I’ve been thinking about this more and more. I was at a movie in the park the other day and realized (it was pure coincidence, I swear) that the BF and I were hanging out with two other same-sex couples, and all of us were bi-racial. That is, one of the people in each couple was white and the other was not. After I got over how cool I thought we all were, I went on to thinking about my experience as such, and wondering if the other pairs ever talked about it. I did point it out to everyone, and we all laughed at how cute it was. BUT, I am frequently mistaken for white. I am full blooded Guatemalan, but I have always had to defend my brownness to both whites and non-whites. “No really, meet my tiny little parents and see how brown we are.” The others at the park were white and South Asian, and I don’t think they have had to defend their brown status. I’m always self-conscious of my Spanish around other Latinos, especially in impersonal situations such as ordering food. But the hardest part for me these days is, with the knowledge that people tend to assume that I am white, how can I fight against, or at least not take advantage of the invisibility of white privilege? A new friend just passed this along, a considered piece about white privilege over at The Pink Pink Elephant and I’m renewing my commitment, right here and now, for being out about my brownness. No longer will I hesitate to bust out my spanglish just because of whatever is going on in my head. This blog and the TPR name have been my outlet for finding myself and finding others like myself for six years. People ask me sometimes if I get paid for TPR (it has led to gigs, THANK GOD) but I’ve never even considered diluting or diverting my attention for $$.
