American | Filipino
My Mother was born in the Philippines and emigrated to the States and my Dad is a White American (British, German, Swedish background). I think for my Dad it must’ve been a bit of culture shock, getting thrown into this huge Filipino family. My Mom had already been adapting to American life by the time they met so I think for her it was just more of the same. My view on interracial relationships is a lot different than my parents’ generation, as in America it was illegal to interracially marry until 1967 (Loving v. Virginia). For me I assumed any relationship I’d be in would be somewhat interracial, as I never thought I’d find someone the same ethnicity as me in town! I’m really glad I am part of a culture where food is so important, and a way of sharing love. It’s nice to get more of a local treatment while traveling, as I’m rather ambiguously ‘ethnic’. I sometimes get included in more social groups, but at the same time I get excluded from certain groups so that’s both good and bad. One of my biggest challenges is that I don’t look very Filipina, so it’s hard to gain acceptance in the community sometimes and I feel that I overcompensate a lot for that. However, I look like I have more Japanese features so I’ve been more accepted into the Japanese community, which is a weird feeling because I’m not Japanese (even though everyone thinks I am) so I don’t embrace it as I’m an outsider. I’ve been to the Philippines three times, two trips were for a month each, and it’s been really great to meet all of my Mom’s family over there. I’m glad my Mom took me when I was 12 so I could grow up knowing what it was like there. My Dad’s side emigrated over a hundred years ago so it’s harder to track where exactly the family came from in Europe. If I had the opportunity to be reborn I’d return the same way, as I am proud of who I am and my heritage and how it’s shaped who I have become. Although I would love it if next time around my Mom taught me Tagalog or Kapampangan!
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