Book Review - Mixed

I read the entire book, Mixed from cover to cover. My immediate thoughts while reading the book was how much I could relate to these students’ narratives being a biracial female myself. Specifically, I learned how disconnected some multiracial students can feel from their racial/ethnic identities, which is something I experienced during periods of my life. The main issue that triggered me throughout this book was a consistent theme throughout all of the narratives: internalized oppression. Some students really grew to believe the generalizations and stereotypes about their own racial/ethnic groups that their societies and/or communities perpetuated. I was also triggered by the prejudice and discrimination that these students experienced from both majority populations and underrepresented populations. After thinking about these concepts, I realized I was triggered because internalized oppression is something I battle with on an every day basis. The most frustrating part is trying to be conscious of this concept constantly. When I come to the conclusion that I am acting on internalized oppression in a certain instance, I feel frustrated and angry. It used to make me temporarily reject my majority ethnic identity (German/Austrian) because I felt like my White privilege and unconscious acceptance of the cycle of socialization had clouded my lens. However, I have also experienced prejudice and discrimination from people who share my underrepresented ethnic identity (Mexican). Throughout my life, I have been criticized for “not acting Mexican,” (whatever that means). What I gathered is that I am considered “not as Latina” by some people because I do not speak Spanish fluently, I am lighter skinned, and I defy the stereotype that all Latinas get pregnant and drop out of school. (For the record, all of the Latinas I know defy that stereotype so if we could get at least that one off the books, that would be great!)

Reading about students who have gone through these feelings of isolation from both majority and minority racial/ethnic groups made me empathize with them, but also feel angry for these students and myself. It is so disheartening to feel as though you do not belong anywhere in terms of race/ethnicity, especially at a young age. It became easy for me to reject part of my identity (whether it be my German or Mexican side) until someone would blurt out the inevitable question of, “what are you?”, or guess every ethnicity one could think of and assume it was my own. Similar to the students who shared their stories, I really started to explore my biracialness once I attended college at DePaul University. Luckily, I had incredibly supportive administrators and mentors who helped me through this process so that I could understand what diversity, equity, oppression, privilege, and racial/ethnic identity really meant to me. They still help me to this day with processing and reflecting on my experiences as an Assistant Director of Multicultural Programs & Services.

This reading made me much more aware of the issues that multiracial students are experiencing on Gustavus Adolphus College’s campus. A student came to talk with me recently about having the Diversity Center host a multiracial mixer for students over the January term. I honestly felt embarrassed because even though I identify as biracial, I had completely forgotten about the unique problems of this population and that I should work to address them. The narratives in Mixed helped contextualize for me just how different multiracial students can experience the institution and campus climate. The context of my college experience is a lot different than the institution I work at, meaning there is a lot more visible and non-visible diversity at DePaul University than Gustavus Adolphus College. As a result, I neglected to realize just how difficult it can be navigating a college that has a very specific majority population, especially one located in a town that is also fairly homogenous itself.

Regardless of how multiracial members of the community identify themselves, someone at the institution will always assume (generally by phenotype) one’s racial/ethnic identity, and may never know the negative impact that these assumptions can have on an individual’s self esteem and self efficacy. Multiracial community members can feel obliged to act a certain way in various situations solely because of their ethnic/racial backgrounds. Regardless of how much “code switching” occurs, there is still a decent chance that multiracial community members will feel like they do not belong in the environment, similar to the experiences of the students in Mixed. Thus, as an administrator, it is my job to create initiatives that support these students, as well as inform my colleagues to also be aware of the needs of this population so that Gustavus Adolphus College can genuinely be an equitable environment for all students. Overall, the book Mixed taught me more about myself, and provided useful information for my own professional development. Regardless of what functional area Student Affairs professionals work in, everyone should make being educated about multiracial students and other social identities a priority.