Wikipedia

Transracial (identity)

This article is about transracial people or transracial identity. For other uses, seeTransracial (disambiguation).

Transracialis a label used by people who identify as a differentracethan the one they were born into. They may adjust their appearance to make themselves look more like that race, and may participate in activities associated with that race. Use of the wordtransracialto describe this is new and has been criticized, because the word was historically used to describe a person raised by adoptive parents of a different ethnic or racial background, such as aBlackchildadoptedand raised by aWhitecouple.

History and usage

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Historically, the termtransracialwas used solely to describe parents who adopt a child of a different race.[1][2][3]

The use of the term to describe changing racial identity has been criticized by members of thetransracial adoptioncommunity. Kevin H. Vollmers, executive director of an adoption non-profit, said the term is being "appropriated and co-opted", and that this is a "slap in the face" to transracial adoptees.[3]In June 2015, about two dozen transracial adoptees, transracial parents and academics published anopen letterin which they condemned the new usage as "erroneous, ahistorical, and dangerous."[3][4][5]

In April 2017, thefeminist philosophyjournalHypatiapublished an academic paper in support of recognizing transracialism and drawing parallels between transracial andtransgenderidentity.[6]Publication of this paperresulted in considerable controversy.The subject was also explored inTrans: Gender and Race in an Age of Unsettled Identities,a 2016 book by UCLA sociology professorRogers Brubaker,who argues that the phenomenon, though offensive to many, is psychologically real to many people, and has many examples throughout history.[7][8]

Examples

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  • Rachel Dolezal,known for identifying as a Black woman despite having been born toWhiteparents,[6][9][10]successfullypassedas Black, to the extent that she took over leadership of the Spokane branch of theNAACPin 2014, a year before she was "outed" in 2015
  • Martina Big,who was featured onMauryin September 2017, a woman of White ancestry who identifies as Black,[11][12][13]has hadmelanotaninjections administered by a physician to darken her skin and hair[11][12][13]
  • Jessica Krug,a White Jewish-American woman who identified as various Black and Afro-Latina ethnicities over time, including "North African Blackness," "US rooted Blackness," and "Caribbean rooted Bronx Blackness"[14][15]
  • Oli London,British influencer and singer who previously identified as Korean, and had numerous plastic surgeries to confirm his racial identity, modelled his appearance on his idol,BTSsingerJimin[16]
  • Korla Pandit,African-American musician who posed as anIndianfromNew Delhiin both his public and private life, was born John Roland Redd[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Valby, Karen."The Realities of Raising a Kid of a Different Race".Time.Archivedfrom the original on December 18, 2017.RetrievedDecember 17,2017.
  2. ^"Growing Up 'White,' Transracial Adoptee Learned To Be Black".NPR.January 26, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on December 25, 2017.RetrievedDecember 17,2017.
  3. ^abcKai-Hwa Wang, Frances(June 17, 2015)."Adoptees to Rachel Dolezal: You're Not Transracial".NBC News.Archivedfrom the original on January 1, 2018.RetrievedDecember 17,2017.
  4. ^Moyer, Justin Wm.(June 17, 2015)."Rachel Dolezal draws ire of transracial adoptees".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2017.RetrievedDecember 17,2017.
  5. ^Kimberly McKee, PhD; et al. (June 16, 2015)."An Open Letter: Why Co-opting" Transracial "in the Case of Rachel Dolezal is Problematic".Archivedfrom the original on March 13, 2018.RetrievedDecember 17,2017.
  6. ^abTuvel, Rebecca(2017). "In Defense of Transracialism".Hypatia.32(2): 263–278.doi:10.1111/hypa.12327.ISSN0887-5367.S2CID151630261.
  7. ^Trans: Gender and Race in an Age of Unsettled Identities.Princeton University Press.October 4, 2016.ISBN9780691172354.Archivedfrom the original on November 29, 2018.RetrievedMarch 13,2018.
  8. ^Brubaker, Rogers(2016)."Introduction"(PDF).Trans: Gender and Race in an Age of Unsettled Identities.Princeton, N.J.:Princeton University Press.pp. 1–11.ISBN9780691172354.Archived(PDF)from the original on May 27, 2019.RetrievedMarch 13,2018.
  9. ^Brubaker, Rogers(2015). "The Dolezal affair: race, gender, and the micropolitics of identity".Ethnic and Racial Studies.39(3): 414–448.doi:10.1080/01419870.2015.1084430.ISSN0141-9870.S2CID146583317.
  10. ^Horne, Marc (October 12, 2021)."Members can identify as black, disabled or female, university union insists".The Times.Archivedfrom the original on October 13, 2021.RetrievedOctober 20,2021.
  11. ^abLubin, Rhian (September 22, 2017)."White glamour model with size 32S breasts who spent £50k on cosmetic surgery now 'identifies as a black woman'".Daily Mirror.Archivedfrom the original on October 1, 2017.RetrievedOctober 1,2017.
  12. ^abValens, Ana (September 22, 2017)."White woman who 'transitioned' races to Black is back".The Daily Dot.Archivedfrom the original on September 29, 2017.RetrievedOctober 1,2017.
  13. ^abBido, Tatiana (March 20, 2018)."Woman Totally Changes Skin Tone Using Illegal and Harmful 'Barbie Drug'".Yahoo Life.RetrievedJanuary 6,2024.
  14. ^"The Layered Deceptions of Jessica Krug, the Black-Studies Professor Who Hid That She Is White".The New Yorker.September 12, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 7,2024.
  15. ^Lumpkin, Lauren; Svrluga, Susan (September 3, 2020)."White GWU professor admits she falsely claimed Black identity".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on September 5, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 5,2020.
  16. ^Neumann, Laiken (June 21, 2021)."'This is my new official flag': White influencer says they identify as Korean ".The Daily Dot.Archivedfrom the original on June 25, 2021.RetrievedJune 25,2021.
  17. ^Spickard, Paul (June 2022)."Shape Shifting: Toward a Theory of Racial Change".Genealogy.6(2): 48.doi:10.3390/genealogy6020048.ISSN2313-5778.

Further reading

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