#mixed identity

[thevoidisscreamingbackatyou]

anyone else got that cultural void where nothing really fits so you just stare at cultures you admire and try to shove yourself into boxes you don't fit into while desperately trying not to do cultural appropriation or is it just me

[mixedracevibes]

My name is Nora Fakim and I was born and raised in a leafy suburb of London.

My mum is from Morocco and my dad was from Mauritius, of Indian descent.

I’ve had the question “Where are you from?” my whole life - not only in the UK but also in Morocco and Mauritius.

Often people just can't place me. They can't figure out if I am African, Arab or British.

They wonder if I am kind of Asian and why I speak fluent French.

And then the name Nora doesn't help.

As a reporter, I've been speaking to lots of people of mixed heritage who, like myself, have been trying to figure out how they straddle their different cultures and fit into a particular community.

Many of them say that one of the most frustrating things is defining their ethnic group. When it comes to filling out official forms, for example, there doesn't seem to be a box that they feel truly represents their identity.

On the census form, I tend to tick “mixed other” - otherwise known as “moth” - which I don't think really sums me up.

Meghan Markle - whose mother is African-American and father Dutch-Irish - has spoken of leaving her identity box blank when she was in school. Her father suggested that she should draw her own box.

Take a look at the box I've created, along with six other people, to celebrate where we come from.

The dodo I'm pictured with is too big to fit in the box. The bird is a symbol of Mauritius and became extinct in the 17th Century. Mauritius is a multicultural society with a deep history and mixture of cultures.

The seashell belonged to my dad, as he used to collect shells when the beaches on the island were once full of them.

The pink Indian shawl represents the Indian influence in Mauritius - and my roots.

The Hand of Fatima was given to me by my Moroccan cousin and goes with me everywhere. It’s for protection from the “evil eye”.

The key ring has my name written in Arabic. My mother taught me Moroccan Arabic when I was a child. It was a way for her to complain about my dad to me since he couldn't understand a word!

The book is by Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra. When I was younger, I enjoyed learning about the French influence in North Africa and understanding why my Moroccan mother spoke better French than Arabic. But it also disturbed me that many North Africans, who spoke better French than their own Arabic language, were in some way losing their identity.

The Berber necklace represents the indigenous Moroccans and shows how diverse Morocco is as a country.

The CD is filled with French hip-hop music. Since my parents came from French-speaking countries, I grew up speaking French as well as English.

Now for my British side. I used to play tennis for my county so have included my tennis ball. And, of course, I've included the English teabags I use every day.

The Marantz audio recorder represents my passion for journalism and recording different stories from the people I meet on a regular basis.

Celebrating mixed heritage is beautiful. Click here to read 6 more inspiring stories from people of mixed backgrounds who have created their own boxes and selected the objects that define them.

[mixedmestizame-blog]

'Always Be My Maybe': How Ali Wong, Randall Park Recruited Keanu Reeves to Play a Version of Himself

In the Netflix rom-com, the 'John Wick' actor plays an extreme, comedic version of himself who enjoys minuscule meals from high-end restaurants, brings his stunt skills to parties and brags about his time on Hollywood blockbusters.

It was Wong's desire to have all of Sasha Tran's love interests be Asian American, she said. But in addition to that, she also wanted someone who is funny, a great actor and an Asian American icon.

"The only person in the entire universe who fits all those parameters is Keanu Reeves," Wong said.

[robotplant]

As a mixed person It’s funny to me when people try to relate to me culturally because it’s like, I have no culture. I’m floating between two worlds, in the grey space, where I relate to both none and both. You feel?

I think that’s why people don’t know how to take me. They expect me to know things I really have no real access to or that I’ve been barred from accessing for a lot of complicated reasons. You feel?

[unearthlyperennial]

i am my own flavor. i come from a watered down taste of my father’s landowner hands dirt and diligence mixed with mother’s jasmine neck and silky black hair a dash of furious eyes flaming in freedom a touch of red - in scarves and beads and bangles a hint of Urdu calligraphy in my thought and western sophistication in my speech. i wear the faint smell of henna only occasionally the fragrance of tears and weariness on me constantly i taste of dusty pages and reek of musty shawls i am a pinch of mystery and a handful of undefined cluttered chaos, beautiful chaos.

longing for identification

[mixedracevibes]

Double Trouble - Australian TV Series (2008)

Separated at birth, these biracial twin girls are completely unaware that the other exists, until a twist of fate sees them meet in Alice Springs.

Yuma lives with her wealthy father and step-family in Sydney. Kyanna lives in a remote traditional Aboriginal community in Central Australia, with her mother and extended family.

When Yuma and Kyanna discover their connection, they decide to swap places without telling anyone to meet the parent they never knew, in what becomes an adventure that changes everyone's lives.

The first children's TV drama produced by the Central Australia Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) explores different cultures: white and black, city and bush, community and urban lifestyles.

[mixedmestizame-blog]

Report on Loving Case 1967

[heysatanitsyourgirl]

Okay yall I’m venting: I don’t feel like I’m allowed to claim my ethnicity.

Ethnically I am mixed. One parent is from England. The other Turkey. I was born in England. Raised in England. In an English household. Speaking English with my English parent. My Turkish parent left when I was three. I haven’t heard or even spoken to them in YEARS. I’m now an adult (at least in the eyes of the law). I don’t feel as if I’m allowed to say I’m Turkish. I’m not. I don’t speak the language and I don’t know a thing about the culture. I haven’t been there since I was a baby.

There’s just one problem though. Whilst otherwise I’m sure we could simply push it aside and ignore that part of me as if it didn’t exist. Just to at least ease me guilt of not knowing anything about it. The problem is I look Turkish. I have all the features that parent could possibly pass down to me.

The last time I brought up the Turkish parent, the other got mad.

I feel like every time in the mirror I’m reminded that culture is apart of me. Then I feel intrusive because the culture isn’t. I know nothing. I feel like I’m just some English girl getting bored of the boring ‘culture’ of my country and am trying to latch onto another one.

I feel like if I ever wanted to be Turkish. It’s too late.