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Dolezal has specifically said that she identifies as Black, and doesn't identify as African-American.
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{{about|transracial people or transracial identity|other uses|Transracial (disambiguation)}}
{{about|transracial people or transracial identity|other uses|Transracial (disambiguation)}}


[[File:Rachel Dolezal speaking at Spokane rally May 2015.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Rachel Dolezal]] has been described as a white person who identifies as an [[African American]]]]
[[File:Rachel Dolezal speaking at Spokane rally May 2015.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Rachel Dolezal]] has been described as a white person who identifies as Black.


'''Transracial''' people are individuals who assert a [[racial identity]] for themselves which differs from their birth race.<ref name="Tuvel2017">{{cite journal|last1=Tuvel|first1=Rebecca|title=In Defense of Transracialism|journal=Hypatia|volume=32|issue=2|year=2017|pages=263–278|issn=0887-5367|doi=10.1111/hypa.12327|s2cid=151630261}}</ref><ref name="Brubaker2015">{{cite journal|last1=Brubaker|first1=Rogers|author-link=Rogers Brubaker|title=The Dolezal affair: race, gender, and the micropolitics of identity|journal=Ethnic and Racial Studies|volume=39|issue=3|year=2015|pages=414–448|issn=0141-9870|doi=10.1080/01419870.2015.1084430|s2cid=146583317}}</ref>
'''Transracial''' people are individuals who assert a [[racial identity]] for themselves which differs from their birth race.<ref name="Tuvel2017">{{cite journal|last1=Tuvel|first1=Rebecca|title=In Defense of Transracialism|journal=Hypatia|volume=32|issue=2|year=2017|pages=263–278|issn=0887-5367|doi=10.1111/hypa.12327|s2cid=151630261}}</ref><ref name="Brubaker2015">{{cite journal|last1=Brubaker|first1=Rogers|author-link=Rogers Brubaker|title=The Dolezal affair: race, gender, and the micropolitics of identity|journal=Ethnic and Racial Studies|volume=39|issue=3|year=2015|pages=414–448|issn=0141-9870|doi=10.1080/01419870.2015.1084430|s2cid=146583317}}</ref>

Revision as of 14:29, 22 May 2021

This article is about transracial people or transracial identity. For other uses, see Transracial (disambiguation).

[[File:Rachel Dolezal speaking at Spokane rally May 2015.jpg|thumb|200px|Rachel Dolezal has been described as a white person who identifies as Black.

Transracial people are individuals who assert a racial identity for themselves which differs from their birth race.[1][2]

Examples

A well-known example of a self-identified transracial person is Rachel Dolezal, a woman of white ancestry who identifies as black.[1][2] She successfully passed as black, to the extent that she took over leadership of the Spokane branch of the NAACP in 2014, a year before her "outing" in 2015.

Korla Pandit, an African-American musician who was born John Roland Redd. He posed as an Indian from New Delhi in both his public and private life.[3]

Martina Big, who was featured on Maury in September 2017, is another woman of white ancestry who identifies as black.[4][5] Big has had tanning injections administered by a physician to darken her skin and hair.[4][5]

Ja Du, a trans woman who was born white but now considers herself Filipina, created a Facebook page and community for others who self-identify as transracial.[6][7][8]

Jessica A. Krug, an associate professor of history and Africana Studies at George Washington University, revealed on September 3, 2020 that she, born to white parents, had been passing as a black woman for her entire professional life.[9][10]

A black teenage girl named Treasure gained national attention when she appeared on Dr. Phil. She claimed that she was white because body parts such as her hair, nose, and lips resembled a white instead of a black person's.[11]

Theoretical approaches

In April 2017, the feminist philosophy journal Hypatia published an academic paper in support of recognizing transracialism and drawing parallels between transracial and transgender identity.[1] Publication of this paper resulted in considerable controversy. The subject was also explored in Trans: Gender and Race in an Age of Unsettled Identities, a 2016 book by UCLA sociology professor Rogers Brubaker, who argues that the phenomenon, though offensive to many, is psychologically real to many people, and has many examples throughout history.[12][13]

Controversy over the term

Historically, transracial has been used to describe parents who adopt a child of a different race.[14][15][16]

The use of the term to describe changing racial identity has been criticized by members of the transracial adoption community. Kevin H. Vollmers, executive director of an adoption non-profit, said the term is being "appropriated and co-opted" and that this is a "slap in the face" to transracial adoptees.[16] In June 2015, about two dozen transracial adoptees, transracial parents and academics published an open letter in which they condemned the new usage as "erroneous, ahistorical, and dangerous."[16][17][18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Tuvel, Rebecca (2017). "In Defense of Transracialism". Hypatia. 32 (2): 263–278. doi:10.1111/hypa.12327. ISSN 0887-5367. S2CID 151630261.
  2. ^ a b Brubaker, Rogers (2015). "The Dolezal affair: race, gender, and the micropolitics of identity". Ethnic and Racial Studies. 39 (3): 414–448. doi:10.1080/01419870.2015.1084430. ISSN 0141-9870. S2CID 146583317.
  3. ^ Wilder, Amy (November 22, 2015). "Man of mystery: Documentary sheds light on enigmatic Columbia entertainer". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Lubin, Rhian (September 22, 2017). "White glamour model with size 32S breasts who spent £50k on cosmetic surgery now 'identifies as a black woman'". Daily Mirror. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Valens, Ana (September 22, 2017). "White woman who 'transitioned' races to Black is back". The Daily Dot. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  6. ^ Yam, Kimberly (2017-11-15). "Filipinos Aren't Happy With This White Woman Claiming To Be Filipina". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  7. ^ "Man born white explains why he now identifies as Filipino". The Independent. 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  8. ^ Salo, Jackie (2017-11-13). "'Transracial' man was born white, identifies as Filipino". New York Post. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  9. ^ "White GWU professor admits she falsely claimed Black identity". The Washington Post. September 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Noor, Poppy (September 3, 2020). "White US professor admits she has pretended to be Black for years". the Guardian. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  11. ^ Bennett, Jessica (2018-10-25). "Black Teen Claims She's 'Transracial' White Woman, Hates Black People". EBONY. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  12. ^ "Trans: Gender and Race in an Age of Unsettled Identities". Princeton University Press. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  13. ^ Brubaker, Rogers (2016). "Introduction" (PDF). Trans: Gender and Race in an Age of Unsettled Identities. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. pp. 1–11. ISBN 9780691172354. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  14. ^ Valby, Karen. "The Realities of Raising a Kid of a Different Race". Time. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  15. ^ NPR Staff (January 26, 2014). "Growing Up 'White,' Transracial Adoptee Learned To Be Black". NPR. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  16. ^ a b c Kai-Hwa Wang, Frances (June 17, 2015). "Adoptees to Rachel Dolezal: You're Not Transracial". NBC News. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  17. ^ Moyer, Justin Wm. (June 17, 2015). "Rachel Dolezal draws ire of transracial adoptees". Washington Post. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  18. ^ Kimberly McKee, PhD; et al. (June 16, 2015). "An Open Letter: Why Co-opting "Transracial" in the Case of Rachel Dolezal is Problematic". Retrieved December 17, 2017.

Further reading

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