Rhi-Mixed Views

We all see it,  but why are we not talking about it?  Love Island is a popular dating TV show in the UK, which places 'attractive' contestants in a villa for a number of months, and viewers watch as they pair up to fall in and out of love. It's huge popularity is due to the levels of relationship drama the UK public love to watch, but it also reveals a lot about how racism can enact itself within dating and how the UK public views interracial couples.  The pictures are the first 'coupling' of the contestants. How this works is each contestant (either all the males or all the females) stand in a row, and the other gender group comes out one by one. The ones standing in the line step forward if they find this person attractive, and then that person chooses who they want to 'couple up with'.  This year,  these rules changed.  This time, the public were given the power to vote for who should be coupled up with who.  Now, the public are given a number of sh...

When I was working on my student-led anti-racism project Active Together , I was not very knowledgeable about how to handle microaggressions. I was in (and still am in) a process of learning and unlearning everything I thought I knew about discrimination.  This meant sometimes I put myself in unsafe positions without always understanding why they weren't safe. I was just passionate and wanted quick change.  Active Together stemmed from the racism I faced in my polo club at the university, so I decided to go back to that club and try and change the culture there for the better.  I messaged the clubs Facebook page (which stated if you have any queries you can message them), and I asked them what the club was doing to create an active anti-racist environment. They emailed me back an EDI action plan they were made to make by the Athletics Union, that simply stated "we recognise the club is very white".  I wasn't very happy about this response, it was not an action, it w...

Recently, I left a student leadership role at my institution. This was not because of a lack of capacity This was not because I was not capable of doing the job to a high standard And this was not because I necessarily wanted to. I left because the environment was draining. The space itself did not allow my personal activism to flourish and grow the way it deserves to, and no space should ever make you feel this way.  But, this is not a time to be sad, but a time to feel empowered.  Leaving a job post, or leaving any position that is situated in a negative, toxic environment can be an empowering experience, that reminds you of your power, and how you have autonomy over who you surround yourself with, and what you expose your body and mind to.  I always refer back to the life-changing work of bell hooks, who writes about love, space, and relationships in such a beautiful way.  She writes how you need to love yourself in a way that helps you spiritually grow, and your...

“You can DEI your way into equality, but you cannot DEI your way into justice" I saw this quote from Dr T. Anansi Wilson @blaqueerflow on twitter the other day and it really resonated with what my friends and I discuss quite often in regards to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI/DEI) work and justice work  You can DEI your way into equality, maybe even equity, but you cannot DEI your way into justice. Justice is not inclusion (into a violent system), but r/evolution into a new way of organising and living and dying; resources and care; power and deservability; accountability & rest.  (This is also a thread on Twitter if you would like to see more of it) What I love about this quote is that there is a difference between EDI work and justice work. Just because someone states they are committed to justice does not mean they do the work to implement what that really means. I think it’s important to distinguish in order to carry on the conversation of who is promoting activ...

This blog is the first (technically second) of a series where I will be discussing my mixed heritage experiences through things that have been said to me, and why they are wrong.  I first wrote about my experiences with being told " you're not really Chinese then, are you " by a member of my polo club, unknowingly setting in motion my entire race equity activism. I received a lot of feedback from that blog from individuals who related to it, connecting to a shared experience.  From that, I want to start a series of blogs that discuss particular racial microaggressions that on the surface, might seem okay, but in these deep dives will uncover the racist undertones.  So, lets start here. I went on a date a few years ago, nice man, seemed kind, no issues. Then, rather than asking about my heritage, he simply stated, " you look so exotic ".  At first, I took this as a compliment. I thought, oh hes saying it in a nice way, he must mean it in a good way, surely? Safe ...

I see both worlds so clearly, and I skip and jump and dance and fall between, never seen. I belong in the spaces between. Check all that may apply. - Ginny and Georgia S1 E8: Check one, check other Ginny and Georgia is a Netflix series that focuses on the two main characters, 15 year old Black mixed-heritage daughter Ginny, and her white southern mother, Georgia. It follows the story of the two with their son/brother, Austin, as they move to a predominantly white rich neighborhood to start a new life.  There are many themes within this show, such as socioeconomic status, romance, coming of age, friendship, sexism, sexuality, revenge, mystery and more, but the theme I want to discuss in this blog is how they represent racial identity.  Ginny and her parents  As mentioned, Ginny's mother, Georgia, is a blond, beautiful, white southern woman, who uses her charm and sexuality to survive through the harsh life she has been handed. Her father, Zion, is a Black man who met Georg...

  "Everyday spaces are rife with diverse social dynamics, power, and subjectivity, much like Gregson and Rose suggest: ``performed spaces are not discreet, bounded spaces, but threatened, contaminated, stained, enriched by other spaces'' - Mahtani (2002) Tricking the border guards: performing race . Back in March, I was made to feel I could not eat lunch. We meet at 12pm in the same building we always do, we sit down in the room we do every week, with the people who typically show up, with a few new faces.  We finish our lunches and were about to leave the room, when someone makes a comment about 'what Chinese people do'. I turn around as, I myself am Chinese, and just question what they have just said. I say "well I am Chinese and I don't do that" to assert the falseness of their general comment about the Chinese community. To visualize the room, I was stood between this white woman and a table of Chinese PhD students having lunch, with a white man r...