Can you identify with any of the experiences?

I am able to related to some of the experiences detailed in this presentation as, in some cases, I experienced the exact same thing and in other cases I experienced things that are along the same lines.

Because I am biracial, the situation I am in often changes how I am viewed. When I am surrounded by others of varying ethnicities, I appear ethnically ambiguous. However, when I am surrounded by Caucasians, I tend to appear more Asian. On the flip side, when I am surrounded or viewed by Asians, I often appear more Caucasian. This has led to me being on the receiving end of many different types of microaggressions which vary depending on the context.

When I appear more ethnically ambiguous, I am often asked where I am from. My usual response is that I am from the suburbs of DC. This often prevents people from asking anything else as DC, like many other cities, is known for being racially diverse. However, sometimes people do not accept this answer and they often ask what countries my parents are from, where I was born or other similar questions.

When I am surrounded by Caucasian, and therefore appear more Asian in comparison, I often see people staring or pointing at me. In some cases, people have said ‘Asian’ things as I walked by or pulled their eyes back. This was something that happened when I went to visit a school in the Midwest.

In comparison, when I went to China, I viewed and singled out for looking Caucasian. This led to restaurant staff replacing the utensils (they assumed that I was unable to use chopsticks). People also came up to me and asking if they could take a picture with ‘the white girl’ and talking about me in Chinese (assuming that I did not know what they were saying).