"What are you? Where are you from?" + Song of the Month | September 2017

Hello, Nurds!!!

I wanted to address an important issue regarding identity, multi-ethnicity, and ethnic ambiguity.

What do you think of when you see me?

Lemme guess. You probably thought that I look Indian.

Here's the problem: The problem is not that I not Indian; it's more so the fact of how people ask me what my ethnicity is.

Before I include a couple of the most questions people frequently ask me, I think it's important to note the differences between ethnicity, nationality, and race.

Ethnicity refers to a localized group of peoples that share cultural traditions, beliefs, values, etc. For example, African American refers to people who are from Africa or are descendants of African immigrants that are American citizens.

Nationality refers to one's country of origin. When I say I am American, it means that I am from, well, America.

Race has a lot to do with biology and the biological characteristics that people are inherently born with. For example, Asian people are most likely born with black, straight hair among other qualities.

Where are you from?

This question is pretty vague, This question is common, too. Many people are from different parts of the world and travel about. Understandable. It's also semi-insulting to me because my appearance makes it seem that I'm somehow foreign or not from here. By here, I mean this country. I half-expect people to think me from another nation. That is not the case; I've been born and raised in Southern California. In fact, I have never left Southern California, which makes it seem all the more frustrating to hear this question. 

What are you?

I find this question especially offensive. If there is any way to ruin someone's self-esteem and de-humanize them, this is the simplest thing you could ask them. This is the question I get asked the most and even random strangers approach me, saying, "I'm sorry, I can't stop trying to figure out what you are." I'm a mystery to others, a question mark. And just because you apologize for going out of your way to ask me such a disparaging question does not make it any more appropriate to do so. I'm sure people mean well and I 100% know what about me they are referring to, but I think this question arises from ignorance, so I simply tell them "I'm human," as if assuring that I was not human before they asked me what the hell I am.

Haha, no. I mean what's your race?

This feels very true. Race and ethnicity were never
anything I saw or cared about in a person; they weren't
noticeable until people started noticing and pointing
out my differences.

I know what they mean. I do. I just proceed to tell them patiently that the way they ask them is considered impolite and that if they would like to ask for someone else's ethnicity, the should ask What do you identify as ethnically? because most of the time (even when people as for another person's race), people respond in terms of ethnicities. Or, say, Do you mind if I ask you what your ethnicity is?

But seriously, What are you???? What the hell! This question is so ambiguous, probably as ambiguous as my ethnicity, that it alienates me and makes me feel like the "other".

This is the struggle of being a minority--not only as a transgender woman born in a big, multigenerational, lower-middle class family, but also as a multi-ethnic person. And by the way, I am Hispanic, Caucasian, and African-American.

If you have any questions regarding my ethnicities or if you disagree with anything I said, feel free to let me know in the comments!

Click below for the Song of the Month

I like songs of the month because they're usually a surprise. Seriously! Out of all the songs of the world, the songs I listen to can be just as unpredictable as you all seeing them each month. I'm not typically into the mainstream songs that come out on the radio, purely because they usually sound the same. You know the kind--music with a droning, synthesized beat that's very repetitive and songs that repeat the same verses/choruses without adding much more.

This month, I chose "By the time you've finished your coffee," an original song by Youtube singer Korantemaa. It's pretty enlightening and disheartening at the same time to hear a broken relationship and connection. As the song indicates, there is a short duration of time during which the character of the song is thinking all of these thoughts, such as whether or not his or her lover even loves them. "Do you even care about me? You're sipping on your coffee; I'm finishing my wine. I wish that time was solid so I could give it to you now, that we could be happy. I wish that I was gold to you, but it might be too late."

How the background singers personify the thoughts inside her head and how her voice reaches certain cadences that are unconventionally unheard make this song sound as original as it does.

This singer has garnered tens of thousands of subscribers and hundreds of thousands of views on this video alone within just the past month.

 Enjoy!!! I'll catch you next Saturday!