Now that we’re learning to bust out of the constraints of the gender, sexuality, and related binaries, I’ve been wondering:
Could that ever happen with the racial binary?
As we know, the Black - white racial binary upholds the white supremacist dominance and anti-Black racism that is the very foundation and essence of this here U.S.A.
While racial identity is often dismissed as “just a social construct,” it still shapes this nation’s history and systems. It profoundly impacts every area of our lives. The racial binary defines us as it confines us. And with the Mixed populace quickly growing, that binary is bursting at the seams.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, folks identifying as Multiracial grew 276% from 9 million in 2010 to 33.8 million in 2020. Granted, not all in that number fall into the “parents of different races” designation that we usually think of as Mixed / Multiracial, but it’s still a huge jump.
When it comes to Mixed folks of all kinds, this foundational systemic binary is THE primary reason that while Black / white Mixed folks are no longer the dominant Mix in this country, it’s the swirl that typically gets the most attention and elicits the strongest reactions.
Surprised? Peep this from Pew Trusts: "In 2010, White and Black was the most common multiracial group nationally and in 29 states. The number of multiracial Americans identifying as White and Black grew by two-thirds to about 3 million, but the number of those identifying as White and American Indian grew faster, by 177% to nearly 4 million."
We’re learning to view folks through a wider lens when it comes to gender identity, sexual orientation, and the other categories below. We’re continually adopting new language to keep up. While it’s clear that the full spectrum of humanity doesn’t fit into narrow binaries, we’re on a learning curve and wrestling with some of the societal implications of these new possibilities.
And we’re all growing in the process. Busting out of the binaries, while sometimes uncomfortable and confounding, ultimately enables all of us to be more fully ourselves, to live in our truths. And EVERYONE deserves that opportunity, right?
So, here’s my critical question:
Is there any chance that we’ll move into the racial / ethnic equivalents of “non-binary,” “gender non-conforming,” or other beyond-the-binary designations?
Pew Trusts stated that, “The binary vision of whites versus people of color is a distortion of American social reality,” since “90% of all racial mixes include white ancestry … people who identify as white plus another race are a ‘bridging group’ that makes assimilation more likely.”
It just so happened ...
I went to the source, to chop this up with Sir Auntie Mane — who defines herself beyond several binaries at one time — on our latest ep of Militantly Mixed.
We didn’t plan to record this ep on June 7, the birthdate of His Purple Highness, but the timing was perfect. Because Prince Rogers Nelson (RIP) brought gender, sexual, and racial fluidity into Black and pop culture decades ago.
He made it cool before we even had the terminology to describe what he was serving us. And he made it work in his favor like nobody else!
Check us out, and PLEASE weigh in! This evolution of humanity impacts ALL of us and we want to hear from YOU!
Thought provoking!