Canadian | Iranian
I identify as half Iranian and half Canadian. My Dad is from Iran and my Mum is from a small town in England. I was born in Iran and grew up in Canada. I don’t think my parents ever talked to me about being mixed-race or about identity. We were an immigrant family and, although I was light-skinned, we were very aware that we were different. Though I tried to assimilate as much as possible into Iranian culture, I often felt a little different. In high school, I was given half-membership into the ‘Brown’ club (yes, there were only a handful non-White people in my school) and it was in University that I really was able to explore and put words around what I’d felt all my life. Not really knowing where I belonged or why I felt different but didn’t always fit into a specific category. My partner is Nigerian, and I now have three amazing daughters who are mixed Iranian/Nigerian and English. Because of what I went through and because nobody talked to me about identity, I make a point of speaking to them often about the different cultures and ethnicities that make up who they are. My first two daughters have lived in Nigeria, Canada and England and are very comfortable with speaking about being mixed. I’ve also made it my career by starting a blog for parents of mixed-race kids in the UK because I don’t think we talk about it enough- or at least as much as our neighbours across the pond. My blog is called https://mixedracefamily.com and it’s to support other parents who are on a similar journey raising mixed kids. I don’t speak Farsi which I have a lot of regret about. My parents came from a generation where speaking English was much more important. It often made me feel like a fraud when laying claim to being Iranian because language is such a big part of the culture. Being mixed offers such a layered experience, such exposure to different ways of thinking, of experiencing things, of speaking, of celebrating, belief. It can be confusing at times but really, it is so enriching and I’m so glad my children have been so exposed to such a diverse set of beliefs and cultures.
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