Eventually (maybe not in my lifetime) people will cease to be culturally racist and exclusive.
As a "multiracial" women I've been blessed with controversy all my life, relating to the question that people frequently ask me, "What are you?" Not to mention the fact that this question is incredibly rude, it is very ignorant. It sounds like the person is asking me what species I am, as if, because they cannot identify what racial category I belong in I am automatically deemed a foreign species. I rationally know that's not what they mean, but that's what it sounds like. It has been an ongoing frustration among people of mixed heritage. No matter what we do we never fully belong anywhere. The issue of identity is incredibly complex for us. For me, because of my "white" skin, if I attempt to identify with black people, I'm not black enough. If I decide to embrace my European heritage, I'm "being a poser." I'm not even going to mention Native communities, because that's simply a waste of time. No matter what I do, it simply isn't enough! Recently this issue came up while talking to a hairdresser in Texas. Not only that, but it is repeating issue within my graduate studies. I swear, people think I have multiple personalities. One day I'll be arguing for "white" people, the next day it will be for the African American community and then, to a lesser extent, I will be discussing my native heritage. Now let me make it clear, before I get hate mail from people within the native community, I do NOT portray myself as a First Nations person. Only briefly in my heritage is one women recognized as "Native," to far back to claim anything. Yet, I will not ignore that part of my ancestry, simply because I don't "look the part." I'm not teaching any "spiritual shamanistic native studies," I'm not stating I belong to any federally recognized group, I'm not claiming I've descended from a "princess." Let me digress for a minute and say it is incredibly offensive for almost every single native person that I mention that to, mocks me and says "let me guess you're grandmother was a native princess." Everybody needs to STOP BEING SO RACIST! Yep! I went there. I have one indigenous woman in my lineage. Shall I go into the fact that she was disowned by her community because she married a black man? On top of that her "identity" was erased by the federal government too. Last time I checked it was humanly impossible to go from Indian to White and then to Black. Interesting trick. Furthermore, if I want to represent that aspect of my blood line you cannot say to me that I cannot, or that I am expropriating the culture. Seriously? No matter what I wear, or do, I get dirty looks from someone because people feel like I'm "stealing" their culture or being "fake." Does anyone actually have claim over anything when the world is so large and there are so many cultures and so many centuries behind us?
Lets get real with the numbers for a minute. If you were born in this country you're more likely than not to have another "race" in your ancestry. Acting like we are all "pure" anything is complete fiction. (I know I'm not the first to say this) Not to say that there aren't some people that can trace their lineage back without encountering another "race." My father is one of those people, he is "purely" Euro-American. The only thing most of us can say (that has some basis in reality) is that we are American. Unfortunately, even being American has its levels of "authenticity." What is with this era of terminology that is obsessed with the words, "pure, organic, natural, authentic, native, genuine, real, original, and lastly, true?" All I can say is I am genuine in my pure depiction of the authentic me who is native to this land. :)
