How Imposter Syndrome Sinks Its Claws Into Multiracial Folks

At MHAScreening.org, we know that among Black, Indigenous, and Colored People (BIPOC) who conduct mental health screening, those who identified themselves as multiracial were most likely to be positive or at risk for alcohol / substance use disorders, anxiety, depression, Eating disorders and psychosis.

There is research showing that multiracial people have more behavioral problems than their mono racial counterparts. They are exposed to unique stressors and often find that it is difficult to connect with others – even other multiracial people. Most of the time, parents of multiracial people will not necessarily understand their struggles. Even among multiracial people, their experiences are so unique that talking to other multiracial people can feel incoherent and connection failure can occur.

For multiracial people, imposter syndrome goes deeper than our ability to compete with others for skills or knowledge. It can affect our cultural and ethnic identity. When you don't feel like you belong to a group of people, your experiences and your sense of identity can be questioned, especially if identity is often ingrained in the way the world sees you.

I can only speak to my experience, but as a Puerto Rican and a Chinese, I felt that I had to be "more" of these identities to be accepted by people who identified as Chinese or Puerto Ricans – including my own family – because I didn't look like them or had the same experiences as mono racial people. I have always been viewed as a "half" or "watered down" version of my Chinese and Puerto Rican identities.

Let's break down some of the problems multiracial people face.

Colorism

Within color communities there are examples of how fair-skinned or people with more traditional European characteristics are preferred as better or more desirable in these communities. It is important to recognize how we ourselves maintain within our communities the ideals of white supremacy based on "closeness to white".

Multiracial people with darker skin color – compared to the fair-skinned "ideal of beauty" of their communities – can be mocked, shunned and discriminated against by people in their own community.

Exclusion / Isolation

Multiracial people often feel left out of their communities. They are "too much" of something or "not enough". My own extended family loved and accepted my small mixed family very much, but there was always an inner feeling of being different. I didn't look like her, I couldn't speak like her, and I didn't have the same experiences as her.

A well-known systemic example of this kind of segregation of multiracial people is Japan's obsession with the “Hafu” (“half”) look while at the same time multiracial people in Japan are denied acceptance, rights and even citizenship.

This is especially outrageous when multiracial individuals who conform to the ideal "Hafu look" like Kiko Mizuhara are praised for their beauty and accepted as Japanese, while multiracial individuals who are not considered foreigners regardless of how they identify or identify themselves whether you have lived Japan all your life. Despite the love Mizuhara experiences as a celebrity in Japan, she also struggles with her biracial identity.

Lack of representation

One strange trend that has emerged in the media has been the use of multiracial identities to cast white actors or the use of multiracial individuals to cast characters who are ethnically monoracic. Some examples are the casting of:

Lana Condor, who is of Vietnamese descent, plays the role of Lara Jean Covey, a canonically Korean and white character;
Henry Golding, who is of Malaysian and English descent to play the role of Nick Young, a canonically Sino-Singaporean character; and
Emma Stone, a white American, plays the role of Allison Ng, a canonically Asian and Hawaiian character.

I'm not saying that only multiracial characters should only be played by multiracial individuals and vice versa, but there is definitely a draining feeling when you look forward to seeing a character similar to yours but are disappointed not to see an actor who this identity represents. This is a complicated and ongoing discussion between multiracial people, and there is no right or wrong answer, but something to think about.

Hollywood has never had a great track record of proper casting – especially for people with color. Overall, there aren't enough BIPOC or multiracial roles to get around at all, and I don't blame color actors for taking what they can get.

privilege

It's important to realize that some multiracial people have a lot of privileges depending on how people see you. For example, multiracial people who are fair skinned, white adjacent, or passing white have significantly different experiences than others. In a 2013 Medium article, the author identified biracial – half black and half white – and she and her siblings had significantly different experiences because the world identified them as white and their siblings as black.

While this privilege does not negate negative experiences due to identity or other difficulties in being multi-point, it is important to recognize the privilege associated with the ability to "come out" as identity – which is different from people who are automatically stereotyped are on their appearance. Even if your community does not accept you – especially if you have a Black or Indigenous heritage – it is still important to still stand up on unjust issues and use the privilege you have to navigate spaces that others cannot.

This is a difficult pill to swallow. I was there. But it's something we need to understand, learn, and grow from.

Find healing

There are communities like Mixed in America or Mixed Life Media that provide a community for multiracial people to connect, share, express and discuss these complex topics and ideas.

The APA Bill of Rights for People with Mixed Inheritance is a great place for people with mixed race heritage to find a mantra for themselves to find healing and self-acceptance.

Remember – you are not a racial cheater. You can define how you identify yourself. You are enough and you don't have to justify your existence to anyone.

This post courtesy of Mental Health America.

Photo by Kat Love on Unsplash.