Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and BiculturalAs we approach the twenty-first century, biracialism and biculturalism are becoming increasingly common. Skin color and place of birth are no longer reliable signifiers of one's identity or origin. Simple questions like What are you? and Where are you from? aren't answered--they are discussed. How do you measure someone's race or culture? Half this, quarter that, born here, raised there. What name do you give that? These eighteen essays, joined by a shared sense of duality, address both the difficulties of not fitting into and the benefits of being part of two worlds. Danzy Senna parodies the media's fascination with biracials in a futuristic piece about the mulatto millennium. Garrett Hongo writes about watching his mixed-race children play in a sea of blond hair and white faces, realizing that suburban Oregon might swallow up their unique racial identity. Francisco Goldman shares his frustration with having constantly to explain himself in terms of his Latino and Jewish roots. Malcolm Gladwell understands that being biracial frees him from racial discrimination but also holds him hostage to questions of racial difference. For Indira Ganesan, India and its memory are evoked by the aromas of foods. Through the lens of personal experience, these essays offer a broader spectrum of meaning for race and culture. And in the process, they map a new ethnic terrain that transcends racial and cultural division. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 49
Page vii
... thought of a witty retort. I stopped being American when I first came to the States to live eight years ago. Growing up in Asia, I knew being mixed set me apart, but I didn't have to name it vii Introduction by Claudine Chiawei O'Hearn ...
... thought of a witty retort. I stopped being American when I first came to the States to live eight years ago. Growing up in Asia, I knew being mixed set me apart, but I didn't have to name it vii Introduction by Claudine Chiawei O'Hearn ...
Page 5
... thought, scornful of the kinds of histories my wife and I had sprung from. We lived in Hawai'i for a while, then I was offered a job at the University of Oregon. It seemed an end to our wanderings. But eventually I realized that, as an ...
... thought, scornful of the kinds of histories my wife and I had sprung from. We lived in Hawai'i for a while, then I was offered a job at the University of Oregon. It seemed an end to our wanderings. But eventually I realized that, as an ...
Page 9
... thought back to some oldies I'd slowdanced to in the sixties. * Angel Baby,'” I said, selecting the right tune from my memory. “She used to go out with my uncle, you know?” Presco said. “I remember they would lean against the door of ...
... thought back to some oldies I'd slowdanced to in the sixties. * Angel Baby,'” I said, selecting the right tune from my memory. “She used to go out with my uncle, you know?” Presco said. “I remember they would lean against the door of ...
Page 10
... thought were the cutout black sleeves of her dress are really dark, spidery tattoos covering her arms. Jiving with her, I find out her name is Sachiko, that she's the daughter of a community activist I used to know. It's a frail, almost ...
... thought were the cutout black sleeves of her dress are really dark, spidery tattoos covering her arms. Jiving with her, I find out her name is Sachiko, that she's the daughter of a community activist I used to know. It's a frail, almost ...
Page 12
... thought I'd died and gone to Berkeley. But then I realized. According to the racial zodiac, 2000 is the official Year of the Mulatto. Pure breeds (at least the black ones) are out and hybridity is in. America loves us in all of our half ...
... thought I'd died and gone to Berkeley. But then I realized. According to the racial zodiac, 2000 is the official Year of the Mulatto. Pure breeds (at least the black ones) are out and hybridity is in. America loves us in all of our half ...
Contents
12 | |
THE Double HELIX by Roxane Farmanſarmaian | 28 |
CALIFoRNIA PALMs by lé thi diem thúy | 38 |
THE ROAD FROM BALLYGUNGE by Bharati Mukherjee | 71 |
A WHITE woman of color by Julia Álvarez | 139 |
FooD AND THE IMMIGRANT by Indira Ganesan | 170 |
FROM HERE To Poland by Nina Mehta | 216 |
Other editions - View all
Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and Bicultural Claudine C. O'Hearn Limited preview - 1998 |
Common terms and phrases
African American American Asian asked Aunt Bessie become began born boys brother brown called child China Chinese color conversation course cousin culture dark daughter didn't English ethnic experience eyes face fact father feel felt friends girl grandmother grew hair half hand identity Indian Japanese Jewish kids kind knew language later learned less lived look married matter mean mixed mother moved neighborhood never night once parents pass past person play questions race racial realized relatives remember seemed sense side sister skin sometimes speak story talking tell things thought told took trying turned uncle understand United walked wife woman writer York young