• Advertise
  • About us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us
Thursday, May 26, 2022
Australian Times News
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
      • UK Lottery
      • UK Lotto
      • EuroMillions
  • Lifestyle
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
    • Video
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
      • UK Lottery
      • UK Lotto
      • EuroMillions
  • Lifestyle
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
    • Video
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia
No Result
View All Result
Australian Times News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Meghan Markle and why being ‘mixed race’ matters in Australia

OPINION & ANALYSIS: What does it mean to be partly Asian and partly white in a country that, in various ways, reinforces the idea that white people belong and Asian people don’t?

The Conversation by The Conversation
24-05-2018 11:50
in News

Journalist Stan Grant argued this week in an article on the ABC that that we should stop talking about Meghan Markle being “mixed race”. Grant made the argument, which is often employed to discredit racial identities, that race has no scientific basis and therefore should not be used to put people into categories.

The problem with Grant’s position is that it is possible to adopt a racial identity without using the debunked scientific argument for race. Grant himself admitted that race matters because people are still seen as belonging to particular races: the fact that African American people in the US still suffer a number of inequalities is evidence of this.

Also see: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s official royal wedding portraits [PHOTOS]

People are read as African American, Aboriginal, or Asian because of the social construct of race. That makes race real to us. It’s possible for me as an Okinawan (Japanese) Australian to talk about how society categorises me according to my race without saying that race is a scientific reality.

The term “mixed race” is, of course, problematic for many Aboriginal people. This is no doubt due in part to the horrifically racist colonial history of attempting to “breed out” Aboriginality and divorce Aboriginal people from their heritage.

Demeaning blood quantums were used to categorise Aboriginal people’s supposed mixedness. There is obviously good reason for them to be suspicious of terms like “mixed race”. However, where does that leave those with other histories that need a language to describe their mixed roots?

Post-race? Not yet

Mixed race people can find themselves living between cultures. For people like me, this can mean explicitly or inexplicitly feeling that we are not white enough or not Asian enough. Growing up here in 1996, hearing Senator Pauline Hanson say that Australia was in danger of being swamped with Asians, made me feel an outsider in my own country. Yet in Japan, I was always considered a foreigner.

AlsoRead...

May's Weather Forecast

Weather Forecast 26 May 2022

26 May 2022
Steve Kerr delivers a heartfelt message about Texas school shooting

Steve Kerr delivers a heartfelt message about Texas school shooting

25 May 2022
IMAGE: In her first parliamentary speech in 1996, Pauline Hanson warned Australia was in danger of being ‘swamped by Asians’. (PETER MATHEW).

This created a confusing, and sometimes painful, dilemma. Where did I belong? Was I white or Asian? There were few positive examples in the public sphere to show me that I could be both.

Many mixed race people with white heritage experience a devaluing of their ethnic backgrounds. Social norms tell us that it’s better to be white than ethnic. For instance, when Western popular culture overwhelming depicts lead characters in film and TV as white and often portrays people of colour in stereotypical ways, we internalise a hierarchy of race. This can mean that mixed race people learn to pass as white and hide their ethnic culture or identity. In some places, such as Japan, mixed race people suffer segregation, discrimination, and racist hatred.

A growing number of mix-raced people has led to talk of a “post-racial” era. This refers to the idea that one day everyone will become mixed – there will be no more race and therefore no more racism. Mixed race people are the poster people for this “raceless” future. But the consequence of this idea is that their experiences now are very rarely taken seriously.

What does it mean to be partly Asian and partly white in a country that, in various ways, reinforces the idea that white people belong and Asian people don’t? This is not about an oppression Olympics either: I’m not saying that mixed race people suffer more difficulties than others. I simply think that it’s worth talking about what it’s like to be us.

This is especially important because I grew up never seeing my experience reflected in the public domain. I suppressed my ethnic feelings and caved into the pressure to assimilate to white Australian culture. It wasn’t until my early-20s (at university) that I was given the tools to unpack this internalised racism. This led me to reevaluate my ethnic identity and take pride in my background, despite the pressure to conform.

We need to make sure there is space for ethnic Australians to freely express their identities, in any number of ways. It’s also possible to have a mixed race identity that doesn’t fall into exclusive categories (for instance, white or black). Expressing these identities, and talking about them openly, is the only way we’ll understand how race as an idea affects all of us.

The ConversationI want to hear other mixed race Australians talk about what it means to them to grow up here, and if Meghan Markle offers one way of having that conversation, bring it on!

______________________________________

By Timothy Kazuo Steains, Lecturer in Gender and Cultural Studies, University of Sydney

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

TOP IMAGE: Meghan Markle’s mixed race identity has been the topic of conversation leading up to her wedding to Prince Harry. That’s a good thing. (WEN COOBAN / BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENCE / HANDOUT)

Tags: Meghan MarklePrince HarryracismRoyal familyRoyal wedding
DMCA.com Protection Status

SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER

[mc4wp_form id=”2384248″]

Don't Miss

Horoscopes: 26 May 2022 – Thursday

by Adamu
26 May 2022
Free Daily Horoscope - Astrology
Horoscopes

Keep your karma positive with these daily free horoscopes!

Read more

Weather Forecast 26 May 2022

by Adamu
26 May 2022
May's Weather Forecast
Australia Weather

Be prepared for any weather with our daily weather forecast for Australia.

Read more

Festival X is coming back to Australia this November

by Shannon Alexander
26 May 2022
Festival X is coming back to Australia this November
Entertainment

Festival X will be hitting Australian shores for the second time and some of the biggest names are on the...

Read more

The Gray Man: The new Netflix blockbuster trailer is finally released

by Shannon Alexander
25 May 2022
The Gray Man: The new Netflix blockbuster trailer is finally released
Entertainment

Netfliix will be dropping a new film called The Gray Man. The action film features Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling...

Read more

Steve Kerr delivers a heartfelt message about Texas school shooting

by Shannon Alexander
25 May 2022
Steve Kerr delivers a heartfelt message about Texas school shooting
Lifestyle

As many families mourn the loss of their children, Steve Kerr expressed his dislike for the silence when it comes...

Read more

Aquaman: President of DC films considered replacing Amber Heard

by Shannon Alexander
25 May 2022
Aquaman: President of DC films considered replacing Amber Heard
Lifestyle

As the defamation soon draws to a close, the president of DC films testified on Tuesday that Heard would have...

Read more

Salvador Ramos identified as the shooter at Texas school

by Shannon Alexander
25 May 2022
Salvador Ramos identified as the shooter at Texas school
News

A Texas elementary school has experienced a tragedy on Wednesday morning as an 18-year-old Salvador Ramos shot at least 21...

Read more
Load More

Copyright © Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
australiantimes.co.uk is a division of Blue Sky Publications Ltd. Reproduction without permission prohibited. DMCA.com Protection Status

  • About us
  • Write for Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact us
  • T&Cs, Privacy and GDPR
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
      • UK Lottery
      • UK Lotto
      • EuroMillions
  • Lifestyle
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
    • Video
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia

Copyright © Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
australiantimes.co.uk is a division of Blue Sky Publications Ltd. Reproduction without permission prohibited. DMCA.com Protection Status