Beyond asian or white: Multiracial

By: Lanly Nguyen

Being multiracial is very confusing. For people like me, it feels like you aren’t enough for either race and you’re stuck in the middle. It’s constantly moving on a pendulum between racial identities that fits the situation or hiding one of them out of embarrassment. It can also feel like being on top of the world because of the compliments people give you on how special you are.

But even though multiethnic individuals like me share the same common experience, their life overall－whether it's full of prejudice or happiness－is as diverse as their backgrounds.

Phillips Nguyen, a second year student at San Jose State University, finds it’s not only hard to navigate through university, but also struggles with his identity.

He’s part Vietnamese and part Filipino but feels closer to his Filipino heritage because, “For most of my childhood, I grew up in the Philippines, spoke Tagalog, ate Filipino food, and so naturally, I’d lean towards my Filipino side.”

“I get really self conscious about my ethnic identity because for me, I don’t look like your typical Filipino or Vietnamese guy,” says Phillips.

Sometimes, several people mistake him for an entire different race, as he says, “People were confused and surprised I was Filipino and Vietnamese, sometimes even thinking I’m Mexican.”

“I remember a time I went to do errands at Target and this elderly woman came up to me and asked me a question in Spanish and I didn’t understand her at all. When I had trouble responding, she had this disappointed look on her face, as if I was supposed to know Spanish.”

He would often feel distressed but a lot of people don’t seem to feel as if it’s a real problem, as if it’s a first-world problem.

But according to Astrea Greig, a writer for the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, “Often, it is difficult to identify microaggressions and, when microaggressions occur, the receiver may be met with disbelief and is often told to stop being overly touchy or sensitive.”

Although it’s very common to hear the struggles of being mixed race, there’s also another side to being mixed race.

Brianna Wiebe, a second year at Evergreen Community College, is proud of being mixed and has no trouble understanding her identity.

She’s multiracial, meaning she’s of multiple races, but primarily, she is American and Portuguese.

Unlike Phillips, Brianna is glad that she’s of mixed race because she gets to be exposed to different foods and cultures.

She says, “I get to not only eat Portuguese food, but also American food. I mean who else has the opportunity to celebrate the 4th of July while eating Portuguese food?”

“My favorite portuguese food would have to be Bacalhau, or basically fish sticks. But these are different because we use salted cod, potatoes, and eggs. It tastes even more delicious if you were to add cheese!” says Brianna.

Although she is also American, she says that she much prefers to identify as a Portuguese person and that makes sense.

Lisa Miller, a writer for The Cut, wote an article called “The Psychological Advantage of Strongly Identifying as Biracial”. She says, “In general, the more minority you look, the more minority you self identify.”

She is also very aware of being different from others at times but looks at it from an optimistic light.

“I feel unique, but not in the bad way, but in the way that makes me feel special.” says Brianna. “I don’t know if I’ll be the person I am if I weren’t mixed.

Brianna happened to learn about Portugal’s history, which made her love for her Portuguese heritage grow.

“When I was taking an ethnic class, I learned about a Portuguese knight who sacrificed his life to save others during the Christian invasion force. And this made me feel proud that someone from my country saved others.” says Brianna.

Cong Vo, a student at EVC as well, also identifies with multiple races, but identifies as being part Vietnamese and Chinese.

Although many people mistake him for your average Chinese guy, he says, “If I weren’t mixed, I would just identify as Vietnamese. I haven’t even been to China, spoken Mandarin, or eaten real Chinese food.”

“Especially here in San Jose, I’ve basically been surrounded by only Vietnamese people, food, and culture so that’s also probably why I feel I’m more Vietnamese than Chinese,” says Cong.

Like many minorities, Cong feels he struggles with the effects of stereotypes towards Asians, or specifically, the Chinese.

“People think I eat cats and dogs just because I’m part Chinese, and I guess they mean it in a jokingly way, but I do take it as a joke too. But sometimes, I feel hurt because I don’t even feel like I’m Chinese.”

And not only that, the new Coronavirus is also taking a heavy toll on Cong.

“I remember I was buying milk tea and the cashier didn’t want to take my money because he was afraid of getting the Coronavirus from the money I touched.” Cong says. “I ended up using my card instead.”

Just like Cong, many other Chinese people around the world are feeling discriminated against.

In the article, “As Coronavirus Spreads, So Does Xenophobia and Anti-racism”, Suyin Haynes says, “Since the outbreak of coronavirus, which was first officially reported to the World Health Organization by Chinese authorities in Wuhan on Dec. 31, several accounts of racism and xenophobia have been reported and documented on social media.”

As for me, I definitely understand the dilemma of what identity I identify as.

Just like what Phillips said, I have a difficult time trying to find out which cultural mold I fit in, and even if I identify as both, I never feel like I’m enough of that race.

But, I can also relate to Brianna, in which I feel proud to be a unique person that is different from your typical Filipino or Vietnamese.

Nevertheless, I love being me, even if it means being a concoction of races.