Ethnically Ambiguous's topics - tribe.net

hi group

2008-11-22T17:49:35Z

Hi my name is Abril. I am from african american & irish descent. I look forward to conversing with all of u. Be well.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 2 replies

raised in different ethnic atmosphere

2008-11-19T16:47:19Z

Hello all-
Love this tribe. Thought I would add my bit...My ethnic background is Egyptian bedouin (grandmother), Irish traveller (grandfather), hopi and Czech mix (father). I have partial albinism and was raised by an adopted family who were "white". I never fit in the white community, but as I get older and more albinism shows, I often can pass as white-although I'm not. I have dark brown almost black hair with white streak (like skunk) and sapphire blue eyes. My once olive skin is mottled and has white patches so I try to avoid the sun to lessen the difference. Nobody seems to be able to place me into an ethnic background, which is funny. Ah well, we are all unique and beautiful in our own way.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 2 replies

bi-racial article in Trace Magazine

2008-01-20T04:29:55Z

ck out the latest "Black girls rule" issue of trace magazine :)

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 0 replies

Angelina Jolie playing a multi racial character

2007-12-31T01:32:57Z

So what does everyone think about Angelina playing Marianne Pearl, wife of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl?

http://usmagazine.com/node/2870

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 12 replies

hello

2007-01-18T10:21:44Z

Is any one here?
What are your combined ethnicities people ?

On my mothers side my grandmother was Polish and German and my grandfather was Philippino.

My Dad was born and raised in Bagdhad, Iraq and is 100% Armenian

Crazy.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 20 replies

FishBird Showing, Brooklyn, JULY 15-16th

2006-07-09T23:05:41Z

I would love for you to be present for the showing of my project, FishBird.

Years ago I was talking to a woman who proclaimed the impossibility of interracial marriages saying, "A fish can love a bird but where would they live?"

Sponsored by the Brooklyn Arts Council, this is my attempt to answer that question. The exhibit uses interactive sculptures, photographs and interviews with multiracial New Yorkers, FishBirds, who share their experience of living between cultures and between races.

Best,
Katrina

______

You're invited to the opening of FishBird

Saturday 15th of July and Sunday 16th of July
Gallery Hours 12-5
Free

At UnionDocs
www.uniondocs.org
322 Union Avenue
L to Lorimer Street, walk down Union away from the BQE to #322
_______

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 0 replies

Poch@s?

2006-06-10T04:06:43Z

Are there any other poch@s around? How do you all deal with your pochedad? I tend to feel like a walking contradictioN: half mexa, half gringa, niether one and both... and vociferously anti-imperialist, which is perhaps the most difficult part. I live in Mexico now and feel more at home de este lado, although a lot of times i feel out of place too. I think it's often the dilemma of being two halves that are opposed: gringos hate mexicans, mexicans hate gringos (i know these are generalizations and there are many exceptions), but in general it's REALLY confusing. I think people who are arabic-jewish probably have a similar dilemma (any opinions on this are much appreciated!) This has been a huge dillema for me since i got back from Chile a year ago. And i've been wondering what others think. It's complex, yes, but mostly i want to open this to discussion. Thanks! Paz

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 0 replies

LilaDowns

2006-05-12T20:36:49Z

I found out she lives a couple blocks away from... by total coincidence... anyway the weird thing is that she's also a pocha and studied anthropology and i have the sneaking suspicion that she somehow shares some the same pocha identity crises. I actually have really wanted to meet her mainly because of that. But granted, i'd feel really weird just knocking one day and saying "hey! i'm a pocha!" so what should i do???

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 3 replies

New Member!

2006-04-19T16:07:58Z

Merry Meet All, I just joined the tribe and wanted to send some POSITIVE Blessings.

I wish you all Peace and Light,

CreoleMoon

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 2 replies

People stare

2006-02-02T01:20:23Z

Although I am a very ethnic looking minority amongst people where I live, I forget that fact most of the time. In fact my ethnicity does not cross my mind for weeks at a time. Most of my friends that I'm around aren't Chinese. In fact I've never had any close Chinese friends. Halfies, Indian/Irish, Chinese/Afro, but mostly caucasian.

I don't think about it much. People's ethnicities, I mean. I don't realize that it is probably more of a factor than I consider it to be, in many situations.

Like when people stare for example. I try to stay away from public places outside a small scene, but I notice that when I'm on the bus or in a Safeway, I get stared at a lot. Sometimes I'm cool with it, I understand. People don't often if ever see an elfy Chinese dready with piercings and eclectic classy style round here.

But may be sometimes it is just simply my race. ??

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 14 replies

NonStop Bhangra, AT Rickshaw Stop, Jan. 28th

2006-01-24T23:29:37Z

NonStop Bhangra (9)
*Voted Top 5 Global Nights,SF Bay Guardian, 2005
Check it out.
www.sfbg.com/40/11/bc-world.html

Saturday, Jan. 28th
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell Street (between vanness & franklin)
San Francisco

Time: 8:00pm-2:00am
Bhangra Lesson w/Vicki Virk: 9:00pm
Cover: $10/advance; $15/door

NonStop Bhangra returns to its monthly schedule. Come join the nonstop crew to celebrate the new year. Dedicated to spreading the beats from the east, the night kicks off with a bhangra dance lesson, adding unique dance performances that will blow you away, while live percussion, rockin dj's, and fresh visuals bring one of the cities best new parties to a boiling point.

Featuring: DJ's Jimmy Love,(NSB Resident), Earflaps(Katfive), JT(Explizit Dholies)...
Live: Dholrhythms Dance Troupe, Ferhan Qureshi(Tabla), Explizit Dholies(Dhol), Christo(Visuals, Future Primitive)

Check out pics from previous NonStop Bhangra Nights.
www.dholrhythms.com/index.php

more info: www.nonstopbhangra.com or www.dholrhythms.com

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 0 replies

new person with question

2006-01-12T05:09:54Z

hello all,
interesting posts. i am new to this tribe and to cyber communities generally.
i am indian and dutch and was born and grew up in Europe, also of a very mixed class and religous background. i had a completely different experience of race and what was most prominent for me, cultural identity. i was lucky in that i didn't have to fit myself into the kind of race code that exists here (I know there is one in Europe, very much so, but it is different). this was partly because i was privileged- middle class, which is something that is so important when talking about these issues (but its meaning varies across continents).

basically i never really had to name myself racially until i moved here 5 years ago, and then i went from simply mixed to confused about whether i could claim the label of person of color- as i certainly didn't want to be claimed as white (american). i'm still not sure because as you say here i can pass as -funny looking- white.

anyway, somewhere here was a question i meant to ask! It was whether any one else on the list has lived or grown up outside the US, and what their thoughts are on this? i think it's useful to compare racism across continents and learn...
saskia

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 7 replies

Family collaboration :: Poem

2005-10-01T05:52:34Z

Hi. My sisters and I collaborated on a poem that is of/about our ethnicity, appearance, related-ness... It's recently been published in a (very) small magazine with a "diversity" theme.

The poem was developed as a conversation between the three of us. They've given me permission to post it here, as this seemed like an appropriate spot to share it.

Please pardon the length.

Thank you,
Priscilla

========

Sisters: fully, flawlessly embodied
Elizabeth, Priscilla, Mollie

E:
My Sisters are white Inupiat
Their red hair shines like amber
Like a flame signaling their presence
In the grocery store or packed crafts fair
My sisters’ skin reflects the sun
With albedo nearing 100%
Root-shaped blue veins
Criss-cross their necks and temples
And their freckles grown darker and more
Numerous with every new summer
They pass for Caucasian
I can become Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Vietnamese
All at once
My shiny black hair, bushy dark eyebrows
Squinty little eyes and facial constitution scream NATIVE
Are you adopted? You don’t have the same parents, do you?
Yes, yes we do
The same two
I am white like they are Native
We are the full, flawless embodiment
Of our mother and father
The public assumes
The public judges
And through it
We remain
Sisters

P:
Pale.
I prefer to think of us as pale.
Members in good standing of the Redheaded Eskimos Club (REDESKLUB).

Described, in fine lines, letters carefully chosen and laid down by sister Three,
(named here as "E")
Whom I think looks like me.
When we smile, teeth cut a similar arc across our flexing faces -
Cheeks ball and press eyes narrower.

Lifting our shirts in the dressing room at The Gap;
Seeing our congruent shapes sliced into the mirror - from midrib to midhip.
Your scalp smells like you belong with us.
I have always claimed you.
“The full, flawless embodiment of our mother and father.”
Brilliant examples of the mysteries of genetics.
The magic that is being born and living.
The gift it is to always remain Sisters.

I think I’m odd-looking (some of the time)
I don’t look like other people, but I do resemble you two,
Which makes it a little less lonely.

Uncover Inupiaq, without dark skin and hair of black.
Green eyes and skin that’ll freckle
deaf to anyone who might heckle since
I know who I am,
And really don’t care to be judged by the color of the hair on my head
Which happens to grow sort of kinky and red.

The surface is slippery, blinding with shine.
My identity is that – mine all mine.
(elements shared, hue and line)
The fruit of the apple is beneath its skin.
This is the family for me to be in.

M:
My sisters are opinionated women.
Proud in the best sense.

Sensing, prodding, percolating
the mysterious artifice of skin.
Is “who” composed more of “what”
or “why”?

The details of seeming –
shapes and colors, lips and
eyes, theirs and mine –
work hard to confound the viewer.
“Are ya part oriental?” a cabbie asks of me,
Me, another member in good standing, having
paid my dues late and in Massachusetts.

More alike and more different, we three
could be a page in a picture book
demonstrating the spectrum of mother
to father in age descending order.

Just don’t ask us to speak,
‘cause you can’t tell the difference at all.
Except perhaps around the edges.
New England, Midwest, Down South.
A hint of place, spaces separating the physical
one more degree.

My sisters know.

Mixed blood. Stirred.
In our family, swirled, not
homogenized.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 3 replies

Film screening - please help shape an interracial love story

2005-09-01T18:52:29Z

"Americanese" is a romantic drama about an interracial love, multi-racial identity, and "the one that got away." The lead female is multi-racial and is torn about who the "right" man in her life should be. We're editing this groundbreaking film by an award-winning director, and need smart honest opinions to help shape the story before submission to Sundance.

We are holding several private screenings this week and need your opinions/ help to spread the word. These are small private discussions of 15 people, not in a huge theater where hundreds fill out cards. We will listen! Snacks/drinks will be provided.

If you’re interested, please PM me your name and phone number for location/details. If you know friends in the LA area who would be interested, please feel free to forward. We particularly need help finding African American voices for Thursday's screening.

Thursday 9/1 at 7 PM
Focus group: African Americans
at private home in Beverly Hills

Friday 9/2 at 7 PM
Focus group: moviegoers who like mainstream films
at private home in Beverly Hills

Saturday 9/3 afternoon/evening TBA
Focus group: moviegoers who like independent films
Burbank location TBA

Asian American screening TBA

Thanks much!!!

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 3 replies

What if...

2005-08-30T22:18:09Z

you are a 'WHITE' person mistaken for other races?
Has that happened to anyone else?
I say white for comedic value and to piss off people. I'm Italian American some Dutch a little French, my birth certificate says white, my parents's as well and their parents. I'm very Italian in spirit, body and heart but this has tended to piss off black or mixed race people AS WELL as your usual redneck school teacher when they don't get the answer they want.
Why is this such an issue for some people? Why can't people receive an answer and be cool with it ?

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 32 replies

just posting this here cause i like this tribe

2005-08-28T22:03:01Z

and thought maybe some of you might be interested...

you can watch this mural i'm working on from where you sit
if you live in reach of oakland, you can come help in person too. just drop me a line, we'll plug you in!

so far, people are really grooving on the fact
that i am blogging with pictures and stuff
each step of the way as i make this mural.

seems like some of you might be interested in checking it out

http://p207.ezboard.com/ftheemptyroomfrm33.showMessage?topicID=17.topic

because of the timeline its not a fully participatory community mural in the traditional sense. but as i go around asking for help, this mural's community gets larger and larger.

also fascinating is this idea that the internet could be used to broaden a mural's community. i hadn't thought of that before.

anyway, enjoy!

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 2 replies

Tell me

2005-08-26T05:08:44Z

Tell me this is a fun group! I just left the Hapa tribe, it seemed to be really luring and welcoming about people of mixed heritage. But, then there was this really long post about misappropriation of the term by non-Hawaiians, colonization, etc. I want to belong to something that makes me feel good, not feel bad. It is tough enough growing up in a family of split heritage (where neither side was happy about the other). I am fed up the racial divisions. I live by the phrase that there is one race and it is called human. So tell me something funny......

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 5 replies

Hey! New here...

2005-08-25T04:25:41Z

Hey guys! I just wanted to say whats up because I'm new :)

-Ash

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 6 replies

welcome all

2005-08-14T09:51:39Z

Hey guys

It's great to see so many new people here.
Enjoy!

Alberto

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 0 replies

Any Latino-Asian Folks Here?

2005-08-03T20:45:34Z

I am curious if anyone here is of Latin/Hispanic and Asian descent in this tribe. If so, how was it for you growing up, do you gravitate to one heritage or the other, and do you speak your parent's respective native languages? (Assuming they speak another language besides English.) I myself happen to be of this descent, plus European, so I am curious if there's anyone with this similarity.... and if we may share similar experiences.
The reason I ask is cuz I rarely come across anyone of that particular "mix"; I usually meet people who are Asian and white, or sometimes black, but hardly of this particular blend. Feel free to send me a message if you don't wish to share publicly.

Amor & Damai!

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 9 replies

another newbie here!

2005-08-02T00:09:49Z

Like a crazed lunatic, I ecstatically and repeatedly jumped for joy on my bed until the springs broke and then jumped up and down on my friend's bed until his springs broke, giddy with excitement over finding and joining this tribe.

Being your typical mish mash of English, French, Choctaw, Cherokee, Mongolian (Russian-Chinese), Spanish and Filipino, is it any wonder that I typically get asked "the question?"

On a more serious note, I look forward to the opportunities to share and connect with you all.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 1 reply

Justifying our Identity...Identitfying & Addressing Structural Racism

2005-07-18T05:01:44Z

Hi folks,

I'm sure that many of us have had the experience at one time or another finding ourselves explaining our mixed heritage/ethnicities/identities to someone. I identify as mixed, and of color. I've been accused of being assimilated by some folks of color, and I've felt amongst some whites to be the token person of color, and I've had the experience of "passing" amongst whites and also folks of color.

I'm really beginning to notice how much the idea and identification of "race" has to do with the dynamics of power--who has it, who doesn't, who benefits, etc.

I've been having interesting conversations with my Arab and Muslim friends regarding the bombing in London last week. Right after the bombing happend, Arab and Muslim organizations were bombarded by the news media asking why London was attacked (like they knew). Some Muslim
leaders in Britain were urging their community to stay indoors, fearing a backlash of violence and retribution. While others were saying that it's
important for Muslims to be more visible in the public eye, doing community outreach, public service, etc. Some Muslim organizations here in the U.S. want to "prove" to Americans that they are patriotic and abhor violence.

I believe that the need to prove and justify one's culture, ethnicity, nationality, race etc. is an example of neo-colonial structural racism. The dominant culture, in this case Western civilization, is demanding the Muslim community answer for the actions of individuals. I believe that structural racism demands that the "minority" group prove itself to the dominant culture.

The very nature of structural racism/oppression is that it is invisible to the culture perpetuating it. That is why it is easy for a beneficiary of white priviledge to think that racism was defeated in the '60's. They speak freely about the merits of a "color blind society," and believe that we're well on our way already.

I think that the issue of structural racism is a difficult one to address, because as long as its existence can be denied, the dominant culture feels secure. When folks try to address it's exisence, the dominant culture finds it easier to get rid of the the threat to their security than it is to address the problem, thereby maintaining the staus-quo. This type of civilization can only be maintained through force.

To address structual racism, one also has to address power (more on this in a later post).

So, what are the choices for people of color, our white allies, and those who identify as mixed? I believe that mixed folks have a lot to contribute around this issue. How do we get away from repeatedly attempting to explain, justify, placate, and appease in order to gain meager acceptance or avoid reprisals, while being fully aware that to not do these things is risky itself?

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 1 reply

an arts & politics (including race issues) forum is born

2005-07-17T20:34:40Z

hi. im birthing this forum that focuses mostly on art and left politics.

its all fresh and new and waiting for instigator types to help shape the place. hardly anyone in there right now but it has a lot of potential. who ever gets involved at this point would be key in developing the character of the place.

you can put pictures and stuff in each post.

im still adding a forum or two more and working on the design of the place.

i would be honored by your presence. come check it out: http://p207.ezboard.com/btheemptyroom

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 1 reply

hi everyone, newbie

2005-07-08T21:53:16Z

Hey y'all,
I'm new here. I've been reading your posts and you seem like a group of intelligent, open-minded good folks. I identify as Latina, Peruvian-American specifically, but I had a Moroccan grandparent and all grandparents are mixed (as most Peruvians are). I also feel a connection with Native Americans, given that my features take after that side of my background. For the longest time, the guessing game bugged me. It's also hard being Latina and not looking like the stereotype that 's perpetuated by the media, both in English and Spanish.
Anyhow, I'm happy to join you all.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 4 replies

Oh, GOOD! A tribe I can relate to FINALLY!

2005-07-08T21:24:27Z

Thank the Buddha! A tribe for the ethically ambiguous, what a GREAT IDEA!! I can't wait until --* uhh, huh? How did you spell that? E-T-H-N-I-C-A-L-L-Y? Ethnically? Eth-NI-cally?!! Ahh, darn, and here I was hoping for some thoroughly-but-amorally borderline, philosophically tentative friends. The kind of citizens who want to protest the war in Iraq, but support the President because they like the big tax break the Bushwhakers gave'em for their Hummer Twos ...... JOKING!!

Relax, I'm as much of a mutt as the rest of you ne'er-do-wells --in fact, probably more so, because it's been stated publically by a nationally-recognized geneticist that the Meares/Burrell family trees spread out further than the fungal mat that grows under Cincinatti-- although that doesn't mean I'm gonna be an overly-serious, humorless prune about it.

I don't think I could come up with a pretentious phrase to fully describe it (as with Tiger Woods' "Cablanasian" -- sheesh!), but I can still spend the better portion of an afternoon at a downtown bar winning bets as to who's got the more varied lineage.

So, who here besides me goes onto the Mormons' Geneology Web-site just so you can send those poor, hard-workin' religious folk into fits of apoplexy whenever they try to make linear sense of your families' histories? Let me hear from you, guys; I'm sure we could get into some wickedly righteous fun if we try hard enough, ya know whaddi'm sayin', brothers and sisters?

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 2 replies

self-love/hate

2005-07-08T14:26:23Z

ok. i've been pondering this lately. (and again, im cross posting in other mixed race tribes...)

has anyone else ever noticed the phenomena of mixed folks having a tendency to at the same time, love some things about their mix, but also have more hate towards one or more of the races they are mixed with? like more so than those who are relatively racially "pure"? and what's that about?

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 9 replies

Today's children/Yesterday's children

2005-05-23T03:34:27Z

Today's kids, especially in the Bay Area are such a diverse group and are very happy to explore other cultures especially if they are a combo thereof. What was your experience as a little kid? What do you observe these days via kids in your life regarding diversity?

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 2 replies

onomatology.

2005-05-20T05:00:14Z

Anyone know where the term "Spade" comes from, I mean, if it's a playing card, then there's clubs too, or the garden implement is a metal color... or, maybe a used spade, covered in soil?
I have no idea, just wondering. I've heard the term used in a derogitory way, but only recently. I had never heard it that way and the saying "Call a spade a spade" never had any meaning, just some odd coloqualism.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 3 replies

Chinamutt

2005-05-19T05:14:25Z

Cool tribe! People are always asking me about my racial background. They get tripped out because "I'm not Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Phillipino, etc." Some think I'm native and someone once asked me if I was a "Chinese-Jamaican", (apparently there's a whole racial group in the Caribean), I've got dreadlocks, so I like that idea. Actually I'm just a chinamutt with round eyes and curly hair.

I had a dream once, a strong image of an ethnically ambiguous androgenous deity emerged... A luminous being who was a beautious mix of every race. We are all one.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 12 replies

Mulattos & Bisexuals

2005-05-19T05:08:25Z

Hi folks,

I'm a student in New College of CA's masters program in Activism & Social Change. My thesis project is organizing Fluid, a community for folks who don't fit into conventional social categories (ie those of sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, class, ability, attractiveness, etc). www.groups.yahoo.com/group/SFFluid

For my research seminar, I'm conducting interviews so that I can answer the following question:

How are the experiences of bisexuals in the lesbian, gay, and straight communities similar and different to those of mulattos in the black and white communities?

I'M LOOKING FOR FOLKS WHO IDENTIFY AS OR GET CATEGORIZED AS MULATTO FOR 2-3 ONE HOUR INTERVIEWS.

If you are interested, please email me at heidimisken@yahoo.com ASAP.

Thanks!

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 2 replies

how do u identify

2005-05-19T05:06:38Z

hi all,

i'd like to hear how everyone identifies in terms of their race, ethnicity, nationality, ancestry, etc.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 18 replies

Everytime I read this tribe

2005-05-07T20:10:04Z

I misread the name as "Ethically Ambiguous". I know thats not the tribe's name. It would make for an interesting tribe.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 1 reply

Interviews Sought for Innovative Biracial Triracial Book

2005-05-07T13:44:05Z

Hi! I am triracial with a multiracial & intercultural family--yick, I hate that word "racial" b/c it is just a social construct anyway. I am writing a book on the history of biracial and triracial culture in America up to the present day. The book will come out next year. I am seeking folks to interview to present diverse points of view that goes beyond my research and personal experiences. For the purposes of my book biracial is referring to people of African and European descent while triracial is Native American, African and European descent--though we all realize there are many ways to be biracial and triracial.

I am especially interested in hearing from people who are associated with traditionally recognized triracial groups such as the Melungeon, Lumbee, Red Bones, Creole, Guineas, Brass Ankles, Black Indians, etc., If you have a unique story to tell about yourself, your upbringing or your family history please send me a message. If it is a good fit and doesn't duplicate interviews I have already we can communicate via email. The book is considered an academic title, written for an academic publisher and will be used primarily in college settings to educate folks. Of course, my writing style is more relaxed than most stodgy academic titles and I like to break up the history and references with lively interviews written in a conversational style. I've got to tell you though, this is being written on a shoe-string; your payment will be helping folks better understand what it means to be biracial and triracial; hopefully you will help other people feel impowered by sharing your story; your name will be published and you will be thanked within the book; I will give you a free, signed, first edition copy of the book; that is all I can afford. Sound interesting? Have a story to tell? Cool family photos you'd like to share with the world? Message me.
Ayido

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 0 replies

us "white ones"

2005-05-05T06:39:34Z

don't all raise your hands at once or anything. i know how proud we all all of our white herritage!

anyway, you probably already kinda know who you are. you are mixed with white somewhere down the line. you are like me - kinda can get taken for white or are at least seen as kinda white by the non-white part of your mix and maybe probably by many people of color.

so the question is, do you consider yourself a person of color?

and very closely related but not quite the same, do you FEEL like a person of color?

my answer to each of those questions is yes.

but i get shit from people for that. how can that be possible they wonder.

ironically, what makes me not feel white is my passing ability. i get up around white folks who might assume im white or at least feel kinda "safe" with me and i hear things. or maybe they even know what i am but they are kinda ignorant so they say some shit. some kind of culture as cute comodity type thing. you know what i mean.

so i get around these people and i know i do not think like a white person. so i do not feel white. i have to leave it that undefined tho because while i feel like a person of color, i don't feel like a person of any particular color. i feel, simply, mixed.

im cross posting in other mixed type tribes.... sorry if thats annoying.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 3 replies

SF Fluid Internship!

2005-02-16T06:30:09Z

INTERNSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT:
SF FLUID RACE COMMUNITY CO-ORGANIZER

Organization: SF Fluid

The San Francisco chapter of Fluid is a community for people who don’t fit into conventional social categories. Primarily, SF Fluid is a queer group for folks who don’t fit into conventional categories of sex, gender, gender expression, relationship roles, and sexuality, the boxes of female and male, woman and man, feminine and masculine, femme and butch, bottom and top, lesbian, gay, and straight. Many folks in SF Fluid identify as queer, poly-emotional, fluid, FTM, a-sexual, androgynous, power queer, polyamorous, metamorphasexual, intersex, MTF, genderqueer, bi-gender, a-gender, tranzfag, switch, bisexual, bisensual, inter-gender, heteroflexible, transgendersexual, homoflexible, and pansexual, and many folks in SF Fluid do not identify with any labels in relation to their sex, gender, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation.

Currently, SF Fluid is expanding to include folks who do not fit into conventional categories of race, the boxes of Native American, African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Caucasian. Many folks in SF Fluid identify as multi-racial, hapa, and bi-racial, and many folks in SF Fluid do not identify with any labels in relation to their race.

SF Fluid hosts discussion and support group meetings, social gatherings, special events, and speaker presentations. Folks at SF Fluid get the opportunity to meet folks like and unlike themselves, to talk about common and uncommon experiences, to support each other, to laugh, to learn, and to have fun.

To learn more about SF Fluid and/or to join the email listserves, please visit the following websites:

San Francisco Chapter of Fluid Events and Announcements:
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/SFFluid

Fluid Online Discussion Group:
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/Fluid_Discussions

(Please note, there is also a chapter of Fluid in Berkeley. The events and announcements home page is www.groups.yahoo.com/group/fluid )

Position: Race Community Co-Organizer

SF Fluid is seeking a community organizer to help develop SF Fluid so that it better serves folks who don’t fit into conventional categories of race, the boxes of Native American, African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Caucasian.

Responsibilities:
· Work, communicate, and attend occasional meetings with the other organizers of SF Fluid.
· Help organize and facilitate support and discussion group meetings, social gatherings, special events, and speaker presentations that serve folks who don’ t fit into conventional categories of race.
· Help organize the Fluid race community in whatever other manner is appropriate and effective.

Qualifications:
· Experience as a person who does not fit into conventional categories of race, or strong familiarity with the issues of such folks.
· Understanding of racism/white supremacy and dedication to dismantling it.
· Familiarity with and dedication to the queer community.
· Familiarity with the issues of folks who don’t fit into conventional categories of sex, gender, gender expression, and sexual orientation preferred.
· Understanding of and dedication to social justice and radical change.
· Good communication skills—verbal, written, etc.
· Creativity and energy.
· Good organizational, time management, and networking skills.
· Experience fulfilling above mentioned responsibilities preferred.

Schedule:
· 5-10 hours per week, flexible.

Compensation:
· This work pays in terms of fulfillment, but not money.

To Apply:
· Please send an informal letter stating your interest and qualifications via email to heidimisken@yahoo.com or via mail to 3639 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110.

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noobie

2005-01-19T05:38:14Z

Just a hello from a new member....

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 1 reply

new member..

2004-12-06T05:51:32Z

coming thru to say hello and introduce myself to all u beautiful people..

keke

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hey new member!!Someone stole my catch phrase!!

2004-11-16T21:20:12Z

Hey there everyone!! I don't know if my pics are up here but if you saw me, one could automatically classify me as racially ambiguous, as I have been saying for years...I am a walking recessive gene and am very glad to shout it from the hills.

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SF Fluid Mtg Nov 7-- Race & Ethnicity

2004-11-01T22:44:17Z

Hi folks, please forward widely!!

NEXT SF FLUID EVENT!

WHAT: SF Fluid Discussion-- "The Fluidity of Race & Ethnicity"

WHEN: Sunday, November 7, 1:00 PM

WHERE: New College of CA's Media Room-- 741 Valencia St

WHO: Folks who don't fit neatly into conventional categories of race & ethnicity and their allies

DIRECTIONS: New College of California's Media Room is located at 741 Valencia St (between 18th and 19th). If traveling via BART: Exit at the 16th St station. Walk South on Mission to 18th St. Take a right on 18th St. Take a left on Valencia.

***TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SF FLUID: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/SFFluid

***TO GET ON THE SF FLUID EMAIL LIST: Send an email to SFFluid-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com

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SF Fluid Mtg Oct. 24

2004-10-19T01:51:24Z

Please forward widely!!

Do others miscategorize you because of the way your body looks?

Do you feel straight-jacketed by main stream categories of sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, class, age, ability, etc?

Do you feel isolated, like you just don't fit in?

COME TO FLUID!!!

Fluid will be meeting for a casual lunch on Sunday, October 24, at 1:00 PM. The restaurant is "Cafe 16" (3170 16th St, between Valencia & Guerrero. Take BART to the 16th St station and then walk West on 16th St for a few blocks).

Please join us if you do not fit neatly into categories such as lesbian, gay, straight, woman, man, female, and male; black, African American, hispanic, Latino, Asian, Asian American, Native American, white, and Caucasion; underclass, working class, middle class, upper middle class, and upper class; child, teenager, young adult, adult, middle-aged, and senior citizen; able-bodied and disabled; and any other social categories!

***Learn more about SF Fluid at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/SFFluid

***Subscribe to the SF Fluid email list by sending an email to SFFluid-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com

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SF Fluid Mtg Oct 24

2004-10-19T01:51:18Z

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cover girl

2004-10-18T23:05:56Z

i just wanted to say *Sigh* i LOVE our cover girl :)

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 5 replies

new tribe

2004-10-15T05:44:58Z

its a salma hayek temple of worship:)

salmahyek.tribe.net

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 1 reply

what's your flavor?

2004-10-14T13:54:26Z

I'm 1/2 Colombian, 1/2 Irish

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 25 replies

In keeping with the last topic, what are you most often mistaken for?

2004-10-07T22:38:13Z

I get Hawaiian, Samoan (at 5'6", that's probably a little unlikely), and various other random guesses at some sort of polynesian.
I occasionally get Chinese, although that's only from older Chinese folks here in the Bay Area.
Black people usually can tell I'm hapa black, but I occasionally get some really strange guesses from them too.

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 19 replies

A question on identity:

2004-09-22T20:04:37Z

Hello my ethnically ambiguous brothers & sisters!

A question: Do you have an ethnic group (or groups) that you identify strongly with? Does it happen to be an ethnicity that is part of your genetic mix? Or is it an entirely different group whose ethnicity you don’t share?

Being able to “pass” as many different ethnicities, I’ve always felt like I could fit in to a wide variety of situations and people... Ah, the joys of ethnic ambiguity!

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 20 replies

new member

2004-07-13T19:58:37Z

Hello everybody, Im half Scottish half Pakistani, raised Muslim in the Central Valley now an atheist in the Bay Area. Do I qualify?

posted in Ethnically Ambiguous - 5 replies

Generation E.A.: Ethnically Ambiguous

2004-01-22T10:04:36Z

By RUTH LA FERLA

December 28, 2003 (NYTimes) -- Each week, Leo Jimenez, a 25-year-old New Yorker, sifts through a mound of invitations, pulling out the handful that seem most promising. On back-to-back nights earlier this month, he dropped in to Lotus on West 14th Street for the unveiling of a new fashion line, and turned up at the opening of Crobar, a dance club in Chelsea, mingling with stars like Rosie Perez, long-stemmed models and middle-aged roués trussed in dinner jackets. Wherever he goes, Mr. Jimenez himself is an object of fascination. "You get the buttonhole," he said. "You get the table, you get the attention."

Mr. Jimenez, a model, has appeared in ads for Levi's, DKNY and Aldo, but he is anything but a conventional pretty face. His steeply raked cheekbones, dreadlocks and jet-colored eyes, suggest a background that might be Mongolian, American Indian or Chinese. In fact he is Colombian by birth, a product of that country's mixed racial heritage, and he fits right in with the melting-pot aesthetic of the downtown scene. It is also a look that is reflected in the latest youth marketing trend: using faces that are ethnically ambiguous.

Ad campaigns for Louis Vuitton, YSL Beauty and H&M stores have all purposely highlighted models with racially indeterminate features. Or consider the careers of movie stars like Vin Diesel, Lisa Bonet and Jessica Alba, whose popularity with young audiences seems due in part to the tease over whether they are black, white, Hispanic, American Indian or some combination.

"Today what's ethnically neutral, diverse or ambiguous has tremendous appeal," said Ron Berger, the chief executive of Euro RSCG MVBMS Partners in New York, an advertising agency and trend research company whose clients include Polaroid and Yahoo. "Both in the mainstream and at the high end of the marketplace, what is perceived as good, desirable, successful is often a face whose heritage is hard to pin down."

Ambiguity is chic, especially among the under-25 members of Generation Y, the most racially diverse population in the nation's history. Teen People's current issue, devoted to beauty, features makeovers of girls whose backgrounds are identified on full-page head shots as "Puerto Rican and Italian-American" and "Finnish-German-Irish- and Scotch-American."

"We're seeing more of a desire for the exotic, left-of-center beauty that transcends race or class," Amy Barnett, the magazine's managing editor, said. It "represents the new reality of America, which includes considerable mixing," she added. "It is changing the face of American beauty."

Nearly seven million Americans identified themselves as members of more than one race in the 2000 census, the first time respondents were able to check more than one category. In addition, more than 14 million Latinos — about 42 percent of Latino respondents — ignored the census boxes for black or white and checked "some other race," an indication, experts said, of the mixed-race heritage of many Hispanics — with black, white and indigenous Indian strains in the mix.

The increasingly multiracial American population, demographers say, is due to intermarriage and waves of immigration. Mixed-race Americans tend to be young — those younger than 18 were twice as likely as adults to identify themselves as multiracial on the census.

"The younger the age group, the more diverse the population," said Gregory Spencer, who heads the Census Bureau's population projections branch.

It is no surprise that the acceptance of a melting-pot chic is greater in places like downtown New York, where immigrants and young people flood in. On a recent evening Pedro Freyre, 26, an artist of French, Mexican and Spanish heritage, was strolling there with his cap tilted to accentuate his cheekbones. "We are the new mix," Mr. Freyre said, borrowing the language of the D.J. booth. "We are the remix."

Mr. Jimenez, the model, said that being perceived as a racial hybrid "has definitely opened doors for me." He added, "suddenly there is a demand for my kind of face."

Ahmed Akkad, 44, a New York artist who is Turkish and Albanian, said that being an ethnic composite "sometimes gives you an edge, a certain sexual appeal."

But some multiracial 20-somethings view their waxing popularity with skepticism. "Back home in Minneapolis, I sometimes feel like a trophy," said Ryoji Suguro, a 28-year-old lighting director of Sri Lankan and Japanese descent. "When you're introduced, it's sometimes like, `Oh, here is my exotic friend,' " said Mr. Sugoro, who shared cocktails with his girlfriend, who is Korean and Caucasian, at Max Fish on the Lower East Side.

Carrie Hazelwood, 30, an art dealer's assistant who is Welsh, Swedish and American Indian, is put off by advertisers' efforts to exploit mixed ethnicity. "They are just trying to cover their bases — casting as if they were solving a math problem," she said.

Mr. Diesel, 36, the star of action-adventure films like "The Fast and the Furious," once downplayed his multiracial heritage, saying in public only that his mother is Irish and his father's background was unknown. But in more recent interviews he has acknowledged that his mixed background has been an asset, allowing him to play all types of roles and ethnicities.

Among art directors, magazine editors and casting agents, there is a growing sense that the demand is weakening for P&G (Procter & Gamble), industry code for blond-haired, blue-eyed models.

"People think blond-haired, blue eyed kids are getting all the work, but these days they are working the least," said Elise Koseff, vice president of J. Mitchell Management in New York, which represents children and teenagers for ads and television. Instead, Ms. Koseff said, actors like Miles Thompson, 13, who is Jamaican, Native American and Eastern European, are in demand. Miles has appeared on the television show "Third Watch" and will be in ads for Microsoft's Xbox video game player.

As evidence of the trend, Ms. Koseff exhibited a selection of "casting breakdowns," descriptions from television producers of roles to be filled. "Sarah, 16 to 18 years old. Light complexioned African-American. Could be part Brazilian or Dominican," read one request from CBS for its daytime serial "As the World Turns." "Zach, 12 to 14, African-American. Zach's father is Caucasian," stated another, from the producers of "Unfabulous," a pilot for Nickelodeon.

Ethnically ambiguous casting has been slower to make inroads in the fashion world. The casting of multiracial models "is just beginning," said Nian Fish, the creative director of KCD in New York, which produces fashion shows. "Fashion is taking its lead from Hollywood."

One who typifies the trend is Ujjwala, a model from India and the new face of YSL Beauty, a prestigious cosmetics brand. "Ujjwala is a woman of color," said Ivan Bart, the director of IMG Models, which represents her, "but look at her and begin to play a guessing game: Is she Mexican, Spanish, Russian? The fact you can't be sure is part of her seductiveness."

Such is the power of ethnic ambiguity that even megastars like Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, and Beyoncé Knowles have, from time to time, deliberately tweaked their looks, borrowing from diverse cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Thus, Beyoncé, an African-American, sometimes wears her hair blond; Ms. Lopez, who is Puerto Rican, takes on the identity of a Latina-Asian princess in the latest Louis Vuitton ads, and Christina Aguilera, who is half Ecuadorean, poses as a Bollywood goddess on the cover of the January Allure, which arrives on newsstands this week.

Their willful masquerade reflects a current fascination with the racial hybrid, according to Linda Wells, Allure's editor in chief, a fascination the magazine does not hesitate to exploit. "Five years ago, about 80 percent of our covers featured fair-haired blue-eyed women, even though they represented a minority," Ms. Wells said. Today such covers are a rarity. "Uniformity just isn't appealing anymore," she said.

Global marketers like H&M, the cheap chic clothing chain with stores in 18 countries, increasingly highlight models with racially indeterminate features. "For us the models must be inspiring and attractive and at the same time, neutral," said Anna Bergare, the company's Stockholm-based spokeswoman. The campaigns contrast notably with the original marketing strategy of Benetton, another global clothing chain, whose path-breaking 1980's ads highlighted models of many races, each very distinct. These days even Benetton's billboards play up the multiracial theme. In a typical campaign, a young man with Asian features and an Afro hairdo is posed beside a blue-eyed woman with incongruously tawny skin and brown hair with the texture of yarn.

Such a transition — from racial diversity portrayed as a beautiful mosaic to a melting pot — is in line with the currently fashionable argument that race itself is a fiction. This theory has been advanced by prominent scholars like K. Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy at Princeton, and Evelyn Hammond, a professor of the history of science and Afro-American studies at Harvard. In a PBS broadcast last spring, Ms. Hammond said race is a human contrivance, a "concept we invented to categorize the perceived biological, social and cultural differences between human groups."

More and more, that kind of thinking is echoed by the professional image makers. "Some of us are just now beginning to recognize that many cultures and races are assimilating," said John Partilla, the chief executive of Brand Buzz, a marketing agency owned by the WPP group. "If what you're seeing now is our focus on trying to reflect the blending of individuals, it reflects a societal trend, not a marketing trend."

"For once," Mr. Partilla added, "it's about art imitating life."

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