>What's the difference between someone saying "I am not black,
>I am bi-racial" versus someone saying "I am not white, I am
>black" or whatever the example you can think of in which
>someone self-identifies with a race that the majority culture
>wouldn't recognize?

"I grew up as a white girl, but I now identify as an Asian woman even though neither of my parents is Asian and I have no other Asian ancestry."

vs.

"I grew up as a white girl, but I now identify as a bi-racial woman b/c one of my parents is white and the other is Asian. I have both white and Asian ancestry and I am not comfortable identifying with one and ignoring the other."

^ not the same thing.