about three years ago, i took a class on whiteness and understanding the history of racial formation in the united states. one of the main things that i drew from that class is that whiteness in the u.s. has become the norm and people of other ethnicities/races are exactly that: other. white is normal and we're (black, brown, red, yellow) the other.

so, i've always been conscious of race. i've always been racialized. i've always been the other. yeah, i went to a school with a lot of mexican kids, but my teachers weren't mexican. we didn't read about any chicanos in history class. all our books were by white and (some) black authors. we barely even covered the fact that the city and state we were in once were part of mexico!

like mizzmyteeafrodytee wrote, everything i do, see and hear everything as a chicana through a chicana lens and through chicana ears. i don't have the privilege to stop thinking about race, or to not have people assume i understand the lingua franca.

i'm ranting. so, i'll stop for now.

main point: my race/ethnicity is something i never stop thinking about, being conscious of, and acting on.
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i ♥ tequila (since 1981)

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