on Being Off-White
I was submitting this to a blog site earlier today and it asked me to specify what topics regularly appear in my blog. Among the selections were such things as 'gay/lesbian', 'anti-Semitism (really, haven't we grown out of thinking Nazis were cool by now?)', abortion, drugs, teenagers and gangsters. Well I've been writing this for a whole day so I dont technically have anything that 'regularly' appears in my blog, but it did get me thinking about my own ethnicity.
Now I've always thought of myself as British, and I'm rather fond of the country and most of its people. However, a lot of people don't see me that way. When I started work an Asian colleague asked me if I'm 'Muslim or Hindu', without giving me an 'other' option. My explanation that I followed no religion didn't seem to go down well. I went to Germany on an exchange, and when posted at the front to answer questions (In English; it was an English lesson), I was asked both 'Where are you from?' and 'Where are you originally from?', as if they couldn't quite believe that I'm really British. It called to mind the time when I was little, and I was asked if I was Greek, or possibly Chinese. So over the years I've been looking at myself in the mirror and asking myself 'Am I really that foreign-looking?'. And the answer was 'Yes, Raven, you're pretty damn foreign-looking.' Not that there's anything wrong with not being white of course, it just feels a bit odd when you think you're British and everyone else thinks you're something-they-can't-quite-put-their-finger-on-but-definately-not-British.
Mum is mixed race - White and Black. Dad is White. That makes me slightly Brown, with a sort-of Caribbean look and cool hair. What I mean by the hair is, it's currently long and naturally goes into cool spirals, thus attracting more attention than a female of my dubious attractiveness really warrants. Sadly, I didnt inherit my mum's attractiveness. However, for various reasons the only influences on me have been British; British culture, British accent, and when im feeling patriotic, British patriotism. I've never felt any inclination to go 'trace my roots', like people do. And being an entirely British off-White person seems to strike some people as a bit odd.
I don't mind, of course. Preconceptions are natural after all. It's not a big issue. As I've gotten older, people ask about it less and less (Mayhaps the lack of a headscarf gives away the whole 'not a Muslim' thing). I just thought it was an interesting thing to note.
Now I've always thought of myself as British, and I'm rather fond of the country and most of its people. However, a lot of people don't see me that way. When I started work an Asian colleague asked me if I'm 'Muslim or Hindu', without giving me an 'other' option. My explanation that I followed no religion didn't seem to go down well. I went to Germany on an exchange, and when posted at the front to answer questions (In English; it was an English lesson), I was asked both 'Where are you from?' and 'Where are you originally from?', as if they couldn't quite believe that I'm really British. It called to mind the time when I was little, and I was asked if I was Greek, or possibly Chinese. So over the years I've been looking at myself in the mirror and asking myself 'Am I really that foreign-looking?'. And the answer was 'Yes, Raven, you're pretty damn foreign-looking.' Not that there's anything wrong with not being white of course, it just feels a bit odd when you think you're British and everyone else thinks you're something-they-can't-quite-put-their-finger-on-but-definately-not-British.
Mum is mixed race - White and Black. Dad is White. That makes me slightly Brown, with a sort-of Caribbean look and cool hair. What I mean by the hair is, it's currently long and naturally goes into cool spirals, thus attracting more attention than a female of my dubious attractiveness really warrants. Sadly, I didnt inherit my mum's attractiveness. However, for various reasons the only influences on me have been British; British culture, British accent, and when im feeling patriotic, British patriotism. I've never felt any inclination to go 'trace my roots', like people do. And being an entirely British off-White person seems to strike some people as a bit odd.
I don't mind, of course. Preconceptions are natural after all. It's not a big issue. As I've gotten older, people ask about it less and less (Mayhaps the lack of a headscarf gives away the whole 'not a Muslim' thing). I just thought it was an interesting thing to note.
posted by BlueRaven at 5:11 pm
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