Reflections on Multiracialism
Mixed people occupy a unique position in the U.S. ─ they may reshape how Americans perceive race.
Throughout childhood, we learn the U.S. is the world’s “melting pot.” I took this to mean that there are a lot of people like me — people of two or more races. But that’s not true. The U.S. Census reported that only 2.8% of the US population is composed of people who identify with an origin of “two or more races.”
Even though this is noticeably larger than the Native American and Pacific Islander populations, sitting at 1.3% and 0.2%, respectively, multiracial people in the U.S. may sometimes feel like their own minority group.
While the multiracial experience is personal and different for everyone, here are some of my reflections on what life as a Japanese-Mexican-White American means to me:
The small things remind us that we’re different.
Despite sounding contradictory to the premise of this article, it isn’t uncommon for multiracial people to feel like we do fit in with those around us. This is because we don’t feel completely tied to just one culture. We belong with everyone, right?
Not quite. It’s easy to snap out of this mindset because the small things remind us that we’re different.
What are you? Where are you from? Where are your parents from?
The harm in these not-so-common common questions is that, while the inquisitor may be genuinely interested in our culture(s), it points out that we look different. We are viewed by other Americans as being different from them, leaving us to wonder if we are, somehow, less American.
After running a race this past October, a man came up to me and, unintentionally, took first place for the strangest encounters I’ve ever had with people who were curious about my ethnicity.
Beginning with, “What are you?”, I gave him my well-prepared answer: I am half Japanese, a quarter Mexican, and a quarter white. After offering, “Wow, that’s a unique mix,” he proceeded to take a photo of me without my permission. (This photo was, presumably, because of the “uniqueness” of my ethnicity.)
But what’s worse than people always asking what we are is people guessing what we are… incorrectly. This makes multiracial people not only feel different, but it makes us feel less connected to the cultures we are a part of.
Do I not look like I am a part of my culture? Am I a racial impostor?
Whereas “impostor syndrome” describes an individual’s doubts of their capability, worthiness, and accomplishments (often experienced after a promotion or earning a new position), “racial impostor syndrome” not only describes these feelings due to race, but it also describes the feeling of not deserving to belong with people of your race.
Last year, I attended a “How to Get Funding in Grad School” presentation, hosted by the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers. As the presenter began discussing scholarship opportunities for LatinX students, he glanced at me and tried to include me by saying, “And there are many scholarships specifically for women as well.”
But I’m Latina too, I thought. Why are you calling me out when most of the attendees here are women? I wish I looked more Latina.
Most multiracial people have experienced racial impostor syndrome and have stories like mine. It’s no wonder that filling out the “Race” section of tests and applications starts to become a moment in which we feel like we need to prove who we are. Selecting more than one race wasn’t even an option until 2010.
On top of these common occurrences, there are numerous other small things that make a multiracial person feel different. Seeing the country flag of one of our cultures, hearing the native language, attending a culture-specific event, etc. We know it’s ours. But at the same time, we feel like we must prove it.
We never completely fit in with one part of who we are.
In America, things are polarized. Our politics, our religion, and even our education. Polarization affects multiracial people because we are asked to make a choice. This choice of identity can forever affect how others perceive us and how we perceive ourselves.
This may be the largest disadvantage of being a multiracial American. “Multiracial” isn’t truly acknowledged as a real identity and we never feel we fit in with any one part of our culture. We can feel this way within our family and community, creating an impeccable opportunity for loss of identity.
Many multiracial people will admit to feeling like the odd one out around their family. As a child, my father felt excluded at his Mexican family’s gatherings because he couldn’t speak Spanish. As an adult, my Japanese mother has no interest in seeing Japan because she doesn’t feel like that’s her culture. She lived most of her life in Hawai’i and practices Hawaiian customs.
What largely makes someone feel a part of a culture is partaking in the customs, dress, traditions, and language. If these are lacking, it’s easy to feel like a misfit.
But if you’re like me, it’s not just the lack of these things that makes you feel different than your family and community. It goes back to appearances. When I’m with my white family, I don’t feel white. When I’m with my Asian family, I don’t feel Asian. When I’m with my Mexican family, I don’t feel Mexican. And when a family member points out, “this is how we do it,” you can’t help but feel different.
The only racist experiences I’ve ever had were because people associated with me as Asian. While experiencing racism is always overwhelming frustrating, in a minor and twisted way, it made me happy because it made me feel like I belonged to one part of who I am.
We rarely run into people with this issue, so we feel alone.
My public university mirrors the national demographics, with 2.9% of students identifying as multiracial. How many people do you know that identify as multiracial? Probably not that many.
A common misconception is the belief that all minorities can relate to each other. While there is sometimes truth (and empowerment) to this, multiracial people don’t always get this benefit and sense of community.
Being isolated from people who not only understand what it is like to be a minority, but what it is like to be a multiracial minority, can make us feel very alone. With less than half of multiracial Americans identifying as such, and with varying combinations of multiracial backgrounds, it feels like even fewer people truly understand the disadvantages and advantages of our personal experience. Without these people, the challenge of overcoming identity loss and racial impostor syndrome becomes that much steeper.
We have a more diverse worldview from a younger age.
We get to benefit from this advantage every day. Since childhood, multiracial people are more likely to have a more diverse worldview. One of the first ways we take advantage of this is simply the food we eat.
Culture is expressed and shared with food. I grew up accustomed to eating home-cooked Japanese, Hawaiian, and Mexican food for a single day’s meals without thinking anything of it. But now I recognize the rarity of this as well as the influence that it had on my willingness to try other foods and experience other cultures.
A Pew Research Center survey found that a majority of multiracial people believe their ethnicity has made them more open to other cultures. For those with this mentality, it can mean learning a lot from others — how to cook new foods, how to respect others’ holidays and natural environment, how history has shaped another country, etc.
My time as an undergraduate student has offered the most racially diverse experience of my life. And because I came in with a more diverse worldview, I believe that I was ready to take advantage of it.
Compared to the general public, multiracial people tend to surround themselves with more diverse communities. The Pew Research Center survey found that while multiracial people are less likely to get married, they are more likely to marry someone who is also multiracial. Mixed-race adults are also more likely to have mixed-race friends and neighbors.
In a country whose diversity is too often segregated, I think this is a good thing.
We are more likely to have greater well-being, higher self-esteem, and more social engagement.
Embracing your multiracialism has a key advantage: mental flexibility. But what does this mean?
Well, from a young age multiracial people have become accustomed to switching back and forth between their racial and cultural identities and involving themselves with others that belong to each identity.
In a 2015 study, multiracial people demonstrated better creative problem-solving skills compared to their monoracial counterparts — but only after being asked to think about their mixed identities.
In our society, it’s natural to categorize and compartmentalize. What may give multiracial people a creative edge is our innate ability to navigate between our different identities. (Hawaiian psychologist, Kristin Pauker’s research indicates that when monoracial people are around multiracial people, they can experience a boost in “creativity and agile thinking,” too!)
A notable, and perhaps controversial, aspect of multiracialism is the tendency to be perceived as better-looking than average. Numerous studies across the globe over the years that share this conclusion. In many of these studies, test subjects were asked to rate the attractiveness of monoracial and multiracial people. Multiracial people were consistently rated higher, with many of the test subjects explaining their attraction to the “exotic.”
I can’t speak for all multiracial people, but “exotic” can be tricky word to be described as. On one hand, it can make someone feel different. On the other hand, one might wonder if they should be flattered by an intended compliment. (And if there was a third hand, I would say it personally makes me feel objectified as a woman of color; but that’s an entirely separate article.)
Attraction to multiracial people may simply derive from heterosis, the evolutionary theory that hybrids are more vigorous. In many species, crossbreeding results in genetically fitter offspring.
Despite what multiracial attraction is based on, there is something to be said about the opportunity for a slight boost in self-esteem and the opportunity for delegitimizing the challenges multiracial people face.
The U.S. is becoming more mixed and we’ll get to experience it.
Only 50 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriages in the case Loving v. Virginia. This means that multiracial Americans are younger than the country as a whole. The 2013 American Community Survey indicated that the median age for monoracial Americans is 38, while that of multiracial Americans is only 19.
Multiracial America is growing at a rate three times that of the population. The U.S. will become more mixed. Multicultural people occupy a unique position. We are at the forefront of demographic and social changes within the United States– young, proud, and open-minded. This change is opening a door for us to reshape the way that Americans perceive race. We can break down race barriers, cause taboos to fade, and produce a wave of tolerance and inclusion.
- Charlee Thompson
Charlee has a B.S. in environmental engineering from the University of Illinois and a M.P.A. in environmental policy from the University of Washington. She currently advocates for clean energy policy and underserved communities in Washington State. She writes on sustainability and multiracialism.
