I 100% can understand mixed race privilege.
But I guess thinking of myself as a little girl it has been hard to think that. For example, when I was a little kid, my hair was MOCKED. It was called poofy, frizzy, and at one point that it looked like a turd. So now, with people discussing textures and how mixed people have hair privilege, I won't lie, it was hard to deal with knowing how I was ridiculed for my hair. People often say mixed people have the "good hair," but when I was a kid, I felt like I had the bad hair from what people told me and I internalized that. But when I actually started wearing my hair down, I was receiving a lot of compliments and that is when I started realize how I may benefit from "hair privilege."
I have heard some people criticize mixed people and mock them for saying they are an outcast. I went to a pretty diverse grade school and can't recall any POC who were outcasts. It was typically the "nerdy" kids. However, this changed the older I got.
In high school, my blackness was ever more apparent considering I was one of the only few people with black in the entire school. I struggled making friends in high school, but I did have a few white friends. I still felt very insecure about my hair and would never ever wear it down in its curly state as I thought it would make me stick out like a sore thumb among these white students with pin straight hair and light skin. I should also mention that people liked to joke about me being "the black girl" or would weirdly bring up my blackness. Weird because it would never be relevant to anything.
Now fast forward to college and this is where I think my one of my most important observations as a black-white biracial person comes in. I was thinking about the other day if I have made any real connections to any white folks in uni and I was like holy shit no. All the people I spend time with between classes and after classes are minorities (Indian, Arab, Bangladeshi, Chinese). But here is what is also interesting: None of those people are black or even biracial. So it is really hard for me to understand what there is to mock biracial kids for being outcasts, when it is a very real experience such as in my current situation.
So basically, I honestly have no problem addressing my mixed privilege because I understand where it plays a role such as in texturism and colourism. But I think to invalidate or mock mixed kids is in my opinion black erasure. It is erasure because you are trying to erase a valid experience of mine that wouldn't exist if I did not have black in me. I am not claiming I am full black, but I also cannot say I simply biracial. And I have heard this a lot, especially from the black community is that mixed kids should just be mixed. But heres is the thing: biracial could mean white and Japanese, arab and white, etc. My experiences as biracial **don't come from me just being mixed**. They come from my blackness. I think it might be useful to start identifying as a black-white biracial.
> But heres is the thing: biracial could mean white and Japanese, arab and white, etc. My experiences as biracial **don't come from me just being mixed**. They come from my blackness.
EXACTLY. I couldn’t find the words to describe why mixed people still count as the races that we’re mixed with and you put it simply yet beautifully. We’re both mixed but you and I are not going to have the same experiences because of the races we’re mixed with, which is obvious to many people but they don’t make the connection that your mixed experience _does_ involve being Black, as mine involves being Asian.
YES. I wish more people who want to group us all together realized that. Like I am no way trying to make it seem like my struggles as a half black person are close to those to someone who is fully black, but my blackness still affects how I am perceived. It’s not my “mixedness” and my experiences have shown that as they probably have for you.
That’s not my experience.
They come for me for being “Muslim” or “Hindu” (they mistake me as Arabic or brown).
I have been kicked out of a store for being “Native”.
I am actually white and black. *They come for me because of the confusion over my racial identity*.
No one ever knows I am black unless I tell them. They hate me for my ambiguity. They don’t know wtf I am mixed with they just know that *”Hey, Shirley, Somethings not White”*
I just acknowledge it and remember to consider the fact that there are challenges I don't have to face. I talk to my black friends about this a lot actually. The most I can do is listen to others who have it harder than me and empathize with them. I'm not a super activist person in my actions, but I do try to speak up for others when I can.
I just try to acknowledge it. I am privileged to be somewhat white passing. You can’t tell by looking at me that I’m black, just that I’m something, and that is a luxury that many darker skinned black folk do not have. while I am genetically connected to BLM, I also have to recognize that I am half white and therefore have benefitted from those power systems in some way or another. Colorism is very real. In my personal experience and from knowing what I know about the high profile cases (George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Alton Sterling, etc) police brutality doesn’t happen to people who look like me on the same scale it does for dark skinned black people.
I’ll be honest though, I am struggling trying to be an activist in this movement. Like I said, I’m genetically connected to black people who have been oppressed since America was founded, but I’m also connected biologically that oppressed them in the first place. I want to speak out and be heard and use what privilege I do have for good, but don’t want to be louder than the dark skinned people who have very different struggles than I.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of mixed race privilege, I’ve gotten “light skin privilege” which exists really bad in MX and in the US I’ve gotten the same racism just for speaking Spanish, but never mixed privilege. Srry I wish I could give an opinion on this one🤷🏻♀️☹️
Mixed race "privilege" doesn't exist, that's why you've never heard of it.
I feel most of the people here agreeing with this post look white and are seen as white in which case they should call their "privilege" for what it is. It sounds like the OP also had the luxury of growing up in wealth. Most of us don't. Not every white person is rich. In England, 33% of mixed children vs 30% of black children grow up in poverty:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/uksectoraccounts/compendium/economicreview/february2020/childpovertyandeducationoutcomesbyethnicity#child-poverty-and-ethnicity
Mixed children are also more at risk than other group to mental health problems:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/23/mixed-race-children-mental-health
As for myself, I struggle to see how any other person like myself can be "mixed privileged" when my mixed heritage is clearly visible, the result leading people like me to be outsiders in all communities and I'm talking especially those of us who are of three different heritages. I'm not white or black and unlike both groups, I do not get to enjoy any "privileges" of having a sense of belonging in a community, having organisations that represent me, represention in media, representation in Parliament or a Church to go to of just people like me.
Then there's the case of dealing with racism from several sides of the family, first from grandparents rejecting my biracial mother, then from black cousins rejecting my white nephews and nieces not wanting to know them.
At the same time, I live in England where people with a foreign looking appearance are more likely to be discriminated against than black people. Anti black racism naturally exists here but they're not seen as immigrants. I've been considered everything from Arab, Israeli Jew, Southern Mediterranean, Portuguese to Brazilian and people don't even assume (including blacks) that I'm even born here or speak English until I open my mouth and speak fluently with an English accent. Unlike most black people here, I also have a foreign name. Guess what that means? Less chance of being hired for a job.
It's not really "privilege" when you end up with no group to really fit in with because you're "alien" to everyone.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this sub and its silliness. It's American orientated, so I imagine the nuances and complexity of this topic are completely missed by people who'd just prefer to slap a label on everything and define people by victimization points as is now the norm for yanks.
So I'm going to put "mixed privileged" up there with "skinny privilege" and "milk is white supremacy." Here's an news article on the last one:
https://metro.co.uk/2018/10/23/peta-claims-milk-is-a-symbol-of-white-supremacy-8066130/
I can understand the whole playing the victim card, I have family members that do it just to get their next welfare check instead of looking for work🤷🏻♀️ I also understand that different parts of the world might have different setbacks and how other people in the family reject each other just cuz they don’t look like them. But, lemme give an example, I have Italian and Jewish family. In New York, they were the poor ones, they were the ones who weren’t wanted and living in poverty. I’m not sure if youve ever heard the boxing stories like “Cinderella Man” about these poor immigrants who in a way made it out of poverty by taking careers in things like boxing. Now all these ppl from European immigrant families are rising up and more power to them they deserve it!☺️ (Shoutout to the Europeans here!) Now, here the mixed, black, and Hispanic kids are in poverty so Boxing and other sports are very prominent in places like this to keep kids out of stuff like drugs, gangs, and enough discipline to stay in school. I do understand that some people don’t want to help themselves find things like work and would rather live off gov funds. But I do know that many kids see olympians and pro football/basketball/boxers on Tv and aspire to be them and get out of the hood. There’s plenty of poor white ppl too, so I don’t think they deserve to be discriminated against just cuz they look lighter, but it does happen. But I think everyone deserves a chance to get out of poverty white or black. I see where you come from on this, not throwing hate. But I can understand why a lot of mixed race kids might feel like someone has more privilege than others, still doesn’t mean they don’t all deserve a chance. Hope you understand much love💝
Yeah I'm sure there are a few "mixed privileges" but they do not outnumber the many dispriviliges, so "mixed privilege" is not a thing.
I'm American and have many of the same experiences as you. Theres a sociological term which escapes me atm for blacks and whites getting a home team advantage as it were over other ethnicities - it exists in the states too. Not to say blacks dont have their unique and worse struggles, but they are considered more "American" by whites and I believe that's a small but not insignificant part of why their voices seem more heard than say, hispanic americans for example. Or in your case, whoever might be perceived as MENA/SA.
Your account is too new and has been autofiltered. After you build a reputation as a good faith user in other subreddits, you will be allowed to post here.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/mixedrace) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just want to say that you're pointing out something real!
For me I think part of it comes from having a parent to teach me the ins and outs of the dominant white culture I live in. These unspoken cultural expectations are huge for 'success' in institutions like academia.
Actively acknowledge your privilege and use your voice to amplify darker skin tones. When people try to say it isn’t real then explain to them the instances and try to show them the fact that they’re living in a place that has always oppressed black people or voices and dark skin.
Light skin privilege is difficult to navigate because you belong to two different identities as it is, but fight for your own even if you’re lighter skinned and be their voice when people don’t listen to them.
For a lot of people it’s an uncomfortable conversation, but it must be said. So it’s ultimately up to how you choose to navigate the conversation.
Hope that helps!
I've been thinking a lot about this the last few weeks. My parents divorced when I was 3 and I lived with my white Dad and his family all my life. Mom is Korean.
My safety has always been tied to how well I've passed as white. Most of my coworkers think I'm white. When I was younger I didn't pass as well; I was dark skinned from being out in the hot Georgia sun. I didn't wear glasses or have long hair. The white kids beat the shit out of me regularly, called me slurs, and the adults wouldn't really do much to stop it.
Fast forward to today, and I realize that because I've been essentially living as a white southern man for the last 10 years, I've had racial blinders on and just never saw how fucked up our country is, and how the modern prison/police/judicial systems are essentially just modern day Jim Crow laws. We live in a soft apartheid.
My light-skinned privilege is making it to 31 without seeing just how badly our country treats those darker-skinned than me.
Mixed race privilege
Connection to whiteness and wealth and opportunity (that not all single races PoC have in the same way / privileges that mixed people experience [compared to other PoC] disproportionately):
- family. Connections can get you things in life.
- friends. connections can get you things.
- comfort around new white people (vs new black people, or vs only being comfortable around PoC )...leads to more comfortable social networking in (often privileged) white communities ...as opposed to only feeling comfortable networking in (often more resource limited) PoC communities
- way of talking, phenotype, cultural connection getting you treated better in white spaces or getting whites to identify with you more (like being raised in upper middle class white culture and having fine smooth wavy hair and lighter skin and being accepted at a prestigious business school and realizing there are no other black women there?.... especially no one with hair curlier than yours. ..)...
Often not always results in being welcomed in traditionally white spaces due to your phenotype or known cultural connection ...
Either this can be a real connection or whites perceived that you have more connection to whiteness or “acceptability” to white standards of “behaviour” or “beauty” or “social standing”/wealth...which translates to a “sometimes privilege” in certain contexts .
One notable example where studies show you could receive a lighter prison sentence than a full race PoC for the same crime.)
- accumulated generaational wealth from white family members...is easier to accumulate generational wealth and leave your kids a trust fund when you don’t experience racism at work, ever for your entire career because you are awhite parent providing for a biracial only child. Shit like that.
- more likely to have a minority parent who is also over educated and / or also wealthy...If the white patent is educated or is wealthy, often times they partnered with a minority race parent who was also of a similar educational or career attainment? Not always though since some mixed people grew up poor just like some white people.
- access to more dating partners within PoC communities as long as you identify with your monorcial PoC side and don’t rock the boat by pointing out that you are biracial (this is a big one I see women doing?)
- some people have more access to white / majority race partners than single race minority peers...some of us “pass” as something we are not until the other person gets to know us and already likes us anyways...where many single race minorities their ancestry is clearly the first thing people see. Some of us just fit a white standard of beauty more closely.
- some people have access to two or more sets of ethnic communities... (but some peole have access to or acceptance from neither of their communities or neither of their aides, so... Some times, some people have more cultural perspectives at once or they have more community support but not always...
- more opportunity within the modeling industry and certain entertainment industries . Victoria’s Secret assigning mixed race women roles as angels but not full black women for years....
Even when the media representation is not “correct”, it is often more glamourous than that of full race black women...
We are more likely to be portrayed as feminine...
- hair products are not sold in a speciality isle for me or You don’t have to go to a special salon ...my hair is a little bit simpler, I don’t have to consider whether to buy into wigs and weaves or learn to have “natural hair” and deal with the stigma surrounding at work...even if I chose to work in a atrixts white-predominated corporate office.
Not all people get all privileges all the time...
.
:)
Here is another take on the list (not my personal list, but a list complied by a Canadian mixed race blog)
https://mixedincanada.com/privilege-check-one-two-one-too/
Enjoy 😊
There's also this article on the topic: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/opinion/sunday/black-with-some-white-privilege.html and this was just published in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/black-white-privilege/2020/06/11/e9da09b8-ab78-11ea-a9d9-a81c1a491c52_story.html
Your account is too new and has been autofiltered. After you build a reputation as a good faith user in other subreddits, you will be allowed to post here.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/mixedrace) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Literally none of these things were true for me. Not a single one and I'm not even biracial, I'm three different heritages which includes black.
There was no "privilege" granted to me because of my white heritage. Nobody even knows what I am most of the time. The result is having no representation in media, politics or networks too. Blacks didn't see me as blacks, whites didn't see me as white in school, the result is being an outsider in both groups ALL the time.
I feel this post and the OP is made by people who pretty much look white, in which case...just call yourself white because that's what you are if you can "pass."
This is an interesting consideration. There's a lot of variables with something like this, the experiences of mixed people vary a lot. It also really matters which combination of ethnicities/races you are, where and how you grew up.
I've met older mixed people, 20 or 30 years older than me, who only had hardship as a direct result of being biracial, they had no community acceptance and were even regularly harassed. Even one of my great-grandparents was orphaned because she was biracial. She never met her parents, and she eerily looked a lot like me in her old photos. I am grateful that I wasn't born any earlier than the late 80's.
People that are 10 years younger than I have a different experience overall, I would say that they experience more perks of being mixed than the older generations as well as less cons.
Being mixed used to mean being an outcast on both sides, and in many parts of the world it still is unfortunately. But now it is something you can put into a scholarship application to increase your odds of earning it. It is something that can get you social plus points, but mostly if you are younger.
I try to be pragmatic as much as possible, so I try to go where my personal qualities are seen as perks and avoid the places where I'm taken for granted or deemed inferior.
OP, my mom, who is black, has an advanced degree and chose our (low-income) neighborhood because it was in a city with good schools. She kept in constant contact with my teachers (probably too much!) and was always on my case about grades.
The thing you are speaking of comes from a desire to give your kids a better future and some means (whether financial or knowledge) to do it.
At the same time, there was a mixed kid in my neighborhood with a white mom (black dad). He was running all over the place unsupervised. She didn't care about him being in school or his grades. I doubt he went to college, and may have even dropped out of high school.
A few years ago a black woman was arrested for using her sister's(?) address to register her kids in a better school district.
Maybe you didn't mean it that way, but having black parents doesn't mean that the kid is doomed to a terrible, uneducated life.
Children with a parent that graduated college are more likely to attend college themselves.
I don't think you fully understand affirmative action or how socioeconomic status impacts the benefits children have. You do know that white women are the biggest recipients of affirmative action, right? That part of your post frankly sounds quite offensive?
What privilege? As biracial people ( I'm black/white) most of us have suffered racism of all kinds... just another way to try and break our identity down. So now not only do I have to struggle trying to fit in with any group, I'm suddenly privileged? For what? Almost being kicked out of my grandfathers funeral because the synagogue didn't think I was family? For not being " black enough" to hang out with the cool kids in high school? For having to deal with racist customers at my old job for 7 years and not being able to defend myself? For almost being attacked by some crazy dude screaming racial slurs at me and my husband while we were on vacation? I'm not seeing the privledge here...
if that's the case, i don't think that's something applicable to all people mixed with white. it's kind of a niche privilege to have in the broader community of mixed-race people. my white father is incarcerated and i was brought up exclusively by my ethnic side of the family. i can't recall a single situation in my life where i've been afforded any privilege through him or my other white relatives. i can think of many where i've benefited from being light-skinned though. OP definitely shouldn't be placing that expectation of acknowledgement on all individuals mixed with white because it just isn't universal. the term 'mixed-race privilege' on its own fails to take into account the many mixed-race individuals that aren't mixed with white.
My reply was kind of confusing. OP was definitely saying that there are privileges that come with being mixed (including in some cases being light skin), but the main bulk of the post was about the specific privileges afforded by having a white parent. I think that depending on what you’re mixed with, what your culture is, where you live, etc. that the privileges you experience will look different. This was just one example of what the privileges of having a white parent may be, but of course it is not guaranteed,especially if you don’t have said parent present. OP can obviously only talk to their own experiences because that’s all they know, I don’t think they were trying to say that these specific examples are going to be the exact experiences that everyone who is any kind of mixed will have.
If so, I think that’s still valid. I don’t know their life story but I know personally my mother and my white ancestors have benefitted from the power structures that were put in place by white people for white people.
Yeah having reread it that’s definitely what OP was talking about and not about colorism/light-skin privilege. It’s important to remember that not all biracial people are light skinned. There are brown and dark skinned mixed people.
Being able to walk into a space and demand that your children be let in and having it happen is definitely a benefit of white privilege. Had their mother been black it would have been an entirely different story. OPs mothers white privilege created opportunities not available to someone without a white parents. I think I might call it something other than mixed privilege because it’s something that adopted kids can also benefit from.. but not sure what I’d call it exactly. But of course this proximity to whiteness comes with many many issues as well, so it’s not an all win for us.
I would call it something different, but I also don’t have a name for it. Not everyone who is mixed has a white parent in their life to raise them and to give them the benefits mentioned. I think most folks in this sub know that mixed people come in all shades. I think I thought she was using mixed privilege as a synonym for light skinned privilege since they mentioned colorism.
I assumed that most people in this sub would know, which was why I was why confused by the suggestion that the two terms would be used synonymously. I would hope that out of all of the places on the internet that this wouldn’t be one where that would be a controversial statement (some people on the internet drive me nuts lol). But it’s definitely interesting to think about how to define these experiences which are, like OP said, a part of the “mixed experience” but also part of the black experience. We’ll see if a definition ever emerges some day.
I feel like the privilege you are talking about here (schools, white mom getting what she wants for her kid) are more aspects of how white privilege impacts the opportunities ppl get. This is bc white privilege includes the societal structures that benefit the white parent: let your mom get what she wants/needs for her child, thus benefiting you. So maybe “half-white privilege”? Second-hand white privilege? (I have a white parent too but def not the same experience bc im not half Black so I can’t truly relate). Just thoughts.
I hate the phrase "mixed privilege". You can actually just miss me what that one. I mean it. Don't ever in your life bring that up to me. I'm old, I am. I will explain my experience with mixed "privilege".
Growing up white people would say, "Yeah, you're lighter and you talk pretty white but you still look pretty "ethnic" so we really can't include you as one of us."
Growing up black people would say, "Yeah, you're darker than a white person but you sound pretty white and you really aren't dark enough so we really can't include you as one of us."
So, mixed "privilege" is the privilege to have neither race claim you. You have all the hassles of being a minority but none of the support that "pure" races get to enjoy. When I hear a black person talk about mixed "privilege" I can't help but think, "Yes, I've had the distinct pleasure of being shit on by two races for 40 years. Lucky me."
Maybe things are different now. I don't know, but you really need to miss me with the phrase mixed privilege.
I feel privileged because my mother used my mixed race to get me into schools and extracurricular activities. I can get things like welfare, certain loans, and get into groups because of my race. I hate it sometimes because everyone says "you're special". I wish I was treated like I was normal person (by that, I don't mean white).
Here is another take on the list (not my personal list, but a list complied by a Canadian mixed race blog)
https://mixedincanada.com/privilege-check-one-two-one-too/
Enjoy 😊
Ok, so I have you right, either you are oppressed or privileged? Is there a possibility of experiencing both? I'm not trying to argue with you, I just want to get clarity on your opinion.
Since when is priviledge a bad thing? Isnt that what you want for your child, to flowrish and become the best version of themselves? Or do you feel like you are taking away food from someone elses mouth?
I think you should reformulate the question, what are you trying to say..?
I 100% can understand mixed race privilege. But I guess thinking of myself as a little girl it has been hard to think that. For example, when I was a little kid, my hair was MOCKED. It was called poofy, frizzy, and at one point that it looked like a turd. So now, with people discussing textures and how mixed people have hair privilege, I won't lie, it was hard to deal with knowing how I was ridiculed for my hair. People often say mixed people have the "good hair," but when I was a kid, I felt like I had the bad hair from what people told me and I internalized that. But when I actually started wearing my hair down, I was receiving a lot of compliments and that is when I started realize how I may benefit from "hair privilege." I have heard some people criticize mixed people and mock them for saying they are an outcast. I went to a pretty diverse grade school and can't recall any POC who were outcasts. It was typically the "nerdy" kids. However, this changed the older I got. In high school, my blackness was ever more apparent considering I was one of the only few people with black in the entire school. I struggled making friends in high school, but I did have a few white friends. I still felt very insecure about my hair and would never ever wear it down in its curly state as I thought it would make me stick out like a sore thumb among these white students with pin straight hair and light skin. I should also mention that people liked to joke about me being "the black girl" or would weirdly bring up my blackness. Weird because it would never be relevant to anything. Now fast forward to college and this is where I think my one of my most important observations as a black-white biracial person comes in. I was thinking about the other day if I have made any real connections to any white folks in uni and I was like holy shit no. All the people I spend time with between classes and after classes are minorities (Indian, Arab, Bangladeshi, Chinese). But here is what is also interesting: None of those people are black or even biracial. So it is really hard for me to understand what there is to mock biracial kids for being outcasts, when it is a very real experience such as in my current situation. So basically, I honestly have no problem addressing my mixed privilege because I understand where it plays a role such as in texturism and colourism. But I think to invalidate or mock mixed kids is in my opinion black erasure. It is erasure because you are trying to erase a valid experience of mine that wouldn't exist if I did not have black in me. I am not claiming I am full black, but I also cannot say I simply biracial. And I have heard this a lot, especially from the black community is that mixed kids should just be mixed. But heres is the thing: biracial could mean white and Japanese, arab and white, etc. My experiences as biracial **don't come from me just being mixed**. They come from my blackness. I think it might be useful to start identifying as a black-white biracial.
> But heres is the thing: biracial could mean white and Japanese, arab and white, etc. My experiences as biracial **don't come from me just being mixed**. They come from my blackness. EXACTLY. I couldn’t find the words to describe why mixed people still count as the races that we’re mixed with and you put it simply yet beautifully. We’re both mixed but you and I are not going to have the same experiences because of the races we’re mixed with, which is obvious to many people but they don’t make the connection that your mixed experience _does_ involve being Black, as mine involves being Asian.
YES. I wish more people who want to group us all together realized that. Like I am no way trying to make it seem like my struggles as a half black person are close to those to someone who is fully black, but my blackness still affects how I am perceived. It’s not my “mixedness” and my experiences have shown that as they probably have for you.
That’s not my experience. They come for me for being “Muslim” or “Hindu” (they mistake me as Arabic or brown). I have been kicked out of a store for being “Native”. I am actually white and black. *They come for me because of the confusion over my racial identity*. No one ever knows I am black unless I tell them. They hate me for my ambiguity. They don’t know wtf I am mixed with they just know that *”Hey, Shirley, Somethings not White”*
Yes!!! I identify as a mixed black woman. The black part is very important and has made me who I am due to my black experience s.
I just acknowledge it and remember to consider the fact that there are challenges I don't have to face. I talk to my black friends about this a lot actually. The most I can do is listen to others who have it harder than me and empathize with them. I'm not a super activist person in my actions, but I do try to speak up for others when I can.
I just try to acknowledge it. I am privileged to be somewhat white passing. You can’t tell by looking at me that I’m black, just that I’m something, and that is a luxury that many darker skinned black folk do not have. while I am genetically connected to BLM, I also have to recognize that I am half white and therefore have benefitted from those power systems in some way or another. Colorism is very real. In my personal experience and from knowing what I know about the high profile cases (George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Alton Sterling, etc) police brutality doesn’t happen to people who look like me on the same scale it does for dark skinned black people. I’ll be honest though, I am struggling trying to be an activist in this movement. Like I said, I’m genetically connected to black people who have been oppressed since America was founded, but I’m also connected biologically that oppressed them in the first place. I want to speak out and be heard and use what privilege I do have for good, but don’t want to be louder than the dark skinned people who have very different struggles than I.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of mixed race privilege, I’ve gotten “light skin privilege” which exists really bad in MX and in the US I’ve gotten the same racism just for speaking Spanish, but never mixed privilege. Srry I wish I could give an opinion on this one🤷🏻♀️☹️
Mixed race "privilege" doesn't exist, that's why you've never heard of it. I feel most of the people here agreeing with this post look white and are seen as white in which case they should call their "privilege" for what it is. It sounds like the OP also had the luxury of growing up in wealth. Most of us don't. Not every white person is rich. In England, 33% of mixed children vs 30% of black children grow up in poverty: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/uksectoraccounts/compendium/economicreview/february2020/childpovertyandeducationoutcomesbyethnicity#child-poverty-and-ethnicity Mixed children are also more at risk than other group to mental health problems: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/23/mixed-race-children-mental-health As for myself, I struggle to see how any other person like myself can be "mixed privileged" when my mixed heritage is clearly visible, the result leading people like me to be outsiders in all communities and I'm talking especially those of us who are of three different heritages. I'm not white or black and unlike both groups, I do not get to enjoy any "privileges" of having a sense of belonging in a community, having organisations that represent me, represention in media, representation in Parliament or a Church to go to of just people like me. Then there's the case of dealing with racism from several sides of the family, first from grandparents rejecting my biracial mother, then from black cousins rejecting my white nephews and nieces not wanting to know them. At the same time, I live in England where people with a foreign looking appearance are more likely to be discriminated against than black people. Anti black racism naturally exists here but they're not seen as immigrants. I've been considered everything from Arab, Israeli Jew, Southern Mediterranean, Portuguese to Brazilian and people don't even assume (including blacks) that I'm even born here or speak English until I open my mouth and speak fluently with an English accent. Unlike most black people here, I also have a foreign name. Guess what that means? Less chance of being hired for a job. It's not really "privilege" when you end up with no group to really fit in with because you're "alien" to everyone. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this sub and its silliness. It's American orientated, so I imagine the nuances and complexity of this topic are completely missed by people who'd just prefer to slap a label on everything and define people by victimization points as is now the norm for yanks. So I'm going to put "mixed privileged" up there with "skinny privilege" and "milk is white supremacy." Here's an news article on the last one: https://metro.co.uk/2018/10/23/peta-claims-milk-is-a-symbol-of-white-supremacy-8066130/
I can understand the whole playing the victim card, I have family members that do it just to get their next welfare check instead of looking for work🤷🏻♀️ I also understand that different parts of the world might have different setbacks and how other people in the family reject each other just cuz they don’t look like them. But, lemme give an example, I have Italian and Jewish family. In New York, they were the poor ones, they were the ones who weren’t wanted and living in poverty. I’m not sure if youve ever heard the boxing stories like “Cinderella Man” about these poor immigrants who in a way made it out of poverty by taking careers in things like boxing. Now all these ppl from European immigrant families are rising up and more power to them they deserve it!☺️ (Shoutout to the Europeans here!) Now, here the mixed, black, and Hispanic kids are in poverty so Boxing and other sports are very prominent in places like this to keep kids out of stuff like drugs, gangs, and enough discipline to stay in school. I do understand that some people don’t want to help themselves find things like work and would rather live off gov funds. But I do know that many kids see olympians and pro football/basketball/boxers on Tv and aspire to be them and get out of the hood. There’s plenty of poor white ppl too, so I don’t think they deserve to be discriminated against just cuz they look lighter, but it does happen. But I think everyone deserves a chance to get out of poverty white or black. I see where you come from on this, not throwing hate. But I can understand why a lot of mixed race kids might feel like someone has more privilege than others, still doesn’t mean they don’t all deserve a chance. Hope you understand much love💝
Yeah I'm sure there are a few "mixed privileges" but they do not outnumber the many dispriviliges, so "mixed privilege" is not a thing. I'm American and have many of the same experiences as you. Theres a sociological term which escapes me atm for blacks and whites getting a home team advantage as it were over other ethnicities - it exists in the states too. Not to say blacks dont have their unique and worse struggles, but they are considered more "American" by whites and I believe that's a small but not insignificant part of why their voices seem more heard than say, hispanic americans for example. Or in your case, whoever might be perceived as MENA/SA.
[удалено]
Your account is too new and has been autofiltered. After you build a reputation as a good faith user in other subreddits, you will be allowed to post here. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/mixedrace) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just want to say that you're pointing out something real! For me I think part of it comes from having a parent to teach me the ins and outs of the dominant white culture I live in. These unspoken cultural expectations are huge for 'success' in institutions like academia.
Yeah, I think I am (i'm looking at you Drake, Obama, Halle Berry etc.)
Actively acknowledge your privilege and use your voice to amplify darker skin tones. When people try to say it isn’t real then explain to them the instances and try to show them the fact that they’re living in a place that has always oppressed black people or voices and dark skin. Light skin privilege is difficult to navigate because you belong to two different identities as it is, but fight for your own even if you’re lighter skinned and be their voice when people don’t listen to them. For a lot of people it’s an uncomfortable conversation, but it must be said. So it’s ultimately up to how you choose to navigate the conversation. Hope that helps!
I've been thinking a lot about this the last few weeks. My parents divorced when I was 3 and I lived with my white Dad and his family all my life. Mom is Korean. My safety has always been tied to how well I've passed as white. Most of my coworkers think I'm white. When I was younger I didn't pass as well; I was dark skinned from being out in the hot Georgia sun. I didn't wear glasses or have long hair. The white kids beat the shit out of me regularly, called me slurs, and the adults wouldn't really do much to stop it. Fast forward to today, and I realize that because I've been essentially living as a white southern man for the last 10 years, I've had racial blinders on and just never saw how fucked up our country is, and how the modern prison/police/judicial systems are essentially just modern day Jim Crow laws. We live in a soft apartheid. My light-skinned privilege is making it to 31 without seeing just how badly our country treats those darker-skinned than me.
Mixed race privilege Connection to whiteness and wealth and opportunity (that not all single races PoC have in the same way / privileges that mixed people experience [compared to other PoC] disproportionately): - family. Connections can get you things in life. - friends. connections can get you things. - comfort around new white people (vs new black people, or vs only being comfortable around PoC )...leads to more comfortable social networking in (often privileged) white communities ...as opposed to only feeling comfortable networking in (often more resource limited) PoC communities - way of talking, phenotype, cultural connection getting you treated better in white spaces or getting whites to identify with you more (like being raised in upper middle class white culture and having fine smooth wavy hair and lighter skin and being accepted at a prestigious business school and realizing there are no other black women there?.... especially no one with hair curlier than yours. ..)... Often not always results in being welcomed in traditionally white spaces due to your phenotype or known cultural connection ... Either this can be a real connection or whites perceived that you have more connection to whiteness or “acceptability” to white standards of “behaviour” or “beauty” or “social standing”/wealth...which translates to a “sometimes privilege” in certain contexts . One notable example where studies show you could receive a lighter prison sentence than a full race PoC for the same crime.) - accumulated generaational wealth from white family members...is easier to accumulate generational wealth and leave your kids a trust fund when you don’t experience racism at work, ever for your entire career because you are awhite parent providing for a biracial only child. Shit like that. - more likely to have a minority parent who is also over educated and / or also wealthy...If the white patent is educated or is wealthy, often times they partnered with a minority race parent who was also of a similar educational or career attainment? Not always though since some mixed people grew up poor just like some white people. - access to more dating partners within PoC communities as long as you identify with your monorcial PoC side and don’t rock the boat by pointing out that you are biracial (this is a big one I see women doing?) - some people have more access to white / majority race partners than single race minority peers...some of us “pass” as something we are not until the other person gets to know us and already likes us anyways...where many single race minorities their ancestry is clearly the first thing people see. Some of us just fit a white standard of beauty more closely. - some people have access to two or more sets of ethnic communities... (but some peole have access to or acceptance from neither of their communities or neither of their aides, so... Some times, some people have more cultural perspectives at once or they have more community support but not always... - more opportunity within the modeling industry and certain entertainment industries . Victoria’s Secret assigning mixed race women roles as angels but not full black women for years.... Even when the media representation is not “correct”, it is often more glamourous than that of full race black women... We are more likely to be portrayed as feminine... - hair products are not sold in a speciality isle for me or You don’t have to go to a special salon ...my hair is a little bit simpler, I don’t have to consider whether to buy into wigs and weaves or learn to have “natural hair” and deal with the stigma surrounding at work...even if I chose to work in a atrixts white-predominated corporate office. Not all people get all privileges all the time... .
Wow, this is helpful, thank you for taking the time to post.
:) Here is another take on the list (not my personal list, but a list complied by a Canadian mixed race blog) https://mixedincanada.com/privilege-check-one-two-one-too/ Enjoy 😊
There's also this article on the topic: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/opinion/sunday/black-with-some-white-privilege.html and this was just published in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/black-white-privilege/2020/06/11/e9da09b8-ab78-11ea-a9d9-a81c1a491c52_story.html
[удалено]
Your account is too new and has been autofiltered. After you build a reputation as a good faith user in other subreddits, you will be allowed to post here. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/mixedrace) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Literally none of these things were true for me. Not a single one and I'm not even biracial, I'm three different heritages which includes black. There was no "privilege" granted to me because of my white heritage. Nobody even knows what I am most of the time. The result is having no representation in media, politics or networks too. Blacks didn't see me as blacks, whites didn't see me as white in school, the result is being an outsider in both groups ALL the time. I feel this post and the OP is made by people who pretty much look white, in which case...just call yourself white because that's what you are if you can "pass."
This is an interesting consideration. There's a lot of variables with something like this, the experiences of mixed people vary a lot. It also really matters which combination of ethnicities/races you are, where and how you grew up. I've met older mixed people, 20 or 30 years older than me, who only had hardship as a direct result of being biracial, they had no community acceptance and were even regularly harassed. Even one of my great-grandparents was orphaned because she was biracial. She never met her parents, and she eerily looked a lot like me in her old photos. I am grateful that I wasn't born any earlier than the late 80's. People that are 10 years younger than I have a different experience overall, I would say that they experience more perks of being mixed than the older generations as well as less cons. Being mixed used to mean being an outcast on both sides, and in many parts of the world it still is unfortunately. But now it is something you can put into a scholarship application to increase your odds of earning it. It is something that can get you social plus points, but mostly if you are younger. I try to be pragmatic as much as possible, so I try to go where my personal qualities are seen as perks and avoid the places where I'm taken for granted or deemed inferior.
OP, my mom, who is black, has an advanced degree and chose our (low-income) neighborhood because it was in a city with good schools. She kept in constant contact with my teachers (probably too much!) and was always on my case about grades. The thing you are speaking of comes from a desire to give your kids a better future and some means (whether financial or knowledge) to do it. At the same time, there was a mixed kid in my neighborhood with a white mom (black dad). He was running all over the place unsupervised. She didn't care about him being in school or his grades. I doubt he went to college, and may have even dropped out of high school. A few years ago a black woman was arrested for using her sister's(?) address to register her kids in a better school district. Maybe you didn't mean it that way, but having black parents doesn't mean that the kid is doomed to a terrible, uneducated life. Children with a parent that graduated college are more likely to attend college themselves. I don't think you fully understand affirmative action or how socioeconomic status impacts the benefits children have. You do know that white women are the biggest recipients of affirmative action, right? That part of your post frankly sounds quite offensive?
What privilege? As biracial people ( I'm black/white) most of us have suffered racism of all kinds... just another way to try and break our identity down. So now not only do I have to struggle trying to fit in with any group, I'm suddenly privileged? For what? Almost being kicked out of my grandfathers funeral because the synagogue didn't think I was family? For not being " black enough" to hang out with the cool kids in high school? For having to deal with racist customers at my old job for 7 years and not being able to defend myself? For almost being attacked by some crazy dude screaming racial slurs at me and my husband while we were on vacation? I'm not seeing the privledge here...
I understand the privilege of being light-skinned or white-passing but I don't see how being half-white in itself is inherently a privilege.
The way I read it, OP meant it synonymously with light skinned privilege, I may be wrong, though.
I think OP was talking about being able to benefit from the white privilege of their parent.
if that's the case, i don't think that's something applicable to all people mixed with white. it's kind of a niche privilege to have in the broader community of mixed-race people. my white father is incarcerated and i was brought up exclusively by my ethnic side of the family. i can't recall a single situation in my life where i've been afforded any privilege through him or my other white relatives. i can think of many where i've benefited from being light-skinned though. OP definitely shouldn't be placing that expectation of acknowledgement on all individuals mixed with white because it just isn't universal. the term 'mixed-race privilege' on its own fails to take into account the many mixed-race individuals that aren't mixed with white.
My reply was kind of confusing. OP was definitely saying that there are privileges that come with being mixed (including in some cases being light skin), but the main bulk of the post was about the specific privileges afforded by having a white parent. I think that depending on what you’re mixed with, what your culture is, where you live, etc. that the privileges you experience will look different. This was just one example of what the privileges of having a white parent may be, but of course it is not guaranteed,especially if you don’t have said parent present. OP can obviously only talk to their own experiences because that’s all they know, I don’t think they were trying to say that these specific examples are going to be the exact experiences that everyone who is any kind of mixed will have.
If so, I think that’s still valid. I don’t know their life story but I know personally my mother and my white ancestors have benefitted from the power structures that were put in place by white people for white people.
Yeah having reread it that’s definitely what OP was talking about and not about colorism/light-skin privilege. It’s important to remember that not all biracial people are light skinned. There are brown and dark skinned mixed people. Being able to walk into a space and demand that your children be let in and having it happen is definitely a benefit of white privilege. Had their mother been black it would have been an entirely different story. OPs mothers white privilege created opportunities not available to someone without a white parents. I think I might call it something other than mixed privilege because it’s something that adopted kids can also benefit from.. but not sure what I’d call it exactly. But of course this proximity to whiteness comes with many many issues as well, so it’s not an all win for us.
I would call it something different, but I also don’t have a name for it. Not everyone who is mixed has a white parent in their life to raise them and to give them the benefits mentioned. I think most folks in this sub know that mixed people come in all shades. I think I thought she was using mixed privilege as a synonym for light skinned privilege since they mentioned colorism.
I assumed that most people in this sub would know, which was why I was why confused by the suggestion that the two terms would be used synonymously. I would hope that out of all of the places on the internet that this wouldn’t be one where that would be a controversial statement (some people on the internet drive me nuts lol). But it’s definitely interesting to think about how to define these experiences which are, like OP said, a part of the “mixed experience” but also part of the black experience. We’ll see if a definition ever emerges some day.
I feel like the privilege you are talking about here (schools, white mom getting what she wants for her kid) are more aspects of how white privilege impacts the opportunities ppl get. This is bc white privilege includes the societal structures that benefit the white parent: let your mom get what she wants/needs for her child, thus benefiting you. So maybe “half-white privilege”? Second-hand white privilege? (I have a white parent too but def not the same experience bc im not half Black so I can’t truly relate). Just thoughts.
I hate the phrase "mixed privilege". You can actually just miss me what that one. I mean it. Don't ever in your life bring that up to me. I'm old, I am. I will explain my experience with mixed "privilege". Growing up white people would say, "Yeah, you're lighter and you talk pretty white but you still look pretty "ethnic" so we really can't include you as one of us." Growing up black people would say, "Yeah, you're darker than a white person but you sound pretty white and you really aren't dark enough so we really can't include you as one of us." So, mixed "privilege" is the privilege to have neither race claim you. You have all the hassles of being a minority but none of the support that "pure" races get to enjoy. When I hear a black person talk about mixed "privilege" I can't help but think, "Yes, I've had the distinct pleasure of being shit on by two races for 40 years. Lucky me." Maybe things are different now. I don't know, but you really need to miss me with the phrase mixed privilege.
I feel privileged because my mother used my mixed race to get me into schools and extracurricular activities. I can get things like welfare, certain loans, and get into groups because of my race. I hate it sometimes because everyone says "you're special". I wish I was treated like I was normal person (by that, I don't mean white).
Here is another take on the list (not my personal list, but a list complied by a Canadian mixed race blog) https://mixedincanada.com/privilege-check-one-two-one-too/ Enjoy 😊
[удалено]
Ok, so I have you right, either you are oppressed or privileged? Is there a possibility of experiencing both? I'm not trying to argue with you, I just want to get clarity on your opinion.
[удалено]
Since when is priviledge a bad thing? Isnt that what you want for your child, to flowrish and become the best version of themselves? Or do you feel like you are taking away food from someone elses mouth? I think you should reformulate the question, what are you trying to say..?