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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Oct 2006 : 16:13:09
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I found that biracial people, in Europe but also in Africa, often have a tendency to deny one part of their heritage. Surely this is not something which is naturally given - people in many countries of Latin America, who are much more racially mixed than Africans and Europeans (and in this sense for me are the prototypes of what we all will be in a few centuries), don't have these problems.
But in a social environment that still demands to be either 'black' or 'white', 'asian' or 'indian' etc., it could be difficult to find your identity, and a need to orientate to either one or the other side may occur. What do you think about this; how is your experience?
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Edited by - serenata on 20 Oct 2006 16:14:32 |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2006 : 17:20:19
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i think it depends on the environment/location. for many people its not a major issue in south america because everyone, almost is mixed anyway. so almost no one stands out.
in other western societies and in some parts of Africa it more obvious. in the West, the emphasis is more on being black than white or both cultures. For example Bob Marley is seen as black even though his father was white! Halle Berry is seen as a black actress even though her mother is White etc
it depends on many things and how well the society accepts them. Try talking to a White South African and see how defensive they are.
i think what matter is that those people , mixed try to enjoy both cultures and not what society thinks. because society itself is corrupt. |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2006 : 17:48:09
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True. I am always surprised when I see that very lightskinned people who have some African features in the US are adressed as 'Blacks'. I fear Europe adopted this crazy US racism. Halle Berry, e.g., in my eyes is much more 'white' than 'black', but above all she is a person of her own.
The environmental influences can go up to the point where people develop some kind of hatred against one part of their heritage (and then maybe revert this self-hatred into aggression against others). I know the case of a biracial boy who fiercely rejects his African father because he himself encountered racism in school. This boy now is highly aggressive and his school career, his whole life is in big danger.
I think for biracial people it is essential to make peace with both sides of their heritage and learn to respect themselves as unique. |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2006 : 17:53:48
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clearly bieng in stable family helps mixed or not, but having both parents or members of family from either side at an early age is big plus.
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2006 : 18:05:29
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| Yes, I think this is very important. Another case from my acquaintance demonstrates it, a Kenyan-Austrian couple living in Austria with their two sons. At least once a year they visit Kenya (the husband comes from a tiny, remote village) with the boys. The kids are well acquainted with life in Kenya, with the customs, and they love their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. These two have little or no problems, not with themselves, and not with any part of their ethnical heritage. |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2006 : 18:05:55
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I think its important that mixed raced children are given positive images of self otherwise they can encounter a lot of pyshcological problems later on in life if they aren't given them. Therefore it is important they are able to embrace their parents cultural backgrounds to have a more holistic view of themelves.
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2006 : 18:19:16
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Sister Omega, you're right - the holistic view is what matters!
Now I'm off to 'our' tiny, remote village. You all have a nice weekend, and to our Muslim brothers and sisters a good and peaceful Korité! |
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Galo Sowe
Sweden
116 Posts |
Posted - 21 Oct 2006 : 18:32:51
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Your statements are quite true in my opinion.
I want to add that parents are mostly guilty of the problems for biracial people in particular when the marriage ends. Children of mixed marriages, and especially mixed races, tend to be subjected to cruel discrimination by both races and often suffer more than the parents.
Parents are able to return to their group whenever they decide to break off whilst children can never tear their skin apart and decide of their own accord to belong to one group or the other.
If such children are not given the right orientation, they may end up waging a war against themselves.
It is important that maximum effort is made to help the child understand the realities of the cultures of both parents; if the child comes to develop a positive conception of the origin of both parents, the cultural diversities will enrich the child, make him or her more open, tolerant and adaptable to different cultural circumstances, the child will develop a positive feeling about himself or herself and will be fully prepared to deal with discrimination from the outside, without losing self confidence and self worth. |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 21 Oct 2006 : 22:01:25
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When any one gets married it is combining 2 cultures.
I married a white man. My family were government workers.They hoped i would take a job that was a 'calling'.
My inlaws were working class business people that money mattered big time to.
So 2 families coming together: both working class, white, sort of christian. But fundamentally BIG differences.
We should ALL accept what has formed us : ie who we are. But in the future there is who we may become.
I am formed by my parents, and my christian upbringing. But now I am humanist. |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 23 Oct 2006 : 14:57:29
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Galo Sowe, you cut right to the chase.
Gambiabev, don't forget biracial children don't LOOK like the majority population in Europe and Africa. This makes an important difference.
But I agree that the compatibility of the two family cultures can be essential for a marriage. Looking at my own marriage I see that though our macro-cultural backgrounds are different, some important structural details within our families are VERY similar. Maybe this is the reason why we felt 'familiar' with each other right from the beginning. |
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Babylon
Sweden
691 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2006 : 17:05:07
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My opinion on this ( interesting topic ) is that biracial children need to know both of the parents culture. Even if the parents get divorced, they still have to continue to guide their children and make sure they get the best of both cultures. The divorced parents need to stop being selfish, work together and make sure they act in the best interest for their child even though they are no longer living under the same roof.
My children for instance, know that they are BOTH african and swedish and have two cultural backgrounds to be proud of. That is no big deal for them, it is very simple infact. "I am Gambian AND Swedish!"
It really should not be more complicated than that, but people have chosen to make it that way. People have also chosen to feel sorry for biracial children who "really donīt belong nowhere" and that is so wrong!
I hate the "one drop rule" from the slavery days when everyone with some african blood were considered black by their massas. That rule seems to be very much alive still today especially in the U.S and I think itīs awful and it creates a lot of problems and feeds racism. People have the right to be proud of who they are and all the races they belong to!
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2006 : 17:20:24
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Babylon I agree 100%.
I think it is very sad that how we LOOK is still so important. My daughter got bullied at school for having ginger hair. Now she lives in Scotland and she is accepted there as having some celtic blood, even though she is english. She is very happy living there, it feels like home for her. There are lots more very pale skinned people with ginger hair in Scotland.
The one drop idea is SO crude and I agree with you that BOTH sides of the family should have input into a child. It is good for children to see different ways of doing things, to have a broader perspective on life. |
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Babylon
Sweden
691 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2006 : 18:21:46
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I just thought of our new prime minister here in Sweden, Fredrik Reinfeldt. He looks like any white man, but according to the one drop rule he is black because his great grandfather was biracial!
So hooray, Sweden has a black prime minister!!! |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 25 Oct 2006 : 14:52:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Babylon
The divorced parents need to stop being selfish, work together and make sure they act in the best interest for their child even though they are no longer living under the same roof.
I would like ALL divorced parents to remember this. But unfortunately, no matter if the marriage was black/white, white/white, etc., more and more people seem to forget this. Today, too many couples fight 'The War of the Roses' - and the lawyers are grinning in the background...
quote:
My children for instance, know that they are BOTH african and swedish and have two cultural backgrounds to be proud of. That is no big deal for them, it is very simple infact. "I am Gambian AND Swedish!"
It really should not be more complicated than that, but people have chosen to make it that way. People have also chosen to feel sorry for biracial children who "really donīt belong nowhere" and that is so wrong!
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 25 Oct 2006 : 16:26:46
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Babylon, if the one drop rule was applied across all racial groups equally as an African I also have White, Chinese, and Indian ancestry? So what does that make me 
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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kiwi
Sweden
662 Posts |
Posted - 25 Oct 2006 : 18:18:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Sister Omega
Babylon, if the one drop rule was applied across all racial groups equally as an African I also have White, Chinese, and Indian ancestry? So what does that make me
Peace
Sister Omega
That makes you omega = resistance. "Alfa and omega" = everything that counts. |
kiwi |
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