Dutch | Singaporean
For the most part I introduce myself as Dutch-Singaporean. My confusingly international accent often raises more questions, leading to a quick laundry list of all the places I’ve lived, the UK, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Qatar, and Hong Kong. I don’t identify with one of these places more than the other, but rather the combination of them.
My Dad is from the Netherlands and my Mom is from Singapore. My Mom is also a mix of Peranakan and Hokkien. Both small countries that like to reclaim land from the sea. They met in Singapore when my Dad was posted there for his first job out of university. I think my parents each shared their favourite parts of their own cultures with us while my sister and I were growing up. Holidays and family celebrations, both of which include copious amounts of food, were the earliest ways in which I can remember connecting to my cultures.
I’ve had a really different relationship to my ethnicity depending on where I lived. When I lived in the UK and went to a Dutch school, I was very aware of the fact that I looked different to my Blonde Dutch friends. Once in Malaysia, I was aware of my mixed-race-ness in that I seemed to celebrate a very broad range of holidays. As I got older and became aware of the history of mixed-race relationships, I became a lot more grateful for my upbringing and how generally free from prejudice it was. As a university student it has continued to fascinate me, becoming the focus of my research that I carried out both for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
I can’t really imagine being born as any other race or combination of races, because being mixed-race is integral to how I perceive my parents’ relationship. Wanting to return different would mean wanting a different parent or wanting them to look different as well as myself. I’m grateful for the unique mix of genes. The occasional uncomfortable comments that I look ‘exotic’ are outweighed by people who are sincere in their interest in my background.
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