We met about 8 months ago, and from the start, it was clear she carried a complex relationship with race. She was born in the Caribbean to white Swedish parents but was adopted as a baby by a family of black Nigerian descent. Growing up in the US where race is often viewed through an oversimplified lens only added to her internal conflict she had. Her adoptive family even holds fringe political views about sovereignty and independence, including support for the separation of various territories from their respective countries. It’s safe to say she’s spent her life surrounded by people with shifting or non-traditional identities. She may have been assigned white at birth, but everything in her heart tells her that she is black, and that race is more than just skin color. Much more.

What impresses me most about her is her deep sense of empathy. She’s long been a supportive voice for both the transgender and transracial communities. She’s the kind of person who gives validation freely and without strings. Still, she’s faced constant pushback sometimes harsh and relentless simply for saying she understands what transracial people go through. That kind of hostility silenced her for a while, especially online where things can get ugly fast.

But now, something has changed. She recently embraced her own transracial identity publicly, and honestly, I didn’t expect it but I deeply admire her courage. She’s decided she’s done hiding and is now facing the world unapologetically. Watching her speak up for herself has reminded me how crucial it is for all of us to do the same.

So please stand up for who you really are inside and be your true and authentic selves. When you stay quiet, it doesn’t just affect you, it affects everyone trying to be seen. Solidarity matters. I stand with the trans community, and I stand with the transracial community. We’re not rivals. We’re allies.

    • Jamboree@lemmy.cafeOPEnglish
      29·
      3 days ago

      I didn’t realize the amount of keywords one uses to describe how proud they feel about their friend standing up for trans identities makes those trans identities invalid, unless I’m misunderstanding you.

  • Proudly Green@feddit.ukEnglish
    34·
    3 days ago

    For the record, I support you. Just understand that a lot of people on Lemmy only support what’s trendy or what their bubble tells them to support. Most haven’t taken the time, and won’t take the time, to actually look into the logic or legitimacy of transracial identity. If there aren’t viral TikToks about it or high-profile progressives endorsing it, they won’t touch it.

    There are thoughtful essays and a small number of people speaking up, but it’s still a niche topic. Instead of reading articles or engaging with the arguments, many will just write you off as a troll. It’s easier for them than thinking critically.

    But here’s the truth: the logic behind transracial identity is not that different from transgender identity. Both involve a deep personal identification that can clash with the category assigned at birth. Both challenge rigid social constructs about what race and gender even are. And both can involve real psychological and cultural alignment, not just superficial imitation.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans:_Gender_and_Race_in_an_Age_of_Unsettled_Identities

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transracial_(identity)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypatia_transracialism_controversy

    Give it a few years. The same people mocking this now will pretend they were always open-minded about it.

    I support you, and I’m transracial myself. I expect to catch bans and hate DMs for saying that—from the same people who swear they’re anti-hate and all about inclusion.

    • Jamboree@lemmy.cafeOPEnglish
      12·
      3 days ago

      Thank you. This is refreshing to see after the comments this post got, and if anything, while they make me disappointed regarding the hypocrisy many allies wear like a badge of pride, they just make me even more proud of my friend for standing up to people online despite the harsh comments she has faced. I agree it may not be as common or even “mainstream” compared to transgender, but popularity isn’t an arbiter of the validity of a person’s identity. I believe there’s a logical fallacy named after this called argumentum ad populum. The fact it is recognized as a logical fallacy is telling. I have hopes that in the future more people will realize that transracial identities have just as much logical grounding as transgender identities. It literally hurts nobody that someone identifies as something other than what was assigned to us at birth. We don’t live forever, so why not make people feel good in their own bodies since both transgender people and transracial people struggle with issues of self-love.

      I’m transracial myself

      Cool. I hope you have supportive people around you and the transphobia in the comments is not representative of your experience. You are valid and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You have my support and can DM me whenever you want to. Mind if I ask what you identify as?

      • Proudly Green@feddit.ukEnglish
        23·
        3 days ago

        Cool. I hope you have supportive people around you and the transphobia in the comments is not representative of your experience. Mind if I ask what you identify as?

        Thank you! I actually don’t tell anyone I’m transracial except my partner. As you probably saw from most of the replies here, Lemmy, supposedly a bastion of diversity and equality, got hateful real fast. Real life isn’t much different.

        The furry community, another group that’s often ostracized, has actually been very open to it. My partner is a furry, and while I’m not, I’ve been to several conventions to support her passion. People there have been super cool and respectful during transracial discussions.

        I identify as Sub-Saharan African, specifically from the Kalenjin ethnic group of Kenya.

        • Jamboree@lemmy.cafeOPEnglish
          23·
          3 days ago

          No problem. I’m here for you if you need me, and I’m sorry you had to see all those comments. I did not know that about the furry community, but I’ll give extra points to the furry community if they’re much more accepting. That’s a good start, especially considering that a significant portion of the furry community are LGBTQ+. I’m very glad your partner is supportive of you and you also support her community as well. Good on you!

          I identify as Sub-Saharan African, specifically from the Kalenjin ethnic group of Kenya.

          Awesome. I’m looking into it now. Do you have any plans on travelling to Kenya? Or have you already been? If so I’d love to read about your experiences.

          • Proudly Green@feddit.ukEnglish
            13·
            3 days ago

            Yes I’ve actually been to Kenya. It was a deeply personal trip, and to be honest, it’s where things properly fell into place for me. I didn’t go there expecting anything big, but as I spent time among the people, listening, learning, just being present, something shifted in me. It wasn’t immediate, just a slow, steady realisation. But it was very real.

            It became clear that this wasn’t just about interest or respect. It was about belonging. Identity. To sound somewhat cliche, I found myself.

            That said, with the way Lemmy’s been lately, so quick to mock or judge, I’m a bit reluctant to go into too much detail. Maybe in future I’ll write a proper post about it, when I feel it might actually be taken seriously.

  • Jamboree@lemmy.cafeOPEnglish
    24·
    3 days ago

    To the people downvoting this and brigading, I politely ask you why exactly you’re so peeved about my friend supporting transracial identities. In both my and my friend’s eyes, transracial identities are just as valid as transgender, and we have both yet to hear good reasoning for why transracial identities are supposedly “invalid” while transgender ones are not. Just for clarification reasons, we both think transgender and transracial identities are valid and those people should be loved and supported. It’s just that when people make arguments against transracialism, there are always eerie parallels to the arguments that transphobes use to invalidate transgender people. You can almost unanimously change a keyword and have the argument be something that TERFs have used for years against transgender women, for example. I have yet to see one argument against transracial identities that wasn’t just de facto transphobia. So far, all I’ve had is either radio silence or ad hominem attacks when I politely asked for reasoning. Surely, Lemmings can do better.