To Be "Black", To Be "White", What Do You Do When You're Both?
In no way do I think everyone who has more
than one nationality feels the same way I do. This is just an opinion based on
my own experiences. Many people grow up in variety of environments with just as
many cultural traditions. When you have more than one, growing up can be a little tricky... for some.
I've got to warn you... This entry might seem all over the place, as one thought might not have anything to do with the other. I ask that you bear with me and understand that the scattered structure of this post is reflective of my thought process on this topic. If you hang in there, I promise my point will make some kind of sense when I'm done.
For those that don't really know me,... Hi! My name is Katrina. I'm from the (wicked awesome) city of Boston & whenever I fill out forms that ask me what my nationality is, I always check "other". Why? Well, once upon a time the forms used to say "Check Only One"... well that's just STUPID! So in complying with the form, I checked only one... Other. I'm Irish American (50%) from my dad's side, and African American (43.75%) and Seminole Native American (6.25%) from my mom's side... and yes, I did the math
Growing up with parents who were literally (and physically) night and day, surprisingly my race was never really in the forefront of my mind. My dad happened to be this vanilla Irish guy and my mom looked like the perfect bar of chocolate (yes, her skin tone is kind of amazing). They did the best that they could with what they knew, and I have to say, they did an amazing job... of course I'm bias!
I grew up in a small city just outside of Boston called Chelsea... a town that saw more people with tan skin than fare skin. So growing up here, I never felt I had an identity issue when it came to my race.
Until I went to college outside of my cultural bubble, I didn't think I was any different than anyone else. I mean, I always thought my character would be judged, not my skin tone. To this day, I still think my race has a great deal to do with my personality, but in no way do I think it defines me as a person. At the core of it, I'm human... who just happens to have a "year round" tan <--sort of (winters can be brutal, but I digress)!
Looking back, my race was actually brought up more times than I can count, but I never really gave it the attention I thought it wanted. I was always taught to be true to myself as a person & that my skin color wasn't a big deal, so I never made it out to be a big deal... shocking! <--not really.
The general stereotype for someone like myself is that if you're in an all white environment, you are immediately viewed as the "black one". When you're in an all black environment, you're not "black enough". Where does that even come from? Did you really think I had a choice in who I wanted to be culturally? Just because I'm not 100% of either one of my nationalities, somehow that makes me less of a person in that community. Hmmm, because that seems fair.
I understand I pose certain qualities that might have people wondering about my nationality. I mean, how many brown folk do YOU know (besides me) that surf? When I tell white people I surf, there first response is "You can swim?" WOW, really?? Or when I tell black people I surf, their first response is "That's your white side talking."... ummm sure. If you say so...??
Oh, and my recent love of country music... talk about the side eye like WHOA! I've had people tell me that the music I listen to is considered "White people music". I mean, does that really matter as long as the beat makes me smile? So what if I like Hunter Hayes, Luke Bryan & Rascal Flatts? I've been known to (try to) moonwalk like MJ and rap like Snoop from time to time too!
Don't even get me started on my dating life (oh, too late). It doesn't happen often, but whenever I would introduce a friend/family member to the woman I'm dating, I'm immediately met with "What's wrong? Our kind isn't 'good enough' for you?" What tha...? Why do I have to fall for a race? Why can't I fall for the person? I suppose if I had to choose the lesser of two evils, I'm glad the race was questioned rather than the gender. It's not like I'm actively pursuing one race over the other... it just happens, kind of like my nationalities blending... just... happened. *gasp* you don’t say!?!?!
I'm just proud of who I've become as a woman, person, human. I have an eclectic view into multiple cultural windows most people (secretly) wish they had. I was fortunate enough to have parents who made the conscious effort to make sure I knew all sides of my nationalities. I feel incredibly blessed to have an open my mind to others’ cultural backgrounds.
I know I said at the beginning of this I would come to some type of point. I guess the point would be that it really shouldn't matter what music/sports I like, who I'm dating or what my skin color happens to look like or anyone's skin tone for that matter. If you get to know me, I'm a pretty fun person. I come from a lot of history on all THREE sides of my heritage.... I have the tattoos to prove them! At the core of it, all I’m really asking is, can you look past the skin color and see me as a human who on occasion likes to surf, listens to country and just trying to figure out this thing called "life"? Is that too much to ask? Yeah, I didn't think so either!
 |
| WARNING! WARNING! |
I've got to warn you... This entry might seem all over the place, as one thought might not have anything to do with the other. I ask that you bear with me and understand that the scattered structure of this post is reflective of my thought process on this topic. If you hang in there, I promise my point will make some kind of sense when I'm done.
For those that don't really know me,... Hi! My name is Katrina. I'm from the (wicked awesome) city of Boston & whenever I fill out forms that ask me what my nationality is, I always check "other". Why? Well, once upon a time the forms used to say "Check Only One"... well that's just STUPID! So in complying with the form, I checked only one... Other. I'm Irish American (50%) from my dad's side, and African American (43.75%) and Seminole Native American (6.25%) from my mom's side... and yes, I did the math
Growing up with parents who were literally (and physically) night and day, surprisingly my race was never really in the forefront of my mind. My dad happened to be this vanilla Irish guy and my mom looked like the perfect bar of chocolate (yes, her skin tone is kind of amazing). They did the best that they could with what they knew, and I have to say, they did an amazing job... of course I'm bias!
I grew up in a small city just outside of Boston called Chelsea... a town that saw more people with tan skin than fare skin. So growing up here, I never felt I had an identity issue when it came to my race.
Until I went to college outside of my cultural bubble, I didn't think I was any different than anyone else. I mean, I always thought my character would be judged, not my skin tone. To this day, I still think my race has a great deal to do with my personality, but in no way do I think it defines me as a person. At the core of it, I'm human... who just happens to have a "year round" tan <--sort of (winters can be brutal, but I digress)!
Looking back, my race was actually brought up more times than I can count, but I never really gave it the attention I thought it wanted. I was always taught to be true to myself as a person & that my skin color wasn't a big deal, so I never made it out to be a big deal... shocking! <--not really.
The general stereotype for someone like myself is that if you're in an all white environment, you are immediately viewed as the "black one". When you're in an all black environment, you're not "black enough". Where does that even come from? Did you really think I had a choice in who I wanted to be culturally? Just because I'm not 100% of either one of my nationalities, somehow that makes me less of a person in that community. Hmmm, because that seems fair.
I understand I pose certain qualities that might have people wondering about my nationality. I mean, how many brown folk do YOU know (besides me) that surf? When I tell white people I surf, there first response is "You can swim?" WOW, really?? Or when I tell black people I surf, their first response is "That's your white side talking."... ummm sure. If you say so...??
Oh, and my recent love of country music... talk about the side eye like WHOA! I've had people tell me that the music I listen to is considered "White people music". I mean, does that really matter as long as the beat makes me smile? So what if I like Hunter Hayes, Luke Bryan & Rascal Flatts? I've been known to (try to) moonwalk like MJ and rap like Snoop from time to time too!
Don't even get me started on my dating life (oh, too late). It doesn't happen often, but whenever I would introduce a friend/family member to the woman I'm dating, I'm immediately met with "What's wrong? Our kind isn't 'good enough' for you?" What tha...? Why do I have to fall for a race? Why can't I fall for the person? I suppose if I had to choose the lesser of two evils, I'm glad the race was questioned rather than the gender. It's not like I'm actively pursuing one race over the other... it just happens, kind of like my nationalities blending... just... happened. *gasp* you don’t say!?!?!
I'm just proud of who I've become as a woman, person, human. I have an eclectic view into multiple cultural windows most people (secretly) wish they had. I was fortunate enough to have parents who made the conscious effort to make sure I knew all sides of my nationalities. I feel incredibly blessed to have an open my mind to others’ cultural backgrounds.
I know I said at the beginning of this I would come to some type of point. I guess the point would be that it really shouldn't matter what music/sports I like, who I'm dating or what my skin color happens to look like or anyone's skin tone for that matter. If you get to know me, I'm a pretty fun person. I come from a lot of history on all THREE sides of my heritage.... I have the tattoos to prove them! At the core of it, all I’m really asking is, can you look past the skin color and see me as a human who on occasion likes to surf, listens to country and just trying to figure out this thing called "life"? Is that too much to ask? Yeah, I didn't think so either!
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