The readings required for week one included "Invisible Monster" by Cindy Nakashima, "The Campaign for Racial Purity and the Erosion of Paternalism in Virginia, 1922-1930: 'Nominally White, Biologically Mixed, and Legally Negro'" by Douglas J. Smith, as well as "Race Mixings: A Brief History with Maps" by Arwin D. Smallwood. The readings provided apply to the theme of "Introduction Race Traitors and Art Production, the (In)visible Monster-Mutant and Eugenics" as these authors discuss the struggles and barriers faced by multiracial people such as issues of identity crises, objectification, or being perceived as “genetically inferior” in the social racial hierarchy. These readings also covered some of the history behind racial separation and categorization in the United States, and the attempts of those who aim to preserve the racial and ethnic hierarchies due to the social, economic, and political privileges and powers they receive from its maintenance. However, many platforms such as activism, academics, and art are being utilized by multiracial and multiethnic people to break down boundaries that try to box them into one category, and dismantle the misconceptions about their experiences and social constraints of “race,” “ethnicity,” and “culture.”
"Invisible Monster" by Cindy Nakashima highlighted the concept that people in our communities feel a constant need to categorize themselves. Nakashima focused on society’s need to label multiethnic people as one of their multiple ethnicities, and yet their mere existence challenges the social construct revolved around “race.” This related to an episode of a podcast on “Hidden Brain” that discussed our own underlying need to sort ourselves into categories, whether that be our astrological sign or our personality type. Doing this brings a sense of comfort and belonging; however, these labels have power over the expectations placed upon us by society. In turn, these can then influence or transform the paths of our lives. This relates to Nakashima’s writing as she talks about how multiracial people can feel out of place within the cultures they identify with, and how they struggle to find a sense of belonging as they are pressured to “choose” one label (176). This can then impact their experiences as someone of mixed race, as their internal conflict may be affected by the interactions and perceptions of those around them. Multiracial people are creating their own definition of who they are and are finding their own category to fit into. However, one question remains. Are we labelled based upon what we are, or do we become what we are labelled?
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