Yeah, except men were taught this strategy for the following reasons: a) not be a sissy (i.e. a woman, or gay), and b) to stuff everything inside and eventually self-destruct.

During Someone Else's Crisis/Emergency: ...don't blather on to buffer the pain, or try to offer your own stories up as comparative..."

Whereas in my experience, the speech bubble for nearly all women simply reads:

It will end when feminist theory can reasonably address the issues of ethnicity, class, and nationality.

It is quite strange that people talk about race in the most literal terms of black and white. It's not like the US has a 50/50 population of Caucasian and African American.

And that's why I mentioned that I wasn't surprised by the racial division of search terms.

i get that. when i was a kid, i 'belonged' to the punk rock scene, the skateboard scene, etc.

that does sound like complete bullshit to me (the 'half asian, half racism' thing). and you're certainly right about my 'passing' as insulation from racism. i do get asked, but i can say whatever i want (italian, jewish, etc).

Perhaps I misunderstood, and I certainly meant no offense. Apologies.

I understand your frustration. And to further this convo, it's worth noting that black people represent 1/10 of the US population - a subset and a minority in the most literal of terms. Minority populations, regardless of country/location, tend to adhere strongly to a distinct and largely singular cultural identity.…

Thanks for your comment. Would you mind sharing the general area in which you live? I've lived in Brooklyn and Oakland, for example. Also, I'm half black, fyi.

Thanks! But it seems like the 'code-switching' you do in your family has less to do with ethnicity/race than nationality and familial dynamics. I'm much more comfortable with these forms of differences, and I certainly deal with some of those myself!

Hm. thinking the thoughts here...

You're not a 'freak', but your racist friends are.

I'm half black and half white, and do not have the same issues.

Though I agree with the overall point of your statement, I don't think it's that easy.

You know, this is a really difficult thing to approach. Though I have black family and friends - they look, speak, etc in a very generic 'American' manner. Basically like they walked out of a JCrew catalogue. Educated, middle to upper-middle class, etc.

I'm mixed as well, and aside from a few incidents during childhood, I've rarely dealt with racism as an adult.

i'm mixed, and never went through 'a giant identity confusion period'. it literally never occurred to me that race and ethnicity was part of my 'identity'. it still doesn't.

I love being multiracial as well, but for different reasons.