American | Kurdish
I identify as a Kurdish, American and French woman. I’m an atheist but I was raised in a Catholic/ Muslim cultural environment. I am heterosexual.
My dad is from a village in Kurdistan (the Turkish part of Kurdistan). My mom is American and of Spanish, Irish/British descent. She grew up in a small town in West Virginia. My parents met while attending a French class in Paris. I grew up in a small village in the countryside, outside of Paris.
I can’t really pinpoint how old I was when I understood I was mixed. I think I’ve just always known I was different to the people I grew up with, that my family and home life was not the same as my friends.
I think my friendship circle is pretty diverse. Race, religion and sexual orientation play no part in my relationships. I think someone’s political views is important to me because I find that it says a lot about a person.
I think in a way race plays a part when dating, I find myself mostly attracted to middle-eastern men. I think it’s because I want someone who has similar values to me and was brought up in a similar culture/environment.
I do think there are stereotypes, we live in a world that does not accept the fact that you can be more than one thing. Even if it is more and more accepted, people think your physical appearance, religion and the language you speak are the only things that can define you as mixed.
A positive experience being mixed for me is that I’ve been exposed to quite a few different cultures from a young age. It has given me a different perception of the world and made me more open-minded. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to celebrate so many different aspects of community and cultures.
A negative aspect for me is never feeling like you belong, even within your own family sometimes. When I’m in Kurdistan I feel like an outsider and I feel like I am sometimes treated like one, same thing in the US.
If I had the opportunity to be reborn I think I would want to return the same way, I wouldn’t want to change who I am cause where’s the fun in not being confused. Yes it’s hard at times, but I think it’s all worth it.
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