The Experience of Being Mixed-Race

Navigating the pathway of identity can be both a joy and a challenge when you have a multiracial background.

• Multiracial people are a fast-growing demographic in an increasingly globalized world: In the UK, projections forecast that 30% of the population could be mixed-race by the end of this century.
• People from multiple backgrounds often encounter racism that can present in multiple forms and come from all sorts of directions, including from members of their own families or communities.
• Many report cultural pressure to "pick a side, or that their multiracial heritage is wrongly assumed to be their entire “identity”.
• Such experiences can clash with the idea that notions of fundamental differences between races are a construct in the first place that has been and continues to be misused for political gain.
• But the growing size and buying power of the multiracial demographic has also driven bizarre cultural phenomena such as “blackfishing” - the attempts of some to appear black or “of colour”.
• That being mixed-race now has a trendy, exotic appeal motivating millions of people to share the hashtags #MixedBeauty and #MixedBabies on social media platforms like Instagram for instance irks many.
• People of color complain that those who artificially visually emphasize a multiracial background make an authentic representation of ethnic minorities difficult and reduce actual diversity.
• And while the Kardashians may have succeeded in marketing racial ambiguity as a look worth billions of dollars, where does that leave identity politics with regards to the multiracial population?