Racially Ambiguous: A One-Act Play
Male Customer: Miss [name redacted], I can't tell if you're African-American, Indian, Spanish, Arab, or even Egyptian! Or both!
Me: Because I am socially classed as female, you view my appearance as something you are entitled to comment on, even though you are a stranger and we do not know each other!
Me: And because I am in the position of a retail worker, I am forced by the economic pressures of maintaining my employment to be friendly and outgoing towards you, even and including times when the things you say to me make me feel uncomfortable if not outright threatened!
Me: My job requires me that I respond to your microaggressions with a smile!
Me: And instead of pointing out to you how you are applying colonialist oppression to my body by exoticizing me-
Me: (leaving aside for now the fact that I am NOT IN ANY WAY 'EXOTIC' OR 'FOREIGN')
Me: -I instead respond in the traditionally-expected 'nice' way and politely deflect your unwelcome conversation to the topic of your monetary transaction and I am forced to put the things I WANT to say to you in a tumblr post, later, at home!
Me: I am sorry that my facial features and hair confuse you!
Me: And by 'I'm sorry' I mean that I am sorry your social and cultural upbringing has given you the idea of race in the United States as a static identifying category and you are confused by the existence of multiracial individuals!
Me: I'm sorry that you have learned that when you encounter someone who society tells you is an amusing or attractive curiosity, you should feel free to comment to that person and ask them to ACCOUNT FOR THEIR BASIC EXISTENCE!
Me: I am not sorry that I won't give you a direct answer, because you don't deserve one!
Me: As I have said before, you are a complete stranger to me, and I do not go around broadcasting my genetic heritage to people off the street, and it is saddening and disgusting that you seem to think I should have to!
Me: I am not a puzzle to be solved or a cute mystery to be explained, and I refuse to make you feel better about yourself by giving you an answer to a question you don't understand was rude and invasive!
Me: I am not your beautiful enigma!
Me: And when the culture at large views racially ambiguous people as beautiful enigmas ("what striking features! they have such beautiful eyes! her hair is gorgeous!") this completely ignores actual issues multiracial individuals face, such as statistically higher likelihoods of depression and anxiety, among other problems!
Me: So please refrain from reducing me to an intriguing face that you find attractive!
Me: And your 'or both!' comment did not make one damn lick of sense!
Me: Here's your change sir, and have a nice day!
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