tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177849904799703077.post8867012760498071544..comments2023-04-25T18:44:59.827-07:00Comments on Katy Acquaye Tonge: Mixed Race: A mixed matterKaty Acquaye-Tongehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01847461712945424001noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177849904799703077.post-23458462285445803942012-09-27T04:00:19.291-07:002012-09-27T04:00:19.291-07:00That's great Zazou, thank you for tweeting abo...That's great Zazou, thank you for tweeting about the post! I agree with your friend that 'the viewer's context' is key in how we define individuals. Each of us when looking at a person uses this personal 'viewer's context' to very quickly form an opinion about the person and unfortunately some peoples experience is very narrow, perhaps like your window cleaner! A similar experience I have had many times over the years is shock and disbelief that my mother is white. Many times as a teenager my friends parents would ask me to explain who this woman was as they had presumed I was 'black'. It still happens now, if my mum picks the kids up from school on my behalf the following day the majority of people will say 'I saw your mother-in-law'. I don't find this offensive but it does show that skin colour is hugely significant in how perceive others and the reality/fact/evidence of physical difference is still relevant in how we define identity and a sense of belonging. <br />On the subject of 'other', I was thinking just the other day what a great relief it is to no longer have to tick that 'other' box on forms and how that has a greater bearing on my own sense of 'otherness'. I agree that the 'other' is not marginalised in the same way as it was some years back and I definitely attribute that to the rise in visibility of mixed-race couples and mixed race children and the increase of 'mixed race' as an ethnic group in our country and society at large. Katy Acquaye-Tongehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01847461712945424001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177849904799703077.post-3535686753848771092012-09-26T09:09:19.759-07:002012-09-26T09:09:19.759-07:00So I've gone one further, and tweeted your pos...So I've gone one further, and tweeted your post out... this is such a rich topic, with so much to say. Thank you my dear friend for joining in and fuelling the topic. You are absolutely right, skin colour does "out" you, and as a good friend of mine also pointed out, it has everything to do with the viewer's context in terms of how they view you - the window cleaner who assumed I was the cleaner/nanny this week (honestly!) probably had his own views on where I should fit in as a norm... and it wasn't in a 3 storey house in West London! On the other hand, it's also still the case to some people that if you are not white you are "other" - although what I find interesting is that over recent years, the "other" is not necessarily as marginalised as in years gone by, or perhaps I am being naive and cocooned. I could go on and on and on!!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06079637140655451067noreply@blogger.com