i am biracial – my mother is black and my father was white (r.i.p.) – i also read your entry about halle berry & the ‘one drop rule’ – she wants to identify her daughter as black. i can relate on 2 fronts: 1, as a biracial person it’s hard to formulate an identity without having a model to which you compare yourself…let’s face it, no matter how hard people say they want to individualize we are social creatures and we need a social model to adapt to; 2, i never grew up with my father in my life so i never had any “white” cultural influence so all of my background comes from my (mom’s) family.

halle berry’s child is always going to be referred to as black (or biracial if it’s in the media), and race is always going to be a point of contention for her especially if the child is in the limelight as much as suri cruise, and especially if she is only living with halle. i really don’t understand the deal with the father: he obviously didn’t have a problem getting a black woman pregnant so why would he have a problem with his daughter being called black?

my boyfriend is also biracial (half white, half filipino) but he never refers to himself as either – he actually chooses no racial identity, unless he is with a group of whites or a group of filipinos, then he chooses filipino. it’s a false choice, because he is both, but society forces us to choose. why is that?

on your point about being able to identify what a person “is,” i can honestly say that i do not have that gift. from someone who is mistaken with every nationality from egyptian to mexican, italian to persian, dominican to brazilian, i find it fascinating. i don’t have any real race-specific facial features, and i do look like a true hybrid of my mom and my dad…but in terms of how the world views me, i basically blend in anywhere, but at the same time i stick out everywhere because people are always trying to figure out *what i am*

if i say that i am mixed black and white, that is a true answer, but it’s not the answer i identify with. i call myself black. but when i tell people what i am, the answer i get is “but you don’t even look black.” what does that mean?

i could go on and on about this, as i am sure you can as well. i would definitely be interested in keeping up more with your blog and reading your past posts.

is it ok if i link you on our blog? (2brokelagirls) – i really like what you’re doing.

Partly cultural, partly family expectations, partly religion. Some of these barriers will break down. I think it depends on the culture. Here in the UK if you observe the way people from different places integrate, you can see marked differences. The Chinese tend to integrate very well in all circumstance, other europeans, Germans, French, Spanish do too… Eastern Europeans it can be a bit mixed – but they still tend to integrate better than far eastern muslims for example.

This isn’t a racist comment, just an observation that they tend to put more effort into forming their own sub-communities rather than getting involved and adopting aspects of western culture. It’s possible this is because they feel some discrimination or persecution from caucasian western culture – but at the same time I think it causes people to be mis-trustful of them and less inclined to befriend them.

I do agree that there is no race but the human race, so to speak and over the next century that will be more looked upon as a fact. I do believe that it is all based upon what people chose to identify themselves with.

Please keep in touch. =)

My father-in-law is bi-racial, and you could probably tell his origins looking at him – more so in photo’s of him as a young man. My sister-in-law and wife it’s harder to tell that they are of mixed race.

With regards to racial identity, I don’t feel any personally – as a white caucasion I never consider the implications of my ‘race’. And I think the same could be said for my wife and sister-in-law. However they did very much enjoy our recent trip to Singapore to investigate their roots, their origins.

They love Singapore and would love to go again, but I don’t think it’s from a sense of racial identity – more the family ties and certain aspects of Singpore as a place that would appeal to anyone. I suspect people feel racial identity more strongly if they are discriminated against or are in a visible minority – partly to band together and feel a sense of community. Nobody wants to feel isolated – which is what can happen if you are alone in a sea of people of, bvious other race.

Just my thoughts.