Mixed Girl Tag

So i recently came across some videos on youtube, of girls doing "the mixed girl tag". 

The mixed girl tag is basically a list of 10 questions for mixed race people to answer, and i thought it would be a really fun idea. My friend and i, plan on doing a video together on our holiday doing this for youtube, but i thought i would share my answers here with my readers. 

Lets go;

Q1. What are you mixed with?

I get asked this question alot! Usually its African men who question it, or white people who say "your half caste aren't you" (NO I'm MIXED RACE). I am mixed with white British and black Caribbean. My dads parents are from Jamaica and my mums mother is from Newcastle and father from Ireland. 

Q2. What ethnicity have you often been mistaken for?

Usually people correctly guess that i have Caribbean in me, i think what shocks them more is that my mum is white with blonde hair for some reason haha. I did recently visit Egypt, where alot of people all week were asking if i have Arab in me, apparently due to me having such big, brown eyes. 

Q3. Is your hair curly or straight?

My hair is curly :). As my readers know, it took me a long time to accept and love my hair this way, but now i wouldn't have it any other way. I once had a woman in a shop stare at me while serving.  She then asked "is that your real hair" to which i replied yes. She continued to stare at me and then said "oh but i bet you wish it was straight don't you" i told her i didn't and she still stared. "Don't you just wish it was straight sometimes though so you can manage it." again NO i manage my hair just fine! 

Q4. Was coming from different backgrounds challenging growing up? 

I was brought up and went to school in, a very mixed background anyway. There were blacks, whites, Asians, Arabs, everything. This meant that it didn't really matter, especially in my younger years. As i got older, is when i have noticed the difference. 

Q5. Which backgrounds do you embrace the most?

I like to think that i embrace both, but i have been accused of favouring one more than the other, due to my tastes in cooking/food, music and because i am so passionate about the natural movement and race issues. Personally i think i embrace both. 

Q6. Have you ever been teased for being different?

YES!  When i started high school, i once had a girl shout that "you're not black you're just dirty". There's always that thing of not being white enough for the white people or black enough for the blacks, or being too much of one. It's always "stop acting black" or "she hates her black side and thinks shes white". Sometimes, it feels like being stuck in the middle and never being able to do right. If you embrace one side, then you apparently must hate the other side, which is not true. I am both sides!

Q7. Have you ever been ashamed of being multi-racial?

In a way. Growing up i hated my hair and envied the white girls who had it so easy with their hair, but at the same time, i love everything else about having another race in me. My skin tone is perfect and now that i embrace my hair, i LOVE being multi-racial :) 

Q8. Do you feel that being mixed has its benefits?

It can do. I think that we defiantly draw the most attention, so if that's what you like then yes haha. As a mixed race person i also feel that when it comes to race issues, we aren't as dragged into it by most people, but at the same time i feel that this is because people don't think we have a right to feel offended by something someone says as we are "only half black/white/Asian etc". 

Q9. What makes being multi-cultural a beautiful thing?

The fact that we can embrace both sides so well. Knowing 2 different cultures and being able to mix them up and blend them together is beautiful! I am the best of two worlds :)

Q10. Any advice for someone who struggles with their multi-racial identity?

Embrace it, cherish it, and enjoy it. Theres always going to be things you want to change, but if you just had the one, you would want more. I think people always want something they don't have. Its a struggle sometimes finding where we fit in, but that place is one for you to discover on your own and not be forced into by one side. You can be both, you don't have to pick a side, despite what they may make you feel. Be you, be happy and enjoy being multi-racial. 

That's it for the questions on the list, but i thought i would also share with you, some of my own personal issues i have faced/overheard as a mixed race person. 

"Oh you think your it because you're lightskin" 
" Bet she doesn't even know about her black/white side"
" Is she black mixed race or white mixed race" < what the eff does this even mean?!
" Is your hair real"
" Are you adopted/is that really your mum?
" mixed race girls think they re the shit" 
" mixed race people don't know what its like as a black person" .... we "half" know right
"mixed race girls are taking over the natural hair movement. It's about black hair, not their type 3 long curls" < this last statement peed me off when i read it online. It is called NATURAL HAIR, not every mixed chick has the same hair type and curl pattern, our hair is still Afro hair, and we should still be included in this movement just as much as everyone else who has stopped using chemicals and heat, and started embracing their natural hair. Race doesn't play apart in this one. 
"she only likes black/white boys cos she hates her black/white side"
" i dont trust my man around mixed chicks"
" would you call your self black or white" 


Are you mixed? I would love to hear your answers and comments in the box below, or email them to me candi_curls@outlook.com

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