Being Mixed Arab American
21 11 2007I claim an Arab American ethnic identity, but I have one white parent. Why do I claim an Arab identity?
Possible reasons:
1. Being part white does not grant one full access to the privileges that entails (see: one drop rule).
2. An Arab identity is something I have had to fight for; this has been an internal, external and familial struggle. It’s important to me because it didn’t come easily.
3. I am self-hating.
4. Identifying as mixed is confusing for me, although I am beginning to feel more comfortable with it. I identify strongly with a multi-ethnic, cross-cultural experience that goes beyond an Arab American experience because it includes being raised by white people and often in situations where I am surrounded by them. The confusion has to do with the Arab ethnicity being subsumed by the “white” ethnic category in the U.S. as well as possibly the things listed above and maybe even things I haven’t consciously considered yet.
Thinking, thinking.
quite deep, even if you’ve just begun exploring.
i think that maybe the history and policy of the “white” nations makes one want to distance oneself, but in our evolutionary struggle with this issue, i would suspect that we can come to distinguish between who people are as people, and the powers that dominate their history and culture.
I’m mixed too! Hang in there sister. ((hugs))
I’m in the same boat as you are, except that although I wasn’t raised by my white parent, my Malaysian parent had so much internalized racisim that Malaysian culture was not a large part of my upbringing.
I’ve been thinking about it a lot too, and still haven’t figure out what it means to be mixed-race.
Personally, I don’t think that the history of ‘white’ nations is what makes me distance myself from classifying as white. I don’t see myself as white because a) people don’t see a white person when they look at me (they don’t know what they see when they look at me, so they eventually have to ask me) and b) I don’t identify with the experiences that my white peers have. I’ve conversed with many groups of white people, and barely spoke two sentences because my sphere of knowledge/experiences does not overlap with theirs.
At the same time, I identify with the experiences of many of my Asian peers. But having been to Malaysia, and interacting with Malaysians and my relatives there, there is no doubt in my mind that I am not Malaysian, and wouldn’t identify myself as one.
At the moment, I say I’m Canadian. But seeing as many people don’t know what it means to be Canadian (including myself), it doesn’t seem quite useful in deciphering my identity.
same here… a hard thing i’ve been going through is the fact that even if my brother and sister are half korean/half white, they identify primairly as white. i just want to scream
Just wanted to let you know I was pondering your words on this.
Reading, reading.
A big YES to this post. I especially can empathize w/#1 & #2. I figure I am not going to be allowed in the white person’s club even if I wanted to be. Also, yeah–it took me a long time to get down w/the Filipina side (& of course that’s still something I’m working on).
I just read this anthology of stories by mixed-race authors, & it struck me how all the stories were angsty. On the one hand, fuck knows I have a lot of angst in dealing w/my own identity, so I can certainly understand it. On the other, er, one-dimensional much? Can we get over our tragic selves already?
Salaams Nadia,
You know, I have re-read this post almost daily since you put it up. And I want to say something, but I haven’t been able to put my thoughts into words on it (not a good thing for a writer to admit, LOL). So rather than just creeping off again, I thought I’d at least let you know I am reading and feeling you. Thanks for posting this. I wish I could offer anything meaningful but you know…
hey nadia,
i hear you and i ponder with you. it seems like there are different contexts and paradigms surrounding “mixed race”. sometimes those words apply to me, but most times i feel on the outskirts. as you know, i have my id issues too. i think our feelings are parallel. sometimes i look in the mirror and think “how could you have ever believed you were white?” other times i stare at my reflection wondering if anyone notices im a woman of color.
and, perhaps im straying, but i think we should also recognize that identifying as women of color, we are also asking people to assume that we are talking about women of color consciousness. because not all women of color have consciousness, as some anglo women have women of color consciousness.
coming back to the point: i often wonder myself if i am becoming to extreme in my identification as egyptian-american. it sounds crazy, maybe cause ive internalized the notorious “fight” by arabs/egyptians (that, too is familial for me) to assimilate into anglo culture. not to deny that indeed, anglo american culture is part of my identity, it’s certainly not all of it.
and i guess as i could never fully identify as white, i also could never fully identify as egyptian either. does that mean mixed (lol)?
perhaps it’s that “mixed” carries connotations that im not fully comfortable with. perhaps it’s my naiveté.
this conversation seems everlasting; and, who knows how many decades it’s been discussed.
the point is, thanks for putting your shit out there. i support you and appreciate your support in return.
Salaam! THanks for your comments on MMW & Racialicious.
I totally identify with this! I am biracial myself, and it is DIFFICULT! I don’t fit in with either of the communities of my halves, and that offers double trouble! It’s a struggle!
Hey, interesting post. Am mixed race also and have difficulty knowing where to fit in. I put my nationality first, which in my case is British. My dad is from Palestine and Palestine itself is a mixed country, not just Arab. However he is of Arab origin (from the Red Sea Coast) and his family has lived in Palestine for around 1500-2000 years so he considers himself a Palestinian. I met some Egyptians a while ago and whilest talking to them I asked where there families originated from. They all traced there roots back to the Arabian Penisular to but felt strongly that they were Egyptian. I know not all Egyptians are from Arabia obviously but there are many who are. Some Egyptians claim they are the ‘pure’ Egyptians and relatives of the annciants, I find this hard to swallow but can respect their choice for an independant identity. Palestinians are the same. They arent the actual relative of the Phillistines but they are a mixed people. Even Arabs who dwell there put being Palestinian first. In the west there is a tendancy to lump all Arabs together without understanding the differences in culture from place to place. An Egyptian of Arab origin is very different from a Saudi Arab and so on and so forth. Many Egyptians intellectuals disregarded being Arab which is fair enough but surely it is a little stupid to forget and whip out several hundred years of Arab influence and before that Roman, Greek, Persian, Nubian to name a few ruled Egypt. I would of fought it would be better to celebrate being mixed and multi-cultrual. Palestine is like how it is due to being a melting pot of cultures and so is Egypt. Arab identity is so complex and Arabs get boxed in more and more by their own leaders and the media. We need to stand up and represent ourselves. We are all humnas right ?
[...] at 8:11 am · Filed under Uncategorized On a blog called No Snow Here, a post titled “Being Mixed Arab American” caught my attention. Questions of my personal racial identity have been swirling around in [...]
Sorry, I wasn’t done with that blog posting when the trackback apparently was sent out.
Your blog posting has given me plenty to think about. Thanks!