Multiracial kids—since mixed race is still not often considered a “legitimate” group (by both whites and people of color alike)—often experience an added layer of invisibility that is so damaging for their self-esteem.

Posted in Excerpts/Quotes on 2015-12-05 20:03Z by Steven

“Children of color in general either tend to get left out of school curriculum and societal teachings or hyper-visibilized in negative, harmful ways. Multiracial kids—since mixed race is still not often considered a “legitimate” group (by both whites and people of color alike)—often experience an added layer of invisibility that is so damaging for their self-esteem. Multiracial children don’t fit typical racial constructs and complicate the conversation in a way folks don’t like. When others feel discomfort and disequilibrium, it leads them to dismiss, gloss over, minimize or scoff at mixed race experiences. This often then leads multiracial children to feel they cannot be their whole authentic self on any front unless they’re willing to subscribe to prescribed racial categories.” —Sharon H. Chang

Alice Wong, “Parents (of multiracial kids) Just Don’t Understand,” AsAmNews, December 3, 2015. http://www.asamnews.com/2015/12/03/parents-of-multiracial-kids-just-dont-understand/.

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Parents (of multiracial kids) Just Don’t Understand

Posted in Articles, Asian Diaspora, Family/Parenting, Identity Development/Psychology, Interviews, Media Archive, United States on 2015-12-04 02:53Z by Steven

Parents (of multiracial kids) Just Don’t Understand

AsAmNews
2015-12-03

Alice Wong

Talking about race is complicated enough but how do parents of multiracial Asian American children talk to their kids about race and racial identity? What are the experiences of multiracial Asian American children? What’s missing in the media representations of multiracial kids?

Writer, scholar and activist Sharon H. Chang talked with AsAmNews about her multiracial family and the findings from her research on multiracial Asian American children from her new book Raising Mixed Race: Multiracial Asian Children in a Post-Racial World. Below are some edited excerpts from their conversation.

You and your husband are both multiracial Asian Americans—describe your family’s cultural mash-up.

Our collective family ancestry is Japanese, Taiwanese/Chinese, Slovakian, German, French Canadian, British, Welsh – American. But culturally we feel multiethnic, mixed, 2nd gen Asian American.

How do you and your husband talk about your child about being multiracial in America?

We talk pretty openly about systemic racial inequities in front of him. We don’t hide those struggles and even encourage him to participate in the conversations when he’s interested. Then regarding his own identity (i.e. relationship to those racial struggles) we don’t tell him he’s white. Because he’s not. He’s certainly asked, “Am I white?” And we’re very clear, “No.” Instead we offer Asian, Asian American, and mixed…

Read the entire interview here.

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