Scottish | Hong Kong Chinese
I identify as British/Hong Kong Chinese. My mum is originally from Hong Kong and my dad is originally from Scotland. I feel like I’ve always known I’m mixed-race, there’s no defining point I can remember. Travelling between continents was normal for me growing up. I have both a Scottish and Chinese name, so being from two cultures has always been part of my identity. I have experienced growing up with British culture and a combination of both of my parent’s cultures. My parents have different views on some issues due to their cultural backgrounds, but ultimately it is a positive thing as I receive multiple views from different cultures. Having my mum’s view on British culture has been important to my outlook. She has taught me to look at things from a different perspective and question things taken for the norm in England. The town I lived and went to school in was probably 99% White, so as a teenager I naturally felt conscious about my appearance. It never seriously got me down, as I’ve always embraced the fact I’m more unusual, it’s just in the UK we are mainly surrounded by images of attractive White people, which gives people a predetermined idea of beauty that lacks in diversity. We hardly see Asian models and actors, which is wrong. Sometimes people who I’ve only just met are very interested in the fact I’m mixed‐race, which is awkward. When they find out I’m Chinese and Scottish they react like it’s something amazing, which I find weird. It’s just two people met and fell in love, why is that so different from two people meeting from anywhere else? I don’t think they mean to be rude, but I think they are narrow minded. Being mixed-race isn’t talked about much in today’s society, even though there are many mixed-race people. This project is a good way to share the experience of being mixed‐race more widely. Society likes to box people in. I think moving forwards it will be more common to have a mixed background and more positive attitudes will surrounded being mixed‐race. If I had the opportunity to be reborn I would want to return exactly the same, I would not change anything.
Want to read more? – Subscribe here #mixedracefaces