level of hispanic. To be fair tho, my mom also looks very white--she's got a pale skin tone and a thin, straight nose. My grandmother on her side looks Asian, actually (probably because her dad was full or part unidentified asian/pacific islander), with pale skin too. I get looks whenever I say that I love menudo and lengua or when I pronounce a spanish word or sentence properly. I've had family members laugh whenever I surprise them by speaking a little spanish because they expect me to not know jack shit lol.
But I understand the whole "belonging and identity" bit. I never know if I should fill in "white" or "multi-other" when I get a form, because it's like? Should I go with what people think of immediately when they look at me? Or what I actually physically am? Will it confuse people when I tell them that i'm multiracial? Will I get comments like "being german and english isn't being multiracial, dumbass"? Will they believe me when I tell them that I'm half hispanic but I can't hold a conversation in spanish to save my life?
It's funny I see this now, the other day I discovered a co-worker of mine was also biracial and it was weird to have a sort of validation in that sense? Like she was like, "Oh you're mixed too? That's cool, so am I!" and it was so strange but also cool to know that.
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I know what you are... you're cute and talented
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I can relate, Kilala. I'm half black, half white, and people often say I'm Samoan 'cause "A", I'm really tall and "B", I got a lot of girth
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LOL I get that I'm Polynesian too haha
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Hehehe X-D I'm a HUGE melting pot too; I'm black, Italian, Irish, Blackfeet, and lord knows what else? XD
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Nice!
I'm only two things but I'm that "ambiguous brown" so people think I'm Polynesian, hispanic, etc. haha
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Damn,I understand,I'm Hispanic but I don't look it so everyone calls me out on it...pisses me off
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