Is There a "Right" Way to be Mixed?
Greetings, Fam, and welcome to Mixed Auntie Confidential. I’m delighted and honored to have you here. I’m launching this new blog asking Is There a “Right” Way to be Mixed? because it’s something we need to get into.
The good news: In recent years—for the first time in USA history—Mixed-race people and identity have been a topic of ongoing public conversation.
It started out kinda rough, though. See, in the early days, it was more common for Monoracial folks to be talking about, and sometimes to, but rarely WITH us, even though Mixedness was the focal point. With much of this chatter taking place in digital spaces, I was upfront about my policy: if I came across Monoracial folks talking about Mixed folks, I would be weighing in. I couldn’t accept that anyone was talking about us,
and our voices weren’t welcome. I’m old-school: if you’re gonna talk about me, it best be to my face. With a chance for me to respond. Sometimes I was invited in; other times I was shut down, tone policed, blocked, unfriended / unfollowed, and cancelled. But I kept doing it, mostly to get people accustomed to the idea that we HAVE voices, and views, and are able to speak our truths.
The best news: Today, there are more Mixed folks showing up and speaking up than ever—on every platform. This is a beautiful thing. Long overdue. I follow as much of this content as I can, loving how it intrigues, challenges, and pushes me to learn from a rich array of experiences and worldviews.
But one thing worries me.
In a growing number of these Mixed spaces, I’m seeing more of us coming for each other. I see us criticizing, judging, attacking, shading, smarming, and cancelling each other. Why? Because of the growing sentiment that there are “right” and “wrong” ways to be Mixed.
Now mind you, there is no communal agreement, no consensus, and no solidarity in these conversations. No commonly agreed-upon guidelines as to what constitutes “right” and “wrong” Mixedness. Absolutely none. There’s just an increasingly diverse mashup of views, experiences, feelings, views, and opinions that either veer off in divergent directions or collide in mid-air.
What’s the problem with that? Tune into this special episode of Militantly Mixed, where my fellow Mixed Auntie Mane and I dive into this question. And then please share YOUR thoughts and feelings with us!
#Mixed #Multiracial #Biracial #Triracial #Monoracial #MilitantlyMixed #MixedAuntie #MixedAunties #Racism #Race #Identity #SwirlGirl